Australia follows a point based immigration system to migrate the potential applicants under Australia Skilled Immigration program. Every visa under  has different processing time which varies application to application.

Here, in this blog we will discuss about the processing time of Skilled Regional Nominated Visa 489 which is a point based provisional visa.

Australia skilled regional provisional visa subclass 489 allows skilled migrant to live and work in a specified or regional area of Australia to obtain permanent residence. This visa is valid for 4 years and is a pathway to the Australian Permanent Residency visa. To be able to apply for visa subclass 489, you must be either nominated by a state/territory government or sponsored by an eligible relative.

An applicant granted this subclass is required to live in the regional area of Australia for at least 2 years and work for at least a year in the area which nominated the applicant for Australia 489 visa. After meeting the certain requirements, an applicant can apply for the Australian permanent residency visa.

How much time is required for subclass visa 489 to get processed?

The processing time is decided by The Department of Immigration and Border Protection for all the visa subclasses. Below mentioned is the step by step procedure for 489 visa and the tentative processing time.

  • Stage 1: Check your nominated occupation is listed on Australia’s occupational demand list or not.

It takes no time to see whether your occupation is on Australia demand list or not. The list mentions the occupations that are highly in need in the Australia labour market.

  • Stage 2: check your eligibility requirements

To see whether you are eligible to apply for Australia subclass visa 489, you must meet the following requirements:

1.  Your age must be under 45 years of age

2.  You must have taken language proficiency test and score at least 7 bands in each of IELTS module. The test results usually come out in 12-13 days.

3.  You must have taken skill assessment test and receive a positive skill assessment report – it takes around 2-3 months to get your skill assessment report results depending upon your profession.

4.  You must score a minimum of 60 points in Australia point assessment grid. The points are calculated for age, educational qualification, work experience, relevant skills, language proficiency and other factors.

Score can be checked using Australia Point Calculator

 

  • Stage-3 : submit an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect online

You must submit expression of interest through online selects. The skillselect asks you a series of questions based on your educational profile, work history and related history. Your EOI will be reviewable by the Australian government authorities as well as Australian employers. It takes around 15 days approximately to get results of Expression of Interest. However, the time varies depending upon the profession and occupation. If the government likes your profile, you will receive a letter of nomination from state/territory

Stage-4: after receiving an Invitation to Apply for further application, you can continue with the DIBP stage of application. You will have to wait for at least one month to get your visa application processed.

Stage-5: Wait for the decision

DIBP (Department of Immigration and Border Protection) can take 15 days to several months to make a decision on your visa application.

Thus, you need to be patient throughout the Australian regional provisional subclass process.

The above mentioned processing time can vary depending upon:

  • The number of applications received to the immigration department
  • Complexity of cases
  • Failure to provide complete and accurate information
  • The number of available positions in skilled migration visa subclass 489
  • Any further query asked by the immigration department

Therefore, as per DIBP:

  • 75 per cent of applications are processed within 7 months
  • 90 per cent of applications are processed within 9 months

If you wish to know more about Australia 489 visa, your chance to migrate to Australia, eligibility criteria, Australia PR Processing time, it is suggested to fill the free assessment form. Contact the visa experts of Aptech Global at 7503832132 or mail your query at info@aptechvisa.com

Also Read: I Want to Work in Australia. How Can I Get a Job Offer Letter?