1. What criteria do I have to meet to apply for a Skilled Regional
Sponsored visa?
2. Can I be sponsored by the NSW Government and live in Sydney?
3. Where can I settle in regional area of NSW?
4. Do I need to have specific skills
to qualify for sponsorship for the Skilled Regional Sponsored visa?
5. Skilled Regional Sponsored visa is a provisional visa. How
do I qualify for permanent residence?
6. How do I apply?
7. How do I get my skills assessed
by an Australian assessing authority?
1. What criteria do I have to meet to apply for a Skilled Regional Sponsored visa?
You need to be:
- under 45 years of age
- have vocational level English language skills
- score 100 points on the DIAC points test
- have your skills recognised by the appropriate Australian assessing
authority
- be prepared to live and work in regional NSW on a long term basis.
2. Can I
be sponsored by the NSW Government and live in Sydney?
No. Under the Skilled
Regional Sponsored visa program you commit to live and work in
regional areas of NSW.
3.
Where can I settle in regional area of NSW?
You can settle in regions
of NSW that participate in the Skilled Regional Sponsored visa program. Currently
the participating regions are Riverina, Orana, Central
West, Hunter, New England and North West, Murray and
Capital Regions. You cannot settle on the mid north coast
or
far north coast of NSW. The Illawarra region will try
to identify employers to sponsor migrants with skills
in demand in Wollongong and Port Kembla.
4. Do I need
to have specific skills to qualify for sponsorship
for the Skilled Regional Sponsored visa?
Yes. You need to be qualified
with skills in short supply in regions of NSW. There
are shortages in over 60 occupations listed in the SkilledRegional Sponsored
notices supplied by NSW regions on the DSRD web site.
5. Skilled Regional Sponsored visa is
a provisional visa. How do I qualify for permanent
residence?
Most Skilled Regional Sponsored visa holders in NSW will be sponsored by their employer for
permanent residence under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS).
From 1 September 2007, regional employers can
sponsor Skilled Regional Sponsored visa holders for permanent residence immediately, ie they do not have
to wait for two years on the Skilled Regional Sponsored visa.
From 1 September 2007, Skilled Regional Sponsored visa holders who have lived and worked in
regional NSW for two years can apply directly to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for a Skilled Regional
887 permanent residence visa.
6. How do
I apply?
NSW has delegated the sponsorship authority for this visa to each regional office.
Follow the instructions on their notice, complete NSW Form R and pay the application fee.
7. How do
I get my skills assessed by an Australian assessing
authority?
See DIAC Form 1121i (www.immi.gov.au)
for a list of Australian assessing authorities. Trades
Recognition Australia (TRA) and Vocational Education
and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) are the
assessing authorities for most skills. |
