For early childhood teachers who want to migrate to Australia, we have outlined the procedures involved in applying for a permanent residency visa in Australia.
- Complete a qualification in the relevant field.
- Apply for skills assessment.
- Upon receiving a successful outcome by the skill assessing authority, you can proceed to apply for a visa in Australia.
Skills Assessment – Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership
To be able to apply for a permanent residency visa, you are required to have a skill assessment. For early childhood teachers, the skill assessing authority is the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Below we will summarise the requirement of AITSL.
Relevant qualification
You must complete a minimum of four years of higher education study, and you must also complete an initial education qualification. The initial teacher education requires that you study at least one year in the field of early childhood education, as well as completing a 45 days placement with students across birth to 8 years age range.
English Requirement
If you did not study at least four years of Bachelor degree or higher in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom or the United States, you would need to take an English test. You must achieve a score of IETLS 7 for both Reading and Writing and a score of IELTS 8 for Speaking and Listening.
If you meet the above criteria, you can apply to AITSL to assess your qualification and skills as an early childhood teacher. Additionally, if you would like to have your work experience assess, you can apply for a Skilled Employment Statement after you have received a positive outcome from the skills assessment.
Potential PR Pathway
Early childhood teacher 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. The minimum score to apply is 65 points. However, based on the previous round of invitation, you would need to achieve a score of at least 90 points to increase your chance of obtaining 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 early childhood teacher 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 Sponsor 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 your employer for at least 3 years.
Other pathways
Subclass 190 visa– Skilled Nominated Visa & Subclass 491 visa – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa
To apply for visa subclass 190 and visa subclass 491, you need to have a nomination from the state/territory government where you want to live and work. Each State and Territory have individual requirements that must be met in order to receive nomination. (See below)
While the 190 visa is a permanent visa, subclass 491 visa gives you right to live and work in regional Australia for 5 years with a pathway to permanent residency through the subclass 191 visa.
Another difference between the 190 and 491 visa is that you can only apply for visa subclass 491 if you are living and working in regional areas in Australia, while it is not a requirement if you are applying for the 190 visa.
In summary, to be eligible for 190 visa, you need to meet the following criteria:
Immigration Points
Must score at least 65 points, or higher points if the state or territory requires.
English
Must have at least Competent English, i.e., IELTS 6.0 or equivalent, or higher if the state or territory requires.
Age
Must be under 45 years of age.
be invited
Must lodge an EOI and be invited by the state or territory and then apply for the visa.
Skills assessment
Must have positive skills assessment. Each occupation has a specific assessing authority.
HEALTH AND CHARACTER
Must meet health and character requirements.
To check if the state/ territory government requirements for your occupation, refer to the following links
State/ Territory |
Links to requirements |
| New South Wales |
|
| Victoria | |
| South Australia | |
| Western Australia | |
| Northern Territory | |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | |
| Tasmania | |
| Queensland |
485 Visa – Post-Study Work Stream
The 485 visa is a work visa available to international students who have completed two years of study in Australia. It is an 2 year or more visa that has full work rights and full study rights. It also allows you to travel freely to and from Australia throughout the validity of the visa.
To be eligible for visa 485, you need to meet the following criteria:
Visa History
Must hold a student visa when applying or have held one in the last 6 months.
English Level
Must have at least IELTS 6.0 or equivalent with no band less than 5, or equivalent.
Age
You must be under 50 years of age.
Education
Must have completed a two-year CRISCOS registered course(s).
Skills assessment
You don't need a 485 skills assessment for most occupations.
Eligible Degrees
bachelor, bachelor (honours), masters by coursework or research or doctoral degree
407 Training Visa
The 407 visa a short stay visa for individuals to participate in occupational training or professional development in Australia. This visa is generally valid to stay in Australia for 2 years. Please note this visa is subject to condition 8102 which forbids work apart from the training that is specified in the visa application. You are also required to maintain health insurance whilst in Australia.
To be eligible for visa 407, you need to meet the following criteria:
GTE
You must prove that you genuinely stay in Australia for training and will depart when you complete the training.
English Level
Must have Functional English, i.e. IELTS overall 4.5 with no band less than 4, or equivalent.
Age
Must be over 18 years old.
Be Sponsored
You must be sponsored by an approved temporary activities sponsor – Can be an employer or a commonwealth agency
HEALTH INSURANCE
Must hold valid private health insurance.
Health and Character
Must meet health and character requirements.
Subclass 494 visa – Skilled 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.
This visa provides pathway to permanent residency through the 191 visa.
Experience
At least 3 years full-time work experience in the nominated occupation.
English
Must have at least Competent English, i.e., IELTS 6.0 or equivalent.
Be Sponsored
Must be sponsored by an Australian regional employer.
Skills assessment
Must have a positive skills assessment.
Location
Must live and work in regional areas in Australia.
Subclass 482 visa – Temporary Skill Shortage (Medium Term) visa
The Subclass 482 visa is a Temporary Skill Shortage visa that requires a sponsorship from an Australian employer. This visa allows to your live and work in Australia for up to 4 years. You may apply for as many 482 visas as you want, as long as the employer is willing to sponsor you.
Experience
At least 2 years work experience in the nominated occupation.
English Level
Must have IELTS overall of atleast 5.0 with no band less than 5.0.
Age
There is no age requirement for this visa.
Be Sponsored
Must be sponsored by an Australian employer.
Skills assessment
Generally not required unless on this list.
Health and Character
Must meet health and character requirements.
