Australia has always been a favourite choice for individuals who desire to migrate to another country. The country has favorable factors such as a thriving economy which means more job opportunities. Australia promises a better quality of life and a multicultural society where there is peace and harmony.

Australia offers a permanent residency or PR visa to immigrants. The visa has a validity of five years. With a PR visa, you can move into Australia along with your family. You can apply for citizenship after living in Australia for three years with a PR visa.

Benefits Of Having A PR Visa

- You can live and travel anywhere within Australia
- You can pursue higher studies in Australia and can apply for certain educational loans
- You become eligible for Social Security benefits after two years of having a PR visa
- You can sponsor the PR of your relatives if they meet certain pre-requisites
- You can apply for government jobs
- You can travel to New Zealand and can even apply for a visa there

What Are The Various Australian PR Visa Categories An Applicant Can Choose?

Australia offers many options to apply for the PR visa card. You can choose the appropriate option based on your eligibility and requirements. Here are the popular options for your Australian PR:

Family-stream permanent residence visas: This stream is for spouse/partner, children or parents of Australian citizens or permanent residents.
Under the family stream you can migrate to Australia if your close family member is a citizen or permanent resident in Australia. The family stream gives preference to the spouse/partner, dependent children, parents of citizens and permanent residents in Australia. It also provides an opportunity for other family members such as relatives who are old and dependent, caretakers etc. to move to Australia to be with their families.

Business or investment-stream permanent residence visas: This stream is for those willing to invest in Australia for business purposes. To be eligible to apply for PR under this stream, applicants should have had the provisional visa (subclass 188) for at least one year and meet the financial requirements.
The Australian business visa program helps foreign business owners, senior executives and investors to come here for business purposes and develop new or existing businesses in Australia. This can also be a pathway to permanent residency.

Work-stream permanent residence visas: This visa stream is for workers who are sponsored by an Australian employer. The various visa categories under this stream include:
Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189): This visa option is suitable for skilled workers. However, this visa cannot receive sponsorship.

Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190): This visa is applicable to skilled workers who have a nomination from an Australian state/Territory. For this visa, you will have to prove that your occupation exists in the Skilled Occupation List.

Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491): For eligibility under this visa, you must meet the skill requirement and get sponsorship or nomination from either state or region or territory.

Permanent residency after studying in Australia

International students who come to study in Australia wish to continue staying there by applying for a permanent residency in Australia. They have the option to apply for a PR visa through the SkillSelect program. They can apply to any one of the following visas:

Skilled Independent visa
Employer Nomination visa
Regional Sponsored visa

They can have their skills assessed in a points test and if they qualify, they can get an invitation to apply for a PR visa. Those who cannot qualify either through the points test or cannot meet the requirements of SkillSelect have the option to continue in the country by opting for further studies or apply for any one of the temporary visas.

If they choose to extend their further studies in Australia, they will increase their duration of stay in Australia and obtain the skills and qualifications which will help them gain employment in Australia.

Post-Study Work stream of the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa grants post-study work rights to international students who have completed a Bachelor’s, Masters or Doctoral degree in Australia. They can work in the country for two to four years to gain international work experience.

Students can also work under the Graduate Work Stream. They are eligible for this stream if they have graduated with the skills and occupation that is related to an occupation which features in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). This visa is valid for 18 months.

Documents Required In PR Visa Application:

Application form
Report of Educational Credential Assessment
Birth certificate
Character certificate
Proof of nomination (if any)
Test results of IELTS or PTE exam for English proficiency
2 passport size photos
Spouse Skill documents if a spouse is also applying for a PR visa
Police Clearance Certification (PCC)
Business reference letters

STEPS IN THE PR APPLICATION PROCESS
Step 1: Check the eligibility requirements
Check if you meet the eligibility requirements. Verify if your occupation is present in the list of occupations in demand.
Check if you have the required points based on the points table.

Step 2: English proficiency Test
Check if you have the required proficiency in the English language by taking the specified English language test. Fortunately, the Australian immigration authorities accept scores from various English ability tests like IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, etc. So, you can take any of these tests to obtain the specified score.

Step 3: Get your skill assessment done
Get your skills assessed by the Skills assessment authority which is an organization that will assess your skills, education and work experience based on Australian standards.

Step 4: Register your Expression of Interest
The next step is to register an Expression of Interest (EOI) on Australia’s Skill Select website. You should fill an online form in the SkillSelect portal where you should give responses to questions on your skill which is again based on the visa subclass you are applying under. The SkillSelect program offers three visa categories under which you can apply for a PR visa.
Skilled Independent Visa Subclass 189
Skilled Nominated Visa 190
Skilled regional (provisional) Subclass 491
The first two are permanent visas while the third one is a temporary visa with a validity of five years which can later be converted to a PR visa. You should provide all the required information in the online application.

Step 5: Get your Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Once you submit your application and if it meets all the requirements then you will get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Australia PR.

Step 6: Submit your PR application
The next step is to submit your PR application. You must submit it within 60 days. The application must have all the supporting documents for processing your PR visa. These documents are your personal documents, immigration documents, and work experience documents.

Step 7: Get your clearance certificates
The next step is to submit your police clearance certificates. After a medical examination, you must submit your medical clearance certificate.

Step 8: Get your PR visa
The last step is getting your PR visa.

HOW MUCH TIME DOES A PR VISA TAKE?

If you diligently follow all the steps involved in the PR application process, the next question would be how long it will take for the visa to be processed. PR visa processing includes different stages. Each stage has a different time structure. Here is a breakdown of the time taken for each stage. The addition of the time taken for each stage determines the total processing time for your PR visa.

Skill assessment: This is done by a designated skill assessment body. Based on how soon you submit your documents, you will get a faster response from them. The processing time ranges from 45 to 60 days.

Expression of Interest: The processing time depends on your eligibility score. The higher your score, the better are your chances to get an invitation to apply (ITA).

Visa Application Submission: After you receive your ITA, you must submit your visa application to the DHA or the Department of Home Affairs. This must be done within 60 days of receiving your ITA.

Medical and character certificate: The character and medical certificates may take some time to be processed. It is better if you start the process of getting these documents as soon as you receive your ITA so that you can submit your visa approval as soon as possible.

Visa Approval: Once you submit the required document, the DHA conducts thorough research of your profile. If they are happy with your profile, they will give you a visa grant. This process takes about 3 to 5 months.

Preparation for Departure: Once you get your visa approval, you will have to move to Australia within six months.

Getting your PR visa for Australia can be a complicated process, but with the help of an immigration consultant, it can be easy. Our expertise of over 10 years has helped many individuals to get their Australia PR visas.