Visa Entitlements

The Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) visa entitles you and any secondary applicants included in your application to reside permanently in Australia.

Permanent residents of Australia are able to:

• work and live in Australia permanently
• study at Australian academic institutions such as schools, tafes or universities
• claim healthcare which is subsidised under the Australian Medicare system and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• apply for applicable social security payments (subject to specific conditions and waiting periods)
• apply for Australian citizenship (subject to specific conditions and residency eligibility criteria)
• become sponsors for others wishing to obtain permanent residence in Australia

Main Applicant Eligibility 

Points Test 

Eligibility for this visa requires that you meet the basic eligibility requirements and achieve a pass mark score of 65 on Australia’s skilled migration points test. 

Sponsorship

To be eligible for this visa subclass, you must have an eligible Australian sponsor who is willing to sponsor you to Australia.

This visa requires that your sponsor be either:

• a participating Australian state or territory government agency who has nominated you for sponsorship

or

• an eligible relative, already living in Australia.

Eligibility Requirements

You are eligible to apply for this visa subclass, if you are in Australia at the time of your application and you are one of the following;

• an overseas student, or a former overseas student
• currently hold a valid Skilled – Graduate (Temporary) (subclass 485) visa
• currently hold a valid Skilled – Recognised Graduate (Temporary) (subclass 476) visa
• currently hold a Trade Skills Training (subclass 471) visa

In addition to this, you will also need to satisfy the following basic requirements of a General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa;

Age – be less than 50 years of the age at the time of lodging your application.

English language ability– demonstrate at least a competent level of English language ability.

Note:  you will automatically meet this threshold requirement if you are a citizen of, or posses a valid passport from:

• New Zealand,
• United States of America (USA),
• United Kingdom (UK),
• Canada
• Republic of Ireland.

Nominate an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) - You will need to nominate an occupation listed on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) that is appropriate to your particular skills and qualifications.

Note: You cannot apply for this visa if your nominated occupation is not listed on the current SOL.

Obtain a positive skills assessment - You must provide a positive skills assessment completed by the relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation

You are required to obtain this assessment from an approved assessing authority.

You will need to undergo an evaluation of your qualifications and skills relating to your nominated skilled occupation, to ensure that you are adequately qualified for your nominated occupation according to Australian qualifications and standards. 

Additional Information

Health & Character

If you are not an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident, but you intend to live in or visit Australia, both you and all secondary applicants listed in your application will be required to undergo a health examination and pass specific health requirements before a visa can be issued.

You and all secondary applicants are also required to be ‘of good character’ in order to live in or visit Australia. This is determined by Australian authorities and you may be asked to provide evidence such as police certificates for every country you have resided in since turning 16 years of age for 12 months or longer over the previous ten (10) years.

Location

You and any secondary applicants that are included in your application must be in Australia both when you lodge your application for this visa and at the time that your application is decided.