The Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) Visa (Subclasses 475 and 487) is for the applicants who agree to live and work in a regional Australian area. The three year visa allows the applicants to apply for a PR after living in the regional area for two years and employed for a minimum of one year.

It is mandatory to have nomination by the state or sponsorship by an eligible Australian relative. In addition, applicants applying for Skilled Regional Sponsored for Queensland are required to fulfill the following requirements:

• Have the occupation on the Demand List for Queensland and meet the Australian Government’s eligibility criteria.
• Meet the requirements for the listed occupation. One must note that each occupation on this list has its own requirements:
  1. English language requirements
  2. qualifications and registration
  3. industry experience
• Have a positive skills assessment for that occupation from the relevant assessment body
• Requirements detailed on the application form
• Provide the necessary documentation which includes a copy of a detailed CV, employment history (if any), proof of evident financial assets, and so on.
• Have positive assessment from the Migration and Skills Recruitment Queensland.
• Complete application form.

There are two subclasses under the Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) Visa. These are Skilled Sponsored Visa (SSV) for Permanent Residency and Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa (SRSV) for Temporary Residency. Both visas require the nomination of an occupation in the Occupation list for Queensland. In addition, the applicant must intend to live in Queensland for the designated period and show a proof of ample financial funds

One must note that a positive skills assessment is not enough for the approval. The nomination of occupation also depends upon the decision of Migration and Skills Recruitment Queensland, where the department may refuse to nominate your occupation if it finds some drawbacks in your application. Therefore it would be beneficial to hire the services of an expert Immigration and Visa consultant to avoid any visa denial.