Eligibility Criteria for Australia PR Visa and Tips on How Indians could get there | Y-Axis

Author: Anshul Singhal

Many Indian students wish to migrate to Australia after they complete their studies. Great quality of life, world-class infrastructure, good educational facilities for children, etc. are among the certain reasons that the country Down Under attracts migrants in droves from India.

But to settle there, one has to get an Australia PR Visa. To procure it, a candidate has to apply for GSM (General Skilled Migration) which involves a complex procedure. It is overseen by the DIBP (Department of Immigration and Border Protection) and is totally dependent on the labour market needs of Australia.

To bag a GSM approval, one has to score high on the Points Test, and these points depend on your skills and experience. Even if you have studied in Australia, it does not mean that you obtain an approval for GSM.

There are, however, a few other ways of increasing your score in the Points Test. If you are applying for the Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189), the following are the minimum requirements you need to meet.

  • Firstly, you must meet the Australian Study Requirement, which means that you need to get an Australian qualification in Australia (which does not include online or distance study) after studying for a minimum of two years there. You can achieve this in a shorter duration by pursuing multiple courses at the same time.
  • You should be in the age group of 18 to 49 to get a Permanent Visa Australia.
  • You should have scored a minimum of six in IELTS test or any another test which is considered equivalent to it in English language ability.
  • A skilled assessment must be held and nominated by the applicant for a specific occupation on the Skilled Occupation List. Since migration depends on the employment needs of Australia, it is mandatory that you need to complete a course that leads to an employment with high demand listed on DIBP’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL) such as education, health or trades. Candidates nominated by a state or territory government should nominate an occupation belonging to the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL). Go through the list to see if your study area appears and to find out the details of accredited skill assessors. For more information, check the page of Skilled Occupation Lists on the DIBP website.

To further improve chances of getting a GSM approval, here are some more tips.

  • Improve your English language skills and gain employment in Australia and spend more time in the country by applying for a Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) of 18 months.
  • Get an advanced qualification by improving your knowledge and skills. For instance, if you are a graduate, opt for a postgraduate program, and apply for a doctorate, if you are a postgraduate.
  • People with better proficiency in English are considered more eligible. For instance, a score of IELTS 7 and 8 makes you eligible to get 10 points and 20 points, respectively.
  • Those who have met the Australian Study Requirement by pursuing education for two years in a regional area stand a chance to get five additional points. In addition, if they were employed full-time in certain regional areas for a total duration of 12 months in Australia’s specified regional areas become eligible for the Skilled Regional Visa (Subclass 887), an Australia Permanent Visa.
  • Age also matters as those in the age group of 25-32 are granted 30 points, while those in the age group 45-49 are awarded none.
  • The more your employment experience in the occupation nominated by you in the SOL, the more points you will be awarded.
  • You could also get some gainful employment besides your study. Alternately, you could apply for the Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) to in order gain some more employment experience. A work experience of one year in Australia can lead you to be awarded five additional points. If you have been employed elsewhere abroad, you become eligible to gain more points.

In a nutshell, these are certain ways of gaining a Permanent Visa Australia. If you want to go about applying for an Australian PR Visa in a meticulous manner, contact Y-Axis, India’s premier immigration consultancy firm, to know more as to how you could migrate to the land of opportunities in the Southern Hemisphere.