The road to the Australian dream – Getting permanent residence

Being an Australian permanent resident (PR) entails a lot of advantages. To get there, you have to go through a well-defined process. You could always do it with the help of professionals who provide immigration services. But for you to understand the steps clearly can be an added advantage and necessary if you are going to do all the work yourself.

Now, before you proceed to apply for Australian permanent residence (PR) you have to be sure that you are eligible for doing so. There are many points that have to be checked to decide your eligibility. Each point has a score attached and, in the end, the total score you get should be 65 or above to be eligible to apply.

Let’s first see what those points of eligibility are and the scores attached to each point:

• Work Experience in Australia - 8-10 years (20 points)
• State sponsorship - 190 visa (5 points)
• Professional year in a skilled program in Australia (5 points)
• Accredited in community language (5 points)
• De facto partner/spouse with ‘competent English’ - Needn’t meet age factor or Skills requirement (5 points)
• Skilled spouse or de facto partner - Age, Skills & English language requirements to be met (10 points)
• Work Experience outside Australia - 8-10 years (15 points)
• Age - 25-33 years (30 points)
• Applicants without a de facto partner or spouse or where a spouse is a citizenor PR of Australia (10 points)
• Study in a regional area (5 points)
• English proficiency - 8 bands (20 points)
• Doctorate degree from outside Australia (20 points)
• Master’s degree or Doctorate by research in Australia (10 points)

Besides these points, you should be under 45 years of age to apply for a PR visa in Australia. A competent level of English language proficiency is also expected of you.

1. So, having said all that, now you should know what all are the various PR visa categories available for you to go for.

There are family-stream PR visas that are meant for the parents, spouses/partners, and children of Australian citizens or permanent residents. Another stream is for Business or Investment PR visas that are meant for those who are willing to invest in Australia to do business in the country. For this stream, applicants must have had the provincial visa (Subclass 188) for a minimum of 1 year along with meeting the financial requirements.

Then comes the most in-demand stream for PR visas, the Work stream. Those applying under this stream are workers who are sponsored by an Australian employer. The visas under this stream are:

• Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189): This visa is suitable for skilled workers. But this visa cannot take sponsorship.
• Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190): This visa is for skilled workers with a nomination from a territory/state of Australia. To get this visa, you must prove the existence of your occupation in the Skilled Occupation List.
• Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491): To be eligible under this visa, you must possess the skill required and be sponsored or nominated from either state, region, or territory.

Among these, let’s now take Subclass 189 to understand the whole process of applying for Australian PR. This is because Subclass 189 involves all the steps in the process to apply for an Australian PR visa.

Figure out which visa option is the best suitable for you

As we have already listed out, there are different streams through which you can apply for Australian PR. You have to understand which stream and visa type suits your needs best and start working on the process.

Learn how you score on the eligibility points calculator

As we have mentioned already, each eligibility criterion has a certain point assigned to it. If you checked the points table for the Subclass 189 visa, you could find out the points you earned for each factor you meet and total them to find out the total score which has to be the same or above the cut-off score for the specific program.

Check the Australian PR visa cut-off scores in any invitation round

You must know the cut-off scores stipulated for the visa category you are applying for in draws conducted over a period of time. Though the general eligibility score is 65 points, if you knew the cut-off score trends in the draws that took place over the recent years, it will help you set your goals properly.

Get the occupation ID after getting assessed with the right authority

After coming this far it’s time to determine your occupation ID under which to apply for the Australian PR. In a comprehensive list of occupations, you can find out the correct ID for an occupation that matches your skills.

Get your qualifications and skills assessed

Now, you need to get to the relevant assessing authority website and sign up there. You must download all the relevant assessment guidelines from the website and follow them. This is to get the relevant experience letters from your respective organizations to get them certified.

How would you know who is the relevant assessing authority? Well, that depends on your occupation ID. Let’s give you a list of assessing authorities just to familiarize you with the names:

• NAATI - National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters
• NOOSR - National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition
• ISA - Institution of Surveyors, Australia
• APS - Australian Psychological Society
• TRA - Trades Recognition Australia
• SLAA - State Legal Admission Authority
• IEAust - Institution of Engineers, Australia
• SPAA - Speech Pathology Association of Australia
• ICAA - Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia
• OCANZ - Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand
• VETASSESS - Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services
• DAA - Dieticians Association of Australia
• CASA - Civil Aviation Safety Authority
• ACOPRA - Australian Council of Physiotherapy Regulating Authorities, Inc.
• ANCI - Australian Nursing Council Incorporated
• AIM - Australian Institute of Management
• APC - Australasian Podiatry Council
• ADC - Australian Dental Council
• APEC - Australian Pharmacy Examining Council Inc
• AIR - Australian Institute of Radiography
• AIWCW - Australian Institute of Welfare and Community Workers
• AIMS - Australian Institute of Medical Scientists
• ACS - Australian Computer Society
• ASCPA - Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants
• AMSA - Australian Maritime Safety Authority
• AASW – Australian Association of Social Workers
• AIQS - Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• AACA – Architects Accreditation Council of Australia Inc.

So, for example, if you are looking for software jobs, you should upload your letters of job experience from your employer organizations in a certain format, and upload it on the ACS website. These documents must be certified according to the instructions from ACS, depending on the geographic location.

ACS then assesses the qualification in about 4 to 8 weeks. You will have to remit a fee of 500 AUD for the service.

Pass the test for English proficiency

Taking an English proficiency test is mandatory. For this, you must appear for one of the English exams for Australia PR, namely:

• OET
• IELTS
• TOEFL
• PTE
• Cambridge C1 Advanced Test

On the basis of performance, you will fall into one of the following 3 categories:

• Competent (Up to 10 points)
• Proficient (Up to 20 points)
• Superior (20 points or more)

File an EOI

After coming all this way in the process, you can now apply for EOI (Expression of Interest) in Skillselect. Fill the EOI form online correctly.

So, there you go! The road to the Australian PR visa is all so long and needs so much to be dealt with. But then, as you get to be a permanent resident in Australia, you will be part of one of the world’s most promising countries to prosper in.

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