Hello everyone!

Wow, where to start? There are so many good things happening in the immigration world lately. Pick your favourite!

PR Pathway to 482 visa holders

One of the most talked-about news of these last weeks has been the PR pathway for 482 visa holders in the short-term stream that have spent at least 12 months in Australia during the pandemic, most specifically between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021.

From 1st July 2022, ALL 482 visa holders (including those in the short term stream) who complete the 3-year work requirement with their sponsor on a 482 or 457 visa will be eligible to be nominated for the permanent 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream, as long as they have been in Australia during the period above. 

There are no restrictions on when the three-year work requirement must have started! So, if you were “stuck” in Australia between February 2020 and December 2021 for at least 12 months, even if you held a different kind of visa during this period, you may still be eligible to be nominated on the 186 TRT visa when you finally reach that stage.

That is, so long you comply with all other nomination and visa requirements of the 186, including minimum salaries, level of English and experience.

I had the honour to concede an interview to SBS Portuguese to explain in more depth this new pathway. If you are a Portuguese speaker go check it out, the link is here. 

WHV for Brazilians

It’s finally here!!! Australia and Brazil have (FINALLY) signed the agreement which will allow Brazilian nationals to enjoy Australia by travelling and working for up to three years with the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462).

Initially, there will be only 500 places per year, but this number may increase over time depending on the demand.

Applicants must be between 18 and 30 years of age and have at least Functional English (IELTS overall 4.5 or equivalent). There will also be educational requirements, but further details will only be released from 01/07/2022, when applications may start to be received.

BUDGET 2022-2023

The Federal Budget is always the most expected news of the year, but it has been shadowed by other news this time. Yet, it has been important to see that, although the Government has kept the number of migration places at 160,000 for 2022-2023, the skilled visa program – which is what matters for us – has increased from 79,600 this year to 109,900 for the 12 months starting in July 2022. That is, there will be 30,300 skilled professionals migrating from July 2022 to June 2023 than there will have been from July 2021 to June 2022. That is massive and certainly great news!

State Allocations

State nomination places for the popular 190 and 491 visas have increased in 2,810 places. Now, let’s see how each state behaved with these additional places:

• Western Australia:
  The biggest state in Australia has also received the biggest increase in allocation, going from the ridiculous 1,440 places for the current year to 3,190 in 2022-23. This is an increase of 121% and puts WA finally back as one of the best places to migrate. Well done, WA!!
• South Australia: The state – which already had a massive 5,200 places for 2021-22 – has still managed to increase its migration places by 14%, going from 5,200 to 5,930. South Australia is a non-stop migration machine!!!
• New South Wales: The state has held 7640 migration places in 2021-22, which is by far the biggest slice of 190 and 491 visa allocations, and it appears to be satisfied with this number, as it has kept the same number for 2022-23. NSW was a good surprise last year, and we cannot blame them for at least maintaining its post. At least it did not decrease in number, like certain states.
• Victoria: Victoria had a shy increase of 6% for 2022-23, going from 4,000 to 4,250 nomination places. It is still one of the top 3 in absolute numbers, but the program is widely focused on STEMM skills, which makes it hard for most occupations. At least they started looking at hospitality and education later in the year, but let’s wait and see how Victoria designs its program for the next year.
• Northern Territory: The NT has secured another 200 places for 2022-23, the same number of extra allocations they received for the end of this financial year. That will make 1,200 available nominations, which for a low-populational Territory such as the NT is pretty good.
• Queensland: Disappointing. The only state that has decreased its migration places, going from the tiny 2,250 places to an even smaller 2,130. Queensland is showing the world that migrants should look at other states because they have most of the skilled professionals they need. If you plan to migrate to Queensland through the state nomination program in 2022-23, good luck!
• Tasmania and the ACT: These states have at least kept the same number of migration places they have for this year. Tasmania has and will continue to have 3,300, while the ACT has kept for 2022-23 the same 2,000 migration places they have this year.

DAMAs

There is also some good news in the DAMA universe, with the NT including the 494 at their Designated Area Migration Agreement, while the 3rd DAMA in WA has been signed: the region of East Kimberley has secured an interesting program, which includes low-skilled occupations as low as Commercial Cleaner, and it has several occupations in which applicants can migrate up to 55 years old. It is never enough to repeat that YOU MUST HAVE A SPONSOR IN THE REGION if you want to consider the DAMA. More details can be found here.

See you next time!