In this section, you are going to learn what getting an Australia PR Visa means, what are the benefits of getting an Australian PR Visa and what is the best way of obtaining it.

Wondering what’s the best way of migrating to Australia?

Not surprisingly, Australia is considered by many as one of the best places to live although, it is an entirely separate continent with myriad cultures, unadulterated, breathtakingly beautiful landscapes and highly unique wildlife that for millions of years has remained separate from other continents.

Australia is an ideal place for couples planning to start a new life together. The Continental country has practically unlimited career opportunities, an excellent healthcare system and an education system that competes among the best in the world. It is also a multicultural country where people from all over the world have come and settled.

Nonetheless, just like any other country, you need to get a visa to come to Australia, seek employment and then explore permanent residence possibilities.

1. Australia PR Visa explained!!

In terms of the visa, PR stands for Permanent Residency. Hence, if you are seeking an Australia PR Visa, you’re seeking an Australian permanent residency visa.

2. What does this visa mean? What does it entail?

The PR Visa for Australia allows you to seek employment, stay, and settle in Australia for a period of five years. During these five years, you can leave and re-enter Australia without much problem. After this period of five years, you need to reapply for the travel facility.

3. What are the benefits of having a permanent resident visa in Australia?

An Australia PR visa comes with many benefits and advantages, including

• You can live, work and settle anywhere in Australia.
• You are officially permitted to bring your family members to Australia.
• Your children get free education up to a certain age.
• You can sponsor relatives for the permanent residential status.
• You and your family get many work and health-related benefits.
• You can go and work anywhere in Australia.

Let’s go over the benefits in a little bit of detail.

From a health point of view, one of the biggest benefits of getting a permanent resident visa in Australia is that you are eligible to get major benefits from the government’s various healthcare schemes. As the holder of the Australia PR visa, you are entitled to Medicare, the health insurance scheme provided by the Australian authorities.

When you move to another country, taking care of your health is one of the major issues and people are concerned because the expenses in a foreign land can be unpredictable and Medicare can be a big relief. In many countries, work-related Visa is region-specific, which is not the case in Australia. Once you have been granted the PR visa, you can work anywhere in Australia, in any legitimate company or business establishment. Not only seek employment, you can also study in any university or college of your choice.

4. What are the different categories of Australia Permanent Visa?

The various type of Australia PR visa that Indians can choose Indians to have the following choices when it comes to opting for the most appropriate visa category:

• Subclass 189: Skilled Independent visa
• Subclass 190: Skilled Nominated Visa
• Subclass 489: Skilled regional visa
• Subclass 890: Business visa
• Subclass 132: Business talent visa
• Subclass 891: Investor visa
• Spouse visa, child visa, and parent visa

A visa is a document that the host country gives you so that you can enter the country. It specifies exactly what all you can do while you are inside the host country, in this case, Australia, and for how long you can stay.

5. If you want to go to Australia, there are mainly 6 types of visa that you can get, namely

• Student visa
• Tourist visa
• Work visa
• Temporary entry visa
• Visitor visa
• Refugee and humanitarian visa

Even among these types, there are many sub-types that you can apply for.

6. You can get an Australian permanent resident visa for the following purposes:

• You are a skilled person
• You need to migrate due to your business or you are setting up a business in Australia
• Other than these conditions, you can also get an Australia PR Visa if
• You need to join your family in Australia having a resident or citizen status in the country.
• You have a distinguished talent that can prove to be an asset for Australia
• You are the beneficiary of some employers nominated scheme
• You are a candidate for the Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS)
• You qualify as a beneficiary of various humanitarian reasons including refugee status, or when you’re seeking asylum.

When you get a PR Visa in Australia, although you are considered as a resident of Australia, you’re not a citizen of Australia. You can apply for Australian citizenship after four years of stay or having formal employment or business after three years (after the initial five years).You can enjoy many privileges with your Australian PR visa including civil rights that are available to other Australian citizens and access to free or subsidized legal and health services.

7. How long does your Australian PR Visa, once you get it, last?

Five years from the date it is granted. After that, you may have two obtain the Five-Year Resident Return Visa. You can spend another four years in the country to apply for the citizenship or you can work – in an official capacity – in a company or an Australian business for three years to be able to apply for citizenship.

8. What makes you eligible to the Australia permanent resident visa? What are the eligibility criteria?

Eligibility criteria are used for multiple purposes: every country wants a productive workforce that doesn’t become a burden on the state. On the other hand, countries like Australia also want to attract talent that creates job opportunities and also contributes to the nation’s GDP. This is why a certain set of criteria is expected of people applying for the Australian permanent resident visa. The eligibility criteria also depend on the type of visa you are seeking.

The broad criteria guidelines that will make you eligible are listed below:

• Age: You should be over 18 and under 45 years.
• Language Proficiency: You should be able to converse in the English language in a basic manner and should also be able to read English at least up to a competent level.
• Minimum Qualification: In case of a work visa, minimum qualification from a globally accredited and recognized institution or university, is needed.
• Medical Fitness: You should be mentally and physically fit and a certificate will be required by a recognized and certified authority.
• Work Experience: If you are applying for a visa as a skilled immigrant then you will need to have proof of your work experience. For example, if you are migrating to Australia as an IT professional, you will need to furnish proof of your prior experience as form if “Referral letter”, which outline your roles and responsibilities.
• Points Test Score: You need to score at least 65 points in the visa-type-specific point-based selection system.

Your immigration consultant will make sure that you have all your documents in order; you have all the information needed by the Australian authorities. Remember that a migration agent helps people successfully immigrate to Australia on an ongoing basis. He knows the ins and outs. He is dealing with the paperwork all the time. Something that you may discover after lots of trial and error, he already knows. For a fee, he/she will also submit your documents at all the necessary places. He increases the success of your visa application manifold.

9. How long does it take for Australian immigration?

The timelines to successfully get an Australia permanent resident visa depends on the accuracy of the information that you have submitted, the type of visa you want, the number of applications being processed at a particular time, and your nationality. It may take anywhere between 8-12 months for you get your Australia permanent residency though, it may depend on the following factors:

• The accuracy of the application and the documents that you have submitted or the lack of it.
• The type of visa you are applying for.
• The number of places covered in your work/study visa application.
• Official delays due to various unavoidable circumstances.
• Time spent on to-and-fro communication.
• The number of people applying for Australia PR visa when you are applying.

It’s prudent to plan accordingly. This means, if you want to be in Australia in July 2020, you should start interacting with a qualified migration consultant by April-May 2019.

10. How much does it cost to get a permanent residence visa in Australia?

At the current exchange rates, if you want to get the Australia permanent resident visa from India, the processing part should cost you anywhere around 1,90,000 Indian rupees. It also depends on the nature of the visa you are trying to obtain, the number of members planning to travel to Australia and the accuracy of your documents. The cost may increase if the documents need to be processed multiple times. All in all, the total cost may vary between 300,000-400,000 Indian rupees.

The following expenses will be incurred during the process:

• Government visa processing fees for primary, secondary and child applicants
• Various skill assessment tests – these may vary according to the skills you choose for your visa and the number of tests you need to take.
• English language assessment
• State sponsorship
• Medical test fees.
• Visa label fees.

11. What about starting a business while you have a PR visa? 

Since you enjoy most of the rights and privileges (barring a few such as voting or joining the forces) available to an Australian citizen, you can start a business, but you will need to obtain a business visa and seek other clearances from various local jurisdictions. In terms of permanently moving to Australia, the biggest advantage of obtaining a PR visa is that you can stay, work or study in Australia just like any other citizens, and after five years, you can roll out the process of obtaining the citizenship status. Another great attraction is that if you have a family your kids can avail many educational facilities available in Australia, including free education.

Additionally, if your children are born in Australia during your PR visa duration, they automatically become permanent residents of Australia.

12. What is the process of getting an Australian PR visa?

Luckily, if you work with a visa consultant who has been helping people migrate to Australia for years, the process of obtaining a PR visa can be not just minimized, but also hastened.

Here is a brief description of the process of obtaining a PR visa if you are planning on migrating to Australia:

Choose the appropriate visa: How do you want to go to Australia? Do you want to go as a student to pursue higher studies? Do you want to get a job? Do you want to open a business? Do you want to join your family? Are you getting a sponsored or a non-sponsored visa? If you apply for your visa through an immigration consultant, he will be able to give you the appropriate advice.

Check your eligibility: As mentioned above, you need to be below 45 years of age and above 18 years to able to apply for a PR visa for Australia. You should be able to read and write in English. You should be medically fit. You must have a certain bank balance (if you are invited by the Australian territory government). You must have the corresponding qualification if you are applying for a skill-based visa.

Select your occupation from the Consolidated Skilled Occupation List (CSOL):  After interviewing you, your immigration consultant can guide you in the right direction and help you choose the right skill for yourself.

Gather all the needed documents and reports: There is a list of documents that are needed to initiate your visa process and you must have them ready to speed it up.

• Goes without saying, you will need your passport.
• You will need the score of your English Proficiency Test.
• You will need your birth certificate.
• You will need to arrange for your qualification documents.
• If you are married, you will need your marriage certificate.
• If you are divorced, you will need your divorce papers.
• If you’re taking children, you will need to show the evidence of your parental custody.
• Employment references.
• Tax returns and payment slips.
• You will need passport size photographs.
• Any other documents suggested by your immigration consultant.

Apply for EOI: This stands for Express of Interest. You will need to enter this in the online skill set system of Australia, mentioning your details such as your age, your education, your work experience, and your English-speaking abilities. The system will generate points for you, and you must get at least 65 points to receive the “invitation to apply”.

Health clearance: You must get health certificates and clearances from a recognized health authority or health care professional. For that, you may have to go through certain medical examinations and additional health checks.

Apply for the visa online: You can apply for your Australian PR visa online either on your own or with the help of your immigration consultant. This may take around 60 days.

All your details are verified and evaluated: This is a process that takes the maximum amount of time because your papers and documents will go through various departments in Australia and not every communication happen through electronic communication yet. Lots of correspondence may happen through snail mail and this takes lots of time.

Your visa is approved: If everything is in order your visa will be approved. If something is amiss, you will be notified and you may need to submit the missing information or in case there is some error, you will need to get rid of that error and resubmit your application. This process may take around 3-5 months.

Leave for Australia: After getting your visa, you will need to depart within six months.

13. What are the India-specific requirements that need to be met for you to be able to apply for an Australian PR visa?

Indians are welcome in Australia as they are a hard-working, career-minded and highly educated community, but the Australian embassy or consulate has different agreements with different countries regarding immigration and this may have an impact on what all you need to do to be able to obtain a PR visa. If you fall in these categories, you will need related documents. As mentioned above, you will also need to show a minimum bank balance in your account. Other than these minor details, most of the requirements that are needed by any other person in any other country, is also needed in India if you are applying for an Australian PR visa.

14. What occupations are available to you in Australia for your PR visa?

The occupations list is called “Consolidated Skilled Occupation List”, or CSOL. You can get a complete list on this link on our website.

15. What are the chances of your Australian PR visa being rejected?

If you go through an established immigration agency or a visa consultant, there is little chance that your application will be rejected. In most of the cases, it happens if there are problems with your documents if some documents are missing or if they think that you have misrepresented yourself.

There is no need to worry. As long as you have a clean record and you believe that you are eligible to apply for a PR visa, you can apply for a review. We will assist you to apply for a PR visa for Australia as an individual or family.

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