Engineering Pathway to PR
For engineers who wants to migrate to Australia, we have outlined the procedures involved in applying for a permanent residency visa in Australia.
- Complete an engineering qualification.
- Depending on the qualification, apply for skill assessments under the relevant pathway.
- Upon receiving a successful outcome by Engineers Australia, you can proceed to apply for a visa in Australia.
Skills Assessment – Engineers Australia
To be able to apply for a permanent residency visa, you are required to have a skill assessment. For engineers, the skill assessing authority is Engineers Australia (EA). EA has different skills assessment pathways depending on your qualification.
Below we will summarise for you the different pathways:
Qualification is accredited by Engineers Australia
Some courses in Australia and overseas are considered to be accredited by EA. They have previously evaluated these courses to have met the education requirement to be a professional engineer in Australia.
Most of the accredited courses are taught in Australia, but there are some courses which are taught overseas, for example in Malaysia or Singapore. The full list of the accredited courses can be found here.
If you have completed an accredited course, opt for the Australian Qualification Pathway when applying for the skills assessment.
Washington Accord
The Washington Accord allows Australia to recognise accredited qualifications by other signatories. Signatories to the Washington Accord including but not limited to Korea, Russia, Malaysia, China, India, Sri Lanka. The full list can be found here.
To be eligible, the qualification must be recognised by the representative body of the signatory country and the qualification must be equivalent to an Australian 4-year Bachelor degree.
If you have completed an accredited course under the Washington Accord, opt for the Washington Accord Pathway when applying for the skills assessment.
In 2019, EA has also recognised the French Diplôme d’Ingénieur completed in or after 1970 and listed in the Journal Officiel de la République. If you are a holder of this qualification, you can apply under the Washington Accord pathway.
Sydney Accord
Similar to the Washington Accord, the Sydney Accord allows Australia to recognise accredited qualifications by other signatories. Countries that are signatories to the Sydney Accord include Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Korea, NZ, South Africa, UK, USA and Malaysia. You can look at the list here.
The minimum academic requirements to be eligible for the Sydney Accord pathway is a qualification that is equivalent to an Australian 3 years Bachelor of Technology degree in engineering.
If you have completed an accredited course under the Sydney Accord, opt for the Sydney Accord Pathway when applying for the skills assessment.
Dublin Accord
Australia recognises accredited qualifications issued by other signatories of the Dublin Accord. The list of the signatories can be viewed here.
Therefore, if you have completed a qualification recognised by the signatories of the Dublin Accord, you will be able to apply for skills assessment under the Dublin Accord pathway.
Qualification is non-accredited/ non- Accord
If none of the above applies, you would have to apply for a skill assessment under the Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) pathway. Part of the CDR pathway includes preparing a report which must include:
- Continuing Professional Development
It must show how you have maintained up to date with developments in your field of engineering after you have graduated.
- 3 Career Episodes
The career episodes highlight your engineering education and /or work experience. Each episode should focus on different time period or aspect of your engineering activities.
- Summary Statement
To be assessed as an engineer, there are competency units and elements that must be met. The summary statement allows you to demonstrate how your experience have met these criteria.
A summary of the different pathway can be found here.
Potential PR Pathway
Nearly all of the engineering occupation is on the medium and long-term strategic skills list. This means there are more potential PR visas that you can apply for.
Skilled visas:
Points will be given to you based on the following:
- Age
- Educational Qualifications
- Points for Professional Year
- Points for NAATI- Credentialled Community Language
- Points for 2 Year Study
- Points for English
- Points for Regional Study
- Points for Work Experience
- Points for Specialist Educational Qualifications (STEM)
- Points for Partner
Subclass 189 – Skilled Independent Visa
This visa allows you to live, work and study in Australia permanently. It is a points tested visa. Based on the previous round of invitation, you would need to achieve a score of at least 90 to be able to receive an invitation.
Subclass 190 – Skilled Nominated Visa
Similar to the Subclass 189 visa, this visa allows you to live, work and study in Australia permanently too. It is also a points tested visa. The minimum points to be eligible to apply is 65 points. For the subclass 190 visa, you must have a state who is willing to nominate you. States have their own occupation list. If your field of engineering is on the state occupation list and you meet all the state’s eligibility criteria, you can apply to the state to nominate you.
Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa
Although this visa is not permanent. It can lead to a permanent visa (Subclass 191 – Skilled Regional Visa). The Subclass 491 visa allows you to live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia. It is also a points tested visa. The minimum points to be eligible to apply is 65 points. Another criterion of this visa is that you are nominated by a state or sponsored by an eligible relative. To be nominated by the state, you must check the state’s occupation list and meet all the state’s requirements. To be sponsored by your eligible relative, your relative must be a usual resident in a designated regional area of Australia.
Employer Sponsored Visas:
Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional Visa)
You can apply for subclass 494 if you have a regional employer who is willing to sponsor you. To be eligible for this visa, you must have at least 3 years of working experience in your nominated occupation and have a relevant skills assessment. With this visa, there is a requirement that you must work for the employer who is sponsoring you.
Subclass 191 -Permanent Residence Skilled Regional Visa
This visa will come into effect on 16 November 2022. It is for people who holds a Subclass 491 visa or Subclass 494 visa who have lived, worked or studied in the designated regional area for at least 3 years with a taxable income at or above $53,900. This visa will allow you to live work and study in Australia permanently.
Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme Visa
If you have an employer who is willing to sponsor you, you may be eligible for a Subclass 186 visa. This visa is permanent and will allow you to live, work and study in Australia indefinitely. To be eligible for this visa, you need to have at least 3 years of working experience in your nominated occupation and a positive skills assessment. Alternatively, if you are a holder of a Subclass 457 or TSS visa, you can apply for Subclass 186 after working for you employer for at least 3 years.
