Permanent residency opportunity for skilled professionals in NSW, Australia
By Kwedu News
In a move to address critical skills shortages in New South Wales (NSW), the state has asked skilled professionals currently employed under its jurisdiction to apply for residency under the Subclass 491 visa in the government’s 2023-24 migration program.
The NSW government says for the ongoing program, 4 150 visa slots have been allocated of which 1 500 are for the Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491).
The NSW government, as revealed by SBS Hindi online, said as of January 2024, only 20 percent of that allocation has been utilised, a development that opens up new opportunities for applicants seeking residency in the country.
“Our research indicates that NSW has only utilised 20 percent of its total visa allocation.
“As of January this year, NSW has issued approximately 300 visas under Subclass 491, leaving 1 200 seats still available for applicants,” Mr Vaibhav Patel, the NSW Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade Spokesperson, explained.
“We’ve observed that applicants who are already employed in their respective fields are obtaining residency more quickly and with greater ease,” Mr Patel added as quoted in SBS Hindi.
NSW government says skilled professionals currently employed in the state can apply directly to the Investment NSW for the Subclass 491 visa under the 2023-24 migration program.
Sectors targeted include health, education, ICT, infrastructure and agriculture.
The government said there are two ways to apply for the visa.
“Under the Pathway 1, applicants can directly apply to Investment NSW if they have a proven work history with an employer based in regional NSW.
“To apply directly under Pathway 1, you (the applicant) must be currently living and working in a designated regional area of NSW and have continuously done so for the past 12 months,” the government said.
“In Pathway 2, applicants may receive invitations to apply from Investment NSW and during these invitation rounds, priority will be given to expressions of interest (EOIs) in occupations aligned with key industry sectors,” the government added.
SBS Hindi said the department spokesperson, Patel, said Pathway 1 is a direct application pathway while Pathway 2 invitations occur throughout the year.
“There are no predetermined or publicly announced dates for invitation rounds,” he said.
In Australia each state or territory evaluates applicants that are eligible based on criteria that is specific to that region.
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