Australia Immigration Program: Queensland Inviting Offshore Skilled Workers
The news here would be presented with respect to the newly introduced Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa and the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa. As we all are aware, the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491) Visa is replaced the Skilled Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 489) Visa, starting from November 16, 2019.
Eligibility requirements for Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) Visa:
• At least 65 points required on the points calculator • Positive Skill Assessment mandatory under your nominated profession • The age of the applicant should be below 45 years while receiving ITA (Invitation to Apply) • Should have a minimum English language competency
Here both the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491) Visa and the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa are points tested visa types, which implies that the applicant would be required to score at least 65 points to submit their application by selecting a particular occupation from the relevant profession list.
Queensland State Sponsorship
The sponsorship offered by the Queensland State Government has a total of three separate pathways which depends on whether the applicant is: • In Australia and residing in Queensland • Outside of Australia • Applicants that possess a Queensland Postgraduate Qualification (Masters or PhD)
Requirements for living and working in Queensland
You might be required to apply under this visa stream in case you are currently working and residing in Queensland under a nominated skilled occupation with respect to your visa application (or closely related). Hence, if you are living in Australia and are living in some other state, and you want to move to Queensland, then would be required to satisfy the above requirements in order to get your state sponsorship application approved.
Closely related occupations are those occupations which share the ANZSCO occupation code’s first four digits. For instance, the following occupations are considered as closely related occupations as they all have the share same first four digits in the occupation code (2211):
• 221111 Accountant (General) • 221112 (Management Accountant) • 221113 (Taxation Accountant)
Further, you would be required to satisfy the following eligibility requirements in order to apply under this particular stream:
• Positive Skill Assessment required for an occupation listed on the QSOL or “Working in Queensland” List • Demonstrate that you are working in a full-time employment (after qualifying for that job) under your nominated occupation from the last 6 months in the state of Queensland • Demonstrate an existing an on-going employment with an employer who is based in Queensland for an extended period of 12 months and also at least 35 hours per week • Commitment towards living and working in the state of Queensland for a continuous period of 2 years starting from the date on the visa would be granted to you.
In addition to this, you will be required to apply for the Business and Skilled Migration Queensland or BSMQ for receiving sponsorship from the state of Queensland. In case your application would be accepted, then you will need to apply towards the Skilled Nomination (Subclass 190) Visa or towards the Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) Visa through the Department of Home Affairs of Australia (DOHA). You would be required to satisfy the eligibility requirement for both BSMQ as well as the DOHA if you want your application to get approved successfully.
Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa
The Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa is a point-tested visa, similar to that of Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) Visa. However, along with a state sponsorship, the applicant is awarded with an additional 5 points. Further, the visa requires a commitment from the applicant to live in the state sponsored within the application for at least 2 years.
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491) Visa
The new Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491) Visa has replaced the previously operated Skilled Regional (Subclass 489) Visa and therefore according to the latest points test followed under the Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) Visa you are being awarded an extra 15 points (an increase of 5 points from the previous 10 points score awarded under this visa category). This new visa enables the skilled workers to live in regional Queensland for a period of 5 years and then follow a pathway towards Australian permanent residence (PR).
Eligibility requirements for BSMQ
The eligibility requirements followed under the Business and Skilled Migration Queensland or the BSMQ to apply for the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa and also for the Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) Visa are all same. Therefore, you would be required to meet all the pre-requisites laid down by the DOHA along with others, as described below:
• Should have a profession listed on the Offshore – Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL) • Should have at least 2 years of work experience (post-qualification) under a nominated profession
Queensland Occupation List
There is a total of 96 occupations on the Queensland Occupation List for Offshore applicants under the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 Visa and also the Skilled Regional Subclass 491 Visa. These occupations are considerably less as compared to 363 occupations that are available for other onshore applicants.
The following occupations are excluded from the Queensland Occupation List (QSOL) and are effective starting from November 11, 2019:
Offshore and Onshore – IT professions • Analysts Programmer (ANZSCO 261311) • Computer Network and Systems Engineer (ANZSCO 263111) • ICT Security Specialist (ANZSCO 262112) • Software and Applications Programmer (ANZSCO 261399) • Software Engineer (ANZSCO 261313) • Developer Programmer (ANZSCO 261312) • Systems Analyst (ANZSCO 261112) • ICT Business Analyst (ANZSCO 261111)
Offshore – Engineering professions • Engineering Technologist (ANZSCO 233914) • Electrical Engineer (ANZSCO 233311) • Mechanical Engineer (ANZSCO 233512) • Civil Engineer (ANZSCO 233211)
Commitment towards Queensland
Once the visa would be granted, you would be required to stay in Queensland for a minimum period of 2 years under the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa and for a period of 3 years under the Skilled Regional Subclass 491 visa. Also, this particular period would start from the date of your visa grant.
Settlement Funds
Offshore applicants are required to prove that they hold a minimum of $15,000 in cash as well as $15,000 as part of “other funds”. The settlement funds demanded with respect to the additional dependents in the application will increase on the basis of the total number of dependents included in the application.
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