Let’s Talk #06 | Pathways to live & work in 🇦🇺 PT.1

Hello everyone! Just wanna say a big thank you to the support and many DMs I’ve got for my #LetsTalkSeries here on Lemon8💌

One of the most common DMs/comments I’ve got is : 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖

‼️ please note this is not official immigration advice. i’m just sharing the ways i’ve seen & know of from friends & migrants that I’ve met. I 100% recommend to seek professional immigration advice if you’re thinking of migrating so that you stay compliant with the ever changing immigration laws of the Australian government.

‼️ I also wanna preface this by saying migrating here is often not a fast and easy process, it sometimes will take years to move here as most visas have a long waiting period.

‼️ Another thing to note: some visas are granted on a point based system, out of 100. These are usually the visas that will grant you a permanent pathway to migrating to Australia. Things that contribute to points are eg, your age, your educational qualification, whether you have a partner or single, past work experience, english language proficiency etc etc.

‼️ Of course, the higher points the better. Some visa have minimum points (eg 65 point) in order to be eligible to apply BUT getting the visa is not guaranteed. EG, if there is 70 people on the waiting in front of you with 1 point more, they’ll be granted the visa first.

Now, lets move onto the migration options:

1️⃣ Student

- Student Visa (subclass 500)

- you can apply at any age

- you can bring family members, partner or child along

- there may be certain restrictions on working for family members

🔗 https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/plan-your-move/bringing-your-family

This is the very first visa that I had to get when I came to Australia as an international student. I’ve also met older people such as PHD researchers / Masters student who were here on this visa and they’ve managed to bring their partner and kids under their visa.

The purpose of the 500 visa is for studying and has working restrictions (only able work certain hours a week).

After graduation, you can apply for the Temporary Grad Visa (subclass 485) which grants you full working rights, meaning you can work full time. This can range from 2-4 years depending on your type of qualification.

The 485 visa has changed alot and there has recently been new updates to this visa:

🔗 https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/changes

2️⃣ Working Adult

There are lots of pathways to come here via work. One thing I must highlight though, it’s not just any work. Australia, just like Singapore, values talent and a skilled workforce. However the skills list here are alot broader than SG’s. It is alot easier to migrate here via your skills.

Check out the skilled occupation list here:

🔗 https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list

💼 Employer Sponsored Visas would be one of the easiest way to obtain rights to live and work in Australia. There are many types of these visas — some are temporary and some are permanent (aka becoming a PR). Most common ones are:

- Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (subclass 482)

This visa can be applied onshore (in australia) or offshore (outside australia). If your company has operations in Australia, you can apply for an internal transfer from the SG office to AUS office. They’ll most likely place you on a 482 visa.

If you’re already working in Australia as a foreigner, your employer can also put you on this visa.

Your occupation must be in the skilled occupations list.

This visa is a temporary one as its name suggests and lets you work & live in Australia for 2-4 years.

You’re also able to add your partner or dependent (eg child) on this visa.

- Employer Nomination Scheme Visa (subclass 186)

This visa is usually the next step after your 482 visa expires. Employers usually put their foreign employees onto this 186 visa when they’ve already been working for them for a couple of years & their line of work is part of the eligible skilled occupations list. This visa is a permanent one aka PR.

My bf’s employer put him on a 407 Training Visa when his 485 visa expired, however his 407 has been awaiting approval for >1 year and it still wasn’t granted. His employer sponsored him on the 186 visa in the end because they figured it might not get granted. He was real lucky because that was during covid times, many foreign workers who were on temporary visas went back to their home country in the midst of the pandemic. I guess his company was also afraid even more people would leave therefore they sponsored him and the government approved it within a couple of months. This was a super rare situation, usually visas takes years to get approved🫠

You’re also able to add your partner or dependent (eg child) on this visa.

Part 2 coming soon!

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