The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) has advised that each State and Territory has received a limited number of allocated places for Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190), Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), and the Business Innovation and Investment program (BIIP) until the Federal Budget is released on 6 October 2020.
All States and Territories have indicated that their migration policy for 2020-21 will aim to support Australia’s economic recovery and public health.
Numbers as published by the MIA, as provided by The Department of Home Affairs.
20 August 2020 update:
Skilled and business visa nomination allocation update
After state nomination allocations were delayed along with the Budget until October we now have a few updates in regards to the General Skilled and Business Migration Program for 2020-21, however full nomination allocations will still be suspended until the release of the Budget in October.
South Australia and the ACT have both received a limited number of places for their general skilled and business programs to assist the state’s economic and public health recovery.
SA
The South Australian Skilled Migration applications will be prioritised based on the criteria below:
- High-quality applications within the Business Innovation and Investment Program.
- Applicants critical to supporting the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including individuals providing critical or specialist medical services, critical skills required to maintain the supply of essential goods and services; or delivering services in sectors critical to Australia’s economic recovery.
- Early consideration of onshore applications that satisfy the above criteria.
While this is good news for migration in to Australia, it’s important to keep in mind that COVID-19 will continue to have a significant impact on migration, how applications are processed, and which industries are prioritised.
Read more on the SA Immigration website.
ACT
While the ACT Skilled Migration Program is also open, the program will operate under a very different process. A new ACT Critical Skills List is in effect and applicants must meet the below criteria for both 491 and 190 nomination pathways:
- You must meet one of the following two criterion:
- Your nominated occupation is on the ACT Critical Skills List; OR
- You are the primary holder of a subclass 457/482 visa sponsored by an ACT employer
- The 5 years ACT residence criteria has ceased.
Read more on the ACT Immigration website.
The Skilled Migration program remains closed to overseas applicants in all states.
