For people who studied and/or worked in the ICT field and want to migrate to Australia, we have outlined the procedures involved in applying for a permanent residency visa in Australia. This would be applicable if you are a:
- ICT Business Analyst (ANZSCO 261111)
- Systems Analyst (ANZSCO 261112)
- Multimedia Specialist (ANZSCO 261211)
- Analyst Programmer (ANZSCO 261311)
- Developer Programmer (ANZSCO 261312)
- Software Engineer (ANZSCO 261313)
- Software and applications Programmer (nec) (ANZSCO 261399)
- ICT Security Specialist (ANZSCO 262112)
- Computer Network and System Engineer (ANZSCO 263111)
Pathway
- Complete a qualification in the field of ICT and/or have relevant work experience.
- Depending on the qualification and work experience, apply for skill assessments under the relevant pathways.
- Upon receiving a successful outcome by the skill assessing authority, you can proceed to apply for a visa in Australia.
Skills Assessment – Australian Computer Society (ACS)
To be able to apply for a permanent residency visa, you are required to have a skill assessment. For people in the ICT field, the skill assessing authority is the Australian Computer Society (ACS). ACS has different skills assessment pathways depending on your qualification and work experience. Below we will summarise for you the different pathways:
Post Australian Study Skills
To be eligible for this pathway, you must have completed an Australian Bachelor’s degree or higher with a major in ICT which is closely related to your nominated occupation. For a 3 years Bachelor degree, a qualification is ICT major if 33% of the courses is in ICT. In addition to the qualification, you must also have one year of relevant post-qualification work experience or complete an ACS professional year program.
If you meet the above criteria, you can apply for skills assessment under the Post Australian Study Skills pathway.
Skills
If you do not meet the above requirement, you may still be eligible for a skill assessment under the skills pathway, there are different streams. The streams are:
Bachelor Degree or Higher with an ICT Major
ICT Major and closely related to your nominated occupation
- 2 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years or 4 years of relevant work experience completed anytime.
ICT Major and not closely related to your nominated occupation
- 4 years of relevant work experience completed anytime.
Bachelor Degree or Higher with an ICT Minor
ICT Minor and closely related to your nominated occupation
- 5 years relevant work experience completed in the past 10 years or 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime.
ICT Minor and is not closely related to your nominated occupation
- 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime.
Diploma or Vendor Certification
ICT Major and closely related to your nominated occupation
- 5 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years or 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime.
ICT Major and is not closely related to your nominated occupation
- 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime.
If you meet any of the above requirements, you should opt to apply under the Skills pathway.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Alternatively, if you do not have a relevant qualification you can apply under the RPL pathway.
Non-ICT Diploma or higher
- 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime.
Non-tertiary qualification – work experience only
- 8 years relevant work experience
If you are applying under this pathway, you would need to submit a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) application. For the RPL you must demonstrate how you acquired your ICT knowledge and submit 2 project reports.
Potential PR Pathway
Most ICT professional occupations are 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 your occupation 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 your employer for at least 3 years.
