Western Australia has eased permanent residency rules for skilled migrants looking to settle in the State.
The State government announced several adjustments to its migration program in an effort to streamline the skilled migration system.
According to the Western Australian government, the State Nominated Migration Program (SNMP) will prioritise skilled migrants already in the State, as well as applicants from other States and overseas.
The changes to the migration program include:
- Prioritising the invitations of applicants to retain skilled workers in the State;
- Prioritising invitations for industries with critical worker shortages, such as health and medical, teaching, construction, tourism and hospitality;
- Waiving the $200 application fee;
- Reducing the employment requirement from 12 months to six months;
- Removing requirements for applicants to demonstrate sufficient funds;
- Adding more than 100 occupations to Western Australia’s Skilled Migration Occupation List in fields including health, engineering, ICT and aviation;
- Lowering work experience requirements for the 2022-23 program year in order to attract more skilled workers to Western Australia;
- Relaxing English requirements for professional and manager occupations.
The State government has also taken several other initiatives to help migrants settle in Western Australia, such as launching a $4.25 million Skilled Migration Job Connect program to facilitate employment opportunities for newly arrived skilled migrants.
Through the SNMP, Western Australia can nominate eligible skilled migrants for two visas – Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).
The Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa is a permanent visa that grants skilled migrants Australian PR, meaning they can live, work and study in the country with their family indefinitely.
The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is a temporary skilled visa that can lead to Australian PR if certain eligibility conditions are met.