Australian migration,
from visa strategy to grant

In many cases a pathway remains open. English is not a requirement for migration as a whole; it is set separately for each visa.

Skilled visas (189 · 190 · 491) are points tested, so your English score converts directly into points; with a lower score the difficulty lies in receiving an invitation rather than in lodging. Employer sponsored visas set the requirement comparatively lower, and the threshold varies by occupation and stream. Partner visas do not require an English score at the application stage.

Several tests are accepted, including IELTS, PTE and TOEFL, and the conversion scales differ, so the same level of ability can produce different results depending on which test you sit. Show us your current results and we will set out which pathways are open at that score, and what you would need to raise, and by how much, to open others.

Age is a disadvantage, but it does not close the door on its own. The effect differs entirely depending on the pathway.

In points-tested skilled migration, the 25–32 age bracket attracts the highest age points, and points reduce from there. At 45 you can no longer apply for most skilled and employer sponsored permanent visas. That age limit applies at the time of application, so whether you lodge before a birthday can genuinely decide the outcome.

Family and partner visas, by contrast, have no age limit, and some visas provide age exemptions for particular occupations or long-term residents. Before giving up on the basis of age, it is worth checking whether there is a pathway you could still lodge within the time available.

Yes. Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) is the main pathway into the subclass 186 TRT stream. It is not automatic, though; you have to meet the requirements separately.

On the current framework, the TRT stream requires two years of work in the nominated position with the nominating employer within the last three years. Alongside the period worked, the assessment also considers whether the position being nominated is the same one held on the 482, and whether the employer intends to continue providing it on a full-time basis.

So in practice the decisive step is the occupation code (ANZSCO) chosen at the very start, when the work visa is lodged. If the code does not match the actual duties, or is one that works against a permanent transition, the problem surfaces after two years, by which point it is difficult to unwind. That is why the 482 stage should already be designed with permanent residence in view.

From 7 December 2024, subclass 482 changed from Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) to Skills in Demand (SID). The subclass number is the same, but a good deal of the substance has changed.

There are three main changes. First, the short-term (STSOL) and medium-term (MLTSSL) division was replaced by three streams: Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement. Second, occupation lists were consolidated into the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which brought in occupations that were not previously included. Third, the work experience requirement was relaxed to one year within the last five, and the period required for a permanent transition was shortened.

A case that was assessed as ineligible in the past may now produce a different answer. If you are working from advice received a few years ago, it is worth checking again.

65 points is only the minimum to lodge an Expression of Interest; it does not guarantee an invitation. This is where most of the misunderstanding arises.

In practice, invitations are commonly issued well above that mark, depending on how many applicants have accumulated in an occupation group. At the same 65 points, a less competitive occupation may be invited while a popular one may wait years without an invitation.

So a consultation does not stop at calculating your score. We look at whether an invitation is realistically achievable at your current score; which components you could raise (English, work experience, qualifications, state nomination, partner points); and whether there is an alternative that avoids the points competition altogether (190, 491 or employer sponsorship).

For points-tested skilled migration and the 186 Direct Entry stream it is effectively mandatory. Each occupation has a designated assessing authority, and the qualification and experience standards, and the document formats required, differ between them.

The issue that most often arises is how much of your experience is recognised. The number of years you count and the number the authority accepts frequently differ, and where a qualification does not align with the duties, whole periods can be excluded. Since this figure underpins the points calculation, an error here destabilises the entire plan.

Assessment outcomes have a validity period, and generally must be no more than three years old at the time of application. If you already hold one, start by checking the date of issue.

There is no state that is always the better option. Each state sets its own nomination criteria annually and changes them during the programme year, and the relative advantage flips entirely depending on where places were allocated that year.

Beyond the occupation list, most states impose additional requirements such as residence or employment history in the state, holding a job offer, English scores and settlement funds. Nomination also carries a commitment to live and work in that state for a period, so we do not recommend applying to a state you have no connection with purely on the points.

In a consultation we shortlist the states where nomination is realistic given your circumstances, and check whether the additional documents and residence requirements for each fit your actual plans.

The employer's willingness alone is not enough. There are separate requirements the business must meet, and cases do stall at that point.

There are four main things to check. Whether the business is genuinely operating and in a position to be approved as a sponsor; whether the position falls within a nominatable occupation; whether the salary offered clears both the market salary rate and the minimum income threshold; and, where required, whether the labour market testing (LMT) advertising requirements have been met.

One point to be clear about: the costs of sponsorship and nomination, including the Skilling Australians Fund levy, must legally be borne by the employer and cannot be passed on to you. If you have been asked to cover them, seek advice before proceeding.

Lodging your next application before the expiry date matters more than anything else. If you lodge before expiry, a bridging visa keeps your stay lawful while the application is assessed, and in most cases you can continue on conditions equivalent to your existing visa.

If you lodge after expiry, you become unlawful. That restricts onshore applications, and where you can apply you have to argue separately for a waiver of the Schedule 3 criteria, which raises both the difficulty and the cost considerably. An exclusion period may also apply.

If your current visa carries a condition such as 8503 (No Further Stay), you are barred from applying for another visa within Australia at all, and you must first apply to have the condition waived. If your expiry is approaching, contact us as soon as possible with your grant notice to hand.

It depends entirely on the reason for refusal. And before considering a fresh application, the first thing to establish is the deadline for a review application.

Where documents were incomplete or a point was not properly addressed, correcting and reapplying may be faster. But a refusal for providing false or misleading information (PIC 4020) bars an application altogether for a period, and a character-related refusal (Migration Act s501) affects every subsequent application.

Most refusal decisions can be taken to the ART for review, but the time limits are very short and the date they run from differs depending on the visa and how you were notified. Those limits are not extended for any reason. If you have received a refusal notice, contact us with the decision record. We will start with calculating the time you have left.

Both are assessed as separate requirements, and they sometimes cause problems in ways applicants do not anticipate.

The health requirement is assessed less on the condition itself than on whether it would result in significant cost to Australia's healthcare and community services. So a condition that does not affect daily life can still fall foul of it, and in some cases the health of family members who are not applying with you is also assessed. Depending on the visa, a health waiver may be available.

The character requirement in principle calls for police certificates from every country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the past ten years. Matters you consider long past, or believe to have been expunged, may still be disclosable, so rather than omitting them, it is safer to raise them at the consultation and prepare supporting material. A failure to disclose can itself escalate into a PIC 4020 issue.

Most visas allow you to include a spouse or de facto partner and dependent children in the application. Where they are granted together, they hold the same visa conditions.

Including family members does increase government charges per person, and each family member must meet the health and character requirements. If you have school-age children, public school fee arrangements vary by visa type and by state, so it is worth checking in advance.

There are also pathways for family to join you later, where you marry or a child is born after the visa is granted, for example, but the process and timing differ by visa. If you have plans in this area, telling us at the first application stage helps in setting the overall timeline.

You can, and in some cases you should. Where the requirements are clear and the documents straightforward, doing it yourself is the cheaper option.

Where we would suggest getting advice is any case turning on a judgement that is hard to reverse: choosing an occupation code, structuring relationship evidence, assessing whether sponsorship requirements are met, or lodging while unlawful. In cases like these, the cost of correcting a badly lodged application far exceeds the cost of engaging someone at the outset.

In a consultation we will also tell you if yours is a case you could handle yourself. If we do not think you need us, we will say so.

It varies considerably by visa type and by when you lodge, and the processing time statistics published by the Department change constantly. Promising a specific timeframe is not something any migration agent can honestly do.

That said, even for the same visa, applications lodged complete from the outset are decided noticeably faster. A single request for further information (RFI) adds the time taken to respond and pushes the case back in the queue, so submitting everything up front is in practice the fastest route.

In a consultation we will go through the current published processing times for your visa, along with the factors that could delay your particular case, such as obtaining overseas documents, health referrals, waiting on a skills assessment and so on.

You can attend without preparing anything. That said, the following material lets us give much more specific answers at the first consultation.

Your passport, the grant notice for your current visa, evidence of qualifications, employment references or a CV, and your English test results. If you have had a refusal or cancellation, the complete decision record matters most. If you are looking at employer sponsorship, the company name, the duties involved and the salary offered are useful.

Material provided is not used for any purpose other than the consultation and your application, and Registered Migration Agents are bound by the Code of Conduct to keep client information confidential.