Here’s a great chance to chase your Australian dream. The government of Australia has recently announced some changes to their immigration programs to boost economy and encourage more regional migration in the country. The government has also introduced a new visa scheme to increase migration in rural areas of Australia.
The changes are described as follows:
• Two new skilled regional provisional visas will open the doors to apply for an Australia PR Visa;
• Migrants must commit to live and work in regional areas of Australia;
• New and a wider range of occupations will be included to the skilled occupation list- such as, real estate agents, call Centre managers, actors, historians, kennel hands, and many more;
• This will be a skilled regional permanent resident visa;
• required changes will be made to the definition of ‘regional Australia’ to attract migrants;
• nominated applicants can claim additional points under the Skilled Migration Points Test system, and also live and work in the regional area; and,
• more visa pathways will be introduced for international students who have completed their education from regional universities.
The Australian government is hoping that new regional visa Australia pathways will take off population pressure from big cities, and divert it to remote areas where it is actually required.
David Coleman, the minister for immigration, stated that, “”By requiring migrants to live and work in regional areas for three years before they can get permanent residency, we are encouraging them to put down roots and settle in these areas long term,”.
He quoted that, “That is what our smaller cities and regional communities need.” They are desperately hunting for skilled workers who can make valuable contributions to the rural economy.
Since the majority of population in Australia resides in capital cities, it has become a serious concern for the government to shift the pressure from urban to rural Australia. This way the benefits of migration can be distributed evenly across Australia.
Introduction of New skilled Regional Visas
On 16 November 2019, the government of Australia introduced two new skilled regional provisional visas to attract more migrants to the regional Australia. They are:
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)– the visa pathway is designed for people who are nominated by an Australian state or a territory, or by an eligible related who live in regional area of Australia. This visa replaces subclass 489 visa with the new amendment in order to boost the regional migration swiftly.
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) – people with a sponsorship by an eligible employer in regional Australia can apply for this visa.
To apply for a permanent residency Australia, holders of the skilled regional provisional visa must prove that they have lived and worked in Australia while holding any of the above-mentioned visas. After meeting the basic eligibility requirements, holders then can apply for the PR visa from November 2022.
New visa pathways will also provide these regional visa holders an access to a number of welfare and government services to help them comfortably settle in regional Australia.
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