Skilled-Independent Regional Visas: Two-Stage Process to Permanent Residence

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Skilled applicants who are sponsored by a State or Territory Government and who can obtain 110 points on the general skilled migration points test can apply for permanent residence through a two stage process:

Stage 1 - SIR (Provisional) visa stage: Successful applicants will be granted a 3 year temporary visa to live and work/study in regional Australia.

Stage 2 - Permanent residence stage: SIR visa holders who have met the SIR visa conditions of:

• having lived in regional Australia for at least 2 years
• having been employed (including self employed) for at least 12 months in regional Australia; may apply for one of the following permanent residence visas:
  1. Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
  2. State/Territory Nominated Independent (SNTI)
  3. State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner

Note: If you are considering applying for the SIR (Provisional) visa, you should take every opportunity to find out about the employment opportunities and available services in the area where you are interested in living.

Priority Processing

SIR visa applications will receive priority processing through the Adelaide skilled processing centre. This means they will be processed ahead of other applications for general skilled migration.

Regional Australia

Living in regional Australia or a low population growth metropolitan area means that SIR visa holders can live anywhere in Australia except in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne or the ACT.

 

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