If you’ve studied in Australia, chances are high that you fell in love with the country and would like to stay there permanently. However, before your dream can become reality, you have to get a permanent visa. A common way to apply for one is through a skilled independent visa (subclass 189) which allows invited workers that possess the necessary skills to live and work permanently anywhere in the Land Down Under. So, what can you do to improve the likelihood of you being granted permanent residency? Keep on reading.
Understand the requirements
First things first, in order to be able to improve, you need to understand the requirements of the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program which is in place to help fill Australia’s skill shortages with skilled workers. Your approval here will depend on the score you get in the Points Test. You need a minimum of 65 to be eligible to apply for permanent residency this way. Your age, English ability, Australian study qualification as well as overall work experience all play a role here.
Consult with professionals
It’s understandable to find these requirements overwhelming at first. The test is something you can do on your own but it’s possible that you will need help from an immigration lawyer to better understand all the terms of the visa. What is more, an experienced attorney could present you with different options if the skilled independent visa is not working for you, which is why you have to look for someone who is well-versed in this field of law as well as the local Australian laws. Something else your lawyer can do is assess your eligibility before you even start the process and suggest in which areas you can improve.
Live in Australia
Once you have successfully completed your education in Australia, you can apply for the temporary graduate visa aka the visa subclass 485. This visa comes with two streams, the graduate workstream and the post-study workstream. The former enables you to find a job and work there for a maximum of 18 months while the latter lets you work in the Land Down Under for a period of two to four years. Having this work experience will help you get extra points as well as provide you with a chance to improve your English language skills.
Find meaningful employment
Looking for work in Australia through your temporary graduate visa is a great way to attract points for your application, seeing as how a single year of work experience could grant you five extra points. With that said, any previous employment, even if overseas, can also be beneficial for collecting more points. So, while working on your application, look for meaningful employment that might add to your experience in the occupation that is needed in the Land Down Under.
Get a higher education
On the other hand, work experience is not the only thing you can work on. You can also study to get a higher qualification. For example, a diploma or trade qualification can get you ten points on the test but a master’s or doctor’s degree is worth up to twenty points. So, consider building your skills further and progress on the qualifications ladder.
Study in a regional area
It’s important to note that you could be eligible for five additional points in case you completed your Australian study requirement of two years in a regional area. Moreover, if you’ve lived in a specified regional area for two years and worked there full-time for 12 months in total, you should even be eligible for the skilled regional visa (subclass 887). If you’ve not yet studied in Australia but know that you would like to move there, you should consider picking one of these as it might benefit you in the long term.
Improve your language skills
As we already mentioned, your English language skills play a big part in your application. If English is not your native language, you should take every opportunity to improve your proficiency. For example, you will learn plenty while you’re getting your degree in Australia but you should also take classes or do some work on your own to make sure your ability is proficient or superior, as that will give you 10 or 20 more points, respectively.
Keep your age in mind
Finally, you have to understand that your age will greatly affect your overall score. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about your age but it’s still important to be aware of how many points you will be awarded due to it. If you are anywhere between 25 and 32 years of age, you could get 30 points. On the other hand, people between 45 and 49 are eligible for no points.
As you can see, there are several things you can do in order to increase your chances of becoming a permanent resident of Australia, from becoming proficient or superior in English to gain more work experience.
