1. TSS 482 VISA (TEMPORARY SKILL SHORTAGE VISA)

The transition from 482 visas to PR
There are pathways to permanent residency through the TSS 482 visa. If you have a TSS 482 visa issued through the medium-term stream, you are eligible to apply for permanent residency if or when you:

• You have worked for the same sponsor for three years on your TSS visa;
• You have worked in the same occupation for three years;
• You have Competent English (at least 6.0 in all parts of IELTS or an equivalent test score, unless you are exempt. This is in contrast to the English requirement for the 482 visa which is a IELTS level 5 equivalent);
• You have been paid at least the salary confirmed with your 482 application;
• You are under 45 years of age at the time of lodging your permanent residency visa.

If you meet the criteria above, your employer may be able to sponsor you for permanent residence through the:
Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187)
TSS 482 visas obtained through the short-term stream do not offer a pathway to permanent residency.

2. 457 Visa to PR

There are four main pathways to transition from a 457 visa to permanent residency.

• Employer-Sponsored Temporary Transition Stream (ENS/RSMS)
  (If you have been working for the same employer for two years.)
• Employer-Sponsored Direct Entry Stream (ENS/RSMS)
  (If you have been working for the same employer for LESS than two.)
• General Skilled Migration (189/190/489)
  (If your employer is not willing to sponsor you for Permanent Residency.)
• Partner Migration (As the partner of an Australian Permanent Resident or Citizen)
  (If your partner is an Australian permanent resident or citizen.)

These options apply to applicants who held or applied for their 457 Visa before the 18th of April 2017.
If your 457 visas were lodged after the 18th of April 2017, different rules apply.

3. 491 Visa

Applicants for this visa must be nominated by:

• An Australian state or territory government agency or
• Sponsored by an eligible family member residing in a designated regional area and be invited to apply for the visa, following submission of an Expression of Interest (EOI) in Skill Select.

Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa will replace the current 489 visas and commence November 16, 2019. The 491 visa is a skilled and point-tested visa. It has a 45 year age limit and requires a positive skills assessment.
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491 visa will enable eligible skilled workers and their families to live, work and study in designated regional areas of Australia for 5 years. Visa holders will be eligible to apply for a Permanent Residence visa after three years.

4. Student Visa to PR

There are a number of pathways available to international students. Which one is right for you will be determined by a number of factors such as the qualification you have obtained, your English language ability, employment history, and various other requirements. The three most common visa options or pathways are discussed below.

Post Study Work Visa
Many applicants find that the Post Study Work Visa (subclass 485) is a suitable visa following their studies which is normally a two-year visa that has unrestricted work rights. It is available to applicants who have completed two years of full-time study in Australia for the award of certain qualifications (normally a Bachelor's degree or higher, but in some cases, applicants who have completed a trade qualification may be eligible for the Graduate Stream of the subclass 485 visa).

General Skilled Migration
Skilled migration is a program of permanent visas based on your skills and work experience which does not require an employer to sponsor you. There are a number of requirements which must be satisfied such as skill and English language requirements as well as a points test.
Points for skilled migration are based on factors such as your age, English ability, employment, and study history. In some cases, you must obtain a state government nomination to meet the requirements or to add points to your application.

Employer-Sponsored Visas
The employer-sponsored pathway often involves a process of obtaining a temporary visa initially (subclass 482), then working towards a permanent visa after having worked in Australia for at least 3 years for your sponsoring employer. This is not always required – in some cases you could apply directly for permanent residence (186 visas), but often the employer prefers the TSS 482 visa transitional pathway.

5. 485 Graduate Visa to PR

When you move from your Graduate visa to a permanent work visa, there are two types of visas you can apply for.
The first is sponsored visas. To obtain PR on a sponsored visa, you must have an employer who agrees to sponsor you to stay in Australia, under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) – either the 186 or the 187.
The second kind of work visas you can apply for are skilled independent visas. These visas don’t require you to have an employer sponsor you, however, they do require you to undertake a skills assessment, and successfully pass a points test. Visas in this grouping include the 189, then 190, and the 489.

6. 489 Visa to PR

To apply for PR you must make sure
1. You’ve met your obligations on the 489 visa:

• You must live and work in the state that sponsored you for two years from the date your visa is granted
• You must notify your state of your address and contact details also notify any changes to your residential address and contact details during the period of the 489 visas.

2. Ensure that you abide by the provisional visa conditions:

• The 489 visa is a four-year provisional visa that requires you to live in a regional area for at least two years and work full time (minimum 35 hours a week) for at least 12 months before you become eligible to apply for permanent residency.
• While you are on this visa, you and any dependents on the same visa must live, work and/or study in a regional area.
• You must continue to abide by the current 489 visa conditions until you are granted permanent residency.

7. State Sponsorship for Australian PR

The Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) is a points-tested permanent-residency visa to Australia. To get this visa you must be younger than 45 when you lodge your EOI. You should have obtained an accepted skills assessment. Make sure your occupation is listed in the occupation list. By the time of the application, you must be fluent and competent in English.
You must first submit an EOI for an Australian territory or state to assess your abilities and unique attributes. When you submit your EOI, you are not the only one. More people in your profession submit EOIs as well, so Skill Select scores and ranks your submission. You need to score 65 points or more to get nominated. You can only apply for the skilled nominated Visa (subclass 190) after submitting your EOI, and you receive an invitation to apply.

8. NZ citizen to AU PR

The Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa has two streams:

• Skilled Independent 189 (Points-tested) stream
• Skilled Independent 189 (New Zealand) stream.

To be eligible for the Skilled Independent 189 (New Zealand) stream, at the time of application you must:

• Hold a Special Category (subclass 444) visa
• Have been usually resident in Australia for a continuous period of five years immediately prior to application, and have commenced that period of usual residence on or before 19 February 2016
• Have a taxable income at or above an income threshold ($53,900) for each income year in the five years prior to lodging an application (unless claiming an exemption).
• meet mandatory health, character, and national security checks
• Lodge a visa application and pay the relevant visa application charges.
  You can include the following people in your visa application:
• Your partner
• Your child/step-child or your partner’s child/step-child.

Employer-Sponsored 186 visas for New Zealand citizens

For a 186 ENS visa, at the time of application lodgment, you must provide:

1. Evidence that you have at least three years of relevant work experience.

2. Evidence that you have a valid skills assessment in your nominated occupation if you are applying for a subclass 186 visa under the Direct Entry stream in any occupation (the skill assessment must be conducted by the relevant assessing authority listed in the list of eligible skilled occupations).

3. However if you are a subclass 186 or 187 visa and are in Australia as the holder of a subclass 444 or 461 visa and have worked with their nominating employer in their nominated occupation for the last two years (not including any period of unpaid leave) on a 444 or 461 visa in the period of three years before the visa application is made you will be exempt from providing a skills assessment.

9. Family visa options

PARTNER VISA OPTIONS
These visas allow Australians to live with their prospective spouse:
• Partner Visa: Important points & Requirements
• Partner visa (onshore 820 and 801)
• Partner visa (offshore 309 & 100)
• Fiancé (Prospective Spouse subclass 300)
• Relationship Register for Partners
• Partner Visa Costs

PARENT VISA OPTIONS
These visas will facilitate your parents to stay and live in Australia:
• Contributory parent visa (subclass 143)
• Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173)
• Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 884 & 864)
• Aged Parent visa (subclass 804)
• Parent visa (subclass 103)
• Parent Visa Application Costs- Australia Immigration

RELATIVE VISA OPTIONS
• Relative visa options
• Career visa (subclass 116 and 836)
• Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117)
• Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115)
• Aged Dependent Relative Visa (subclass 838)