South Australia Skilled Migration Program – 190 and 491 visa

South Australia Skilled Migration Program 2022-2023 – 190 and 491 visa

South Australia has opened its Skills Migration program for the financial year 2022 – 2023 and start receiving applications for 190 and 491 nominations.

For this financial year nomination allocation, South Australia has been allocated 2,700 places for 190 and 3,180 places for the 491 visa.

The state nomination requirement in South Australia, as always, is the most complex and difficult to navigate. However, it is also considered an opened and generous skilled migration program in Australia when this state opens its doors to applicants not residing in South Australia as well as offshore applicants.

There are several streams under which you can apply for a state nomination in South Australia, depending on your situation. However, there is a set of common requirements that you need to meet, and we will put these requirements in the simplest way.

To help address South Australia’s urgent skills shortages, Skilled & Business Migration is increasing its nominations of offshore skilled migrants during 2022-23, with over 1,100 candidates already nominated. South Australia is nominating offshore applicants from over 470 occupations.

Important Update – 2022-23 Skilled & Business Migration
programs now open

The 2022-23 General Skilled Migration (GSM) program is now open and the South Australian Government has published a revised skilled occupation list, outlining the skills it seeks to fill through overseas talent as well as migrants already living and working in South Australia.

The list is one of the nation’s most expansive, with skilled migrants, including our highly talented international graduates, able to seek state nomination from over 500 occupations.

The number of occupations open to overseas migrants has returned to pre-COVID pandemic levels with over 470 occupations this year, up from 380 in 2021-22.

The 2022-23 Skilled Migration Program will prioritise nominations for skilled migrants:

with backgrounds in in-demand industries, such as Health, ICT, Education, Engineering, Agribusiness and Trades, or
who can bring their skills to growing sectors such as Hi-Tech / Digital, Health and Life Sciences, Green Energy, Defence, Space and Cyber Security.

Humanitarian migrants seeking asylum in South Australia on the Safe Haven Enterprise visa (SHEV) are also set to benefit from more flexible pathways to permanent residency.

The state’s focus is to nominate migrants who are already living and working in South Australia—to retain those with in-demand skills—as well as nominating skilled and experienced migrants from overseas who can fill critical shortages.

Once a skilled migrant with the relevant skills and experience has been nominated by the South Australian Government, they are able to submit a visa application to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs.

Provisional subclass 491 visa requirement:

You have been working in your nominated occupation, or a related occupation, for the last 12 months in Greater Adelaide, or 6 months in regional South Australia
Greater Adelaide applicants – work experience must be full-time (at least 35 hours per week or 70 hours per fortnight)
Regional South Australia applicants – work experience must be at least 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight.

Common South Australia State Nomination Requirements

Factor	Detailed Requirements
Residency	· If you are in South Australia: you might be eligible to apply for almost all streams in the program. · If you are in Australia, but not in South Australia: you can only apply through the Talent & Innovator Employment Stream · If you are offshore: you can check the South Australia’s Skilled List to see which occupations are eligible for the state nomination.
Age	You must be under 45 at the time of nomination.
Occupation	Your occupation must be on the South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List. Note: each occupation might have their own set of requirements and you must meet these requirements.
Skills Assessment	You must have a valid positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation.
Work Experience	Work experience will depend on your nominated occupation. If you are required to meet work experience, it must be undertaken post-course completion, and must be at least 20 hours/ week. You might be waived the work experience in some circumstances.
English	English requirement varies depending on your occupation. However, the minimum English requirement is Competent English.
Points	Although the minimum points required by the Department of Home Affairs is 65 (including state nomination points), you might need to have high points as required by your nominated occupation.

South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List

Unlike the majority of other states/ territories in Australia, the requirement of Skilled Migration program in South Australia also depends heavily on which occupation you are nominating. The occupation list in South Australia not only informs you which occupations are eligible for the state nominations, but also shows you what requirements you have to meet. Navigating the occupational list in detail is important to understand:

What type of nomination you are eligible for: 491 or 190?
Which stream to apply under?
How many years of experience that you must have?
How many points do you have to earn to be eligible?
What is the English requirement?
Whether you can apply from offshore?

We have consolidated the occupation list of South Australia, together with their requirement in a simple way for your reference. You can access the list here.

South Australia’s Skilled Migration Stream

There are 3 priority streams in the program, and each stream has various categories:

Stream 1: Talent and Innovators program

The Talent and Innovators program allows the state to nominate applicants under one of the following five streams.

Employment stream: For highly skilled migrants who are working for South Australian businesses
Outer Regional South Australia workforce stream: For skilled applicants working for outer regional South Australian businesses (who do not qualify to apply directly for state nomination but wish to provide a submission for consideration)
Start up and small business stream: For entrepreneurial skilled migrants who have started their own business in South Australia
High performing graduate stream: For high performing graduates who have completed their qualification at a South Australian higher education institution
Independent talent stream: For high calibre applicants seeking state nomination

All occupations eligible for migration through state-nomination are available through the Talent and Innovators program. Successful applicants will demonstrate how they bring new ideas, skills and innovation to South Australia and can create local jobs.

Please note:

All applicants must meet the state nomination requirements and the Department of Home Affairs requirements for the subclass 491 or subclass 190 visa.
The Talent and Innovators program is currently unavailable to applicants applying from offshore.
The Talent and Innovators Employment stream is available to applicants in Australia. All other Talent and Innovator streams are only available to applicants residing in South Australia.

Stream 2: currently living and working in South Australia

There are concessions and waivers available and eligibility will be primarily dependent on:

How long you have been residing and working in South Australia.
Your nominated occupation
If you are living and working in outer regional South Australia

The requirement of the 3 categories vary as below

If you are currently living and working in South Australia, you might be eligible to apply for a state nomination if you meet the following requirements:
- You must be working at least 20 hours per week or 40 hours per fortnight in your nominated or closely related occupation in South Australia for the duration required for your nominated occupation.
- If you are applying for subclass 491 nomination, you must be currently working for the last 6 months in South Australia, unless specified differently for your occupation.
- If you are applying for subclass 190 nomination, you must be currently working for the last 12 months in South Australia, unless specified differently for your occupation.
If you are currently living and working in regional South Australia, you might have concessions to the work experience.
- If you are currently residing and working for the last 12 months in outer regional South Australia in any occupation (does not have to be a skilled occupation nor related to your nominated occupation) you may be eligible to be nominated for a 491 visa nomination.
- If you are currently residing and working for the last 24 months in outer regional South Australia in any occupation (does not have to be a skilled occupation nor related to your nominated occupation) you may be eligible to be nominated for 190 visa nomination.
If you are living and working in South Australia as a long term resident, you are generally only eligible for 491 nomination, unless your salary is at least AUD 80,000 per year. Long term means from 3 – 5 years depending on your current type of visa.

A plus point for this stream is that you do not need to work in your nominated occupation, however, the experience you have must be at skill level 1, 2 or 3. Lower skill level occupations such as cleaners, drivers, kitchenhands are not eligible.

Stream 3: International Graduates

To be eligible for the International Graduate of South Australia (SA Graduate) pathway, the following requirements apply:

Your South Australian course must be CRICOS registered, with a minimum of 46 CRICOS weeks
A minimum of 50% of your qualification must have been completed in South Australia
You must have resided in South Australia for at least one year during your period of study
You must have continuously resided in South Australia post-course completion
SA graduates must meet the specific work experience requirements listed for their nominated occupation unless specified differently for your occupation
You must be working at least 20 hours per week or 40 hours per fortnight in your nominated or closely related occupation in South Australia for the duration required for your nominated occupation, unless specified differently for your occupation. If you are working part time (less than 35 hours per week), you may be offered a 491 nomination.

Waivers to the skilled work experience requirements are available for selected SA graduates if you apply through the Talent and Innovators program – high performing graduate stream.

Application Process

Offshore Applications

To manage South Australia’s COVID recovery response, an additional 70 occupations will be open to applicants currently residing offshore from Tuesday 28 September 2021.

The minimum requirements for state nomination include at least 8 years work experience in the occupation or closely related occupation and a proficient plus English level. Full requirements for each occupation will be shown on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List from 28 September 2021.

For South Australian state nomination, prospective applicants must meet the Department of Home Affairs requirements, state-specific occupation requirements and have skills in an occupation that is available on our Skilled Occupation List. Offshore applicants meeting the minimum published requirements can lodge a Registration of Interest (RoI) from 28 September 2021.

Please note that state nomination is a competitive process. There is no guarantee of receiving an invitation to apply for state nomination after lodging an RoI, even if the minimum requirements are satisfied. South Australia cannot indicate the likelihood of invitation or answer enquiries on this matter.

Other states and nomination updates Skilled Occupation List Skilled Migration News

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Applying for a General Skilled Migration Visa can be confusing as there are small intricacies in migration law. To alleviate your stress and worry about how to apply for the visa, you can book a time with us to help you understand the processes to make sure that you are on the right track.