Getting to Australia

Gone are the days when you just jumped on a boat and turned up.

Now things are a little more tricky. In this very straight forward and quick guide, I’ll run through 6 ways to emigrate to Australia. Please be aware this post was written March 2009 and although I do try to keep it up-to-date, it is always wise to doublecheck over at border.gov.au/.

Employer Sponsored Workers

If you can find an employer who is prepared to offer you a job, this can be the quickest way to get your first foot into Australia. It can easily lead to a permanent residency. Work for the same employer for two years, keep your nose clean and apply for residency.

This works for approved skills only and provided the employer can satisfy the government that no Australian worker is available for the job. For highly skilled jobs it is possible to come straight in on a permanent visa, dependant upon available schemes.

Professionals and other Skilled Migrants

Or the General Skilled Migration programme, as it is also known. This for those over 18 and under 45 years old (Update: Now 50 I believe) who speak good English. The jobs lists are a bit of a minefield but there seems to be the Skilled Occupation List (SOL), Critical Skills List (CSL), Employer Nominated Skilled Occupation List (ENSOL) and the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL).

Confused? Yep. Me too. The easy answer is at the end of this article, so don’t panic.

Business People

Again, I believe this option is only available to those over 18 and under 45 years of age (Update: Now 50 I believe). Known as a Business Skills Visa, you will need to establish or invest in an Australian business.

Provided your business successfully complies with the requirements, for example, by employing the necessary number of Australians, this too can lead to permanent residency. I believe buying a franchise can work.

Doctors and Nurses

There is a shortage of both doctors and nurses and as such there are many opportunities for those with qualifications to move to Australia on a permanent basis. I have more information which doctors, nurses, dentists and other medical professionals might find useful. Please visit my page about nursing in Australia.

Investor Retirement

Finally, if you are over 55 and without dependants, excluding your spouse, and can prove you are self funded, it is possible to retire in Australia. You will not get a permanent residency but you do get a four year visa. You can re-apply each time it is up for renewal and as long as you still satisfy the requirements, it is likely to be renewed.

Update: I think the conditions that apply these visas has now changed, check out border/retirement visas for more up-to-date information.

Working Holiday Visa (WHV)

The Working Holiday Visa is clearly not permanent. But for those aged between 18 and 30 it’s a fantastic way of visiting the country to see if you like it. You are allowed to work for the entire period if you wish, although you can only work for a maximum of six months with any one employer.

However, if you have a skill which is in demand here, then coming over for 12 months and demonstrating your skills to a number of employers may well lead to a Employer Sponsored job offer. This could be one of the fastest ways to get here in small steps. Holiday Visa – Sponsored Visa – Permanent Visa.

The WHV and the similar Work and Holiday visas are only available to passport holders from qualifying countries, at the time of writing (see the Australian Government website for updates) they are…

WHV: Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Work and holiday: Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the USA.

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This is not intended as an exhaustive list or even an authoritative guide. A couple of pages to give you an overview is never going to tell the whole story. And that’s all this is. An overview. The rules change all the time and they are extremely complex.

For example, the government announced a reduction in the nation’s skilled migration intake at one point. The building and manufacturing trades were the ones hit. The idea was that companies would have to find bricklayers, plumbers, welders and carpenters domestically to combat the downturn in the building trade. But even so, employers who can’t find workers locally can still go abroad for them.

If you want to see how complex it all gets, head over to immi and take a look around. You can see all the latest job lists and see how the points system works. There is a pretty good search box top right that usually goes to what you have asked for.

Getting Professional Assistance

And I mentioned an easy answer to all the complications earlier. Get a Migration Agent. Make sure they are MARA (Migration Agents Registration Authority) registered. They know all this stuff inside and out.

I now have such an agent working with me on this website, I’ve known him since late 2011. He is very good at what he does and can give you a professional assessment based on the exhaustive information he will ask you to provide.