Top skilled Australian visa routes for South Africans and how to apply

When Australia announced its 2022-23 Migration Programme planning levels earlier this week, it revealed large increases in the visa quotas for skilled Australian visas, which will make up 70% of the total visas available.

• The Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa saw a 39% increase
• The Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190) saw a 79% increase
• The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) saw a 123% increase, and
• The Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) saw a whopping 156% increase.

MARA-registered agent, Sam Hopwood, hosted a webinar on 17 August about his favourite skilled visa types and how paths to permanent residency work. Find the transcript and video playback below.

Join us for the next webinar on 27 September on paths to migration through studying in Australia.

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This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Topic navigation

• Introduction
• Why Australia?
• How to qualify for an Australian skilled visa
• Skilled Independent (subclass 189)
• State Nominated (subclass 190)
• Regional State Nominated (subclass 491)
• Q&A

Episode transcript

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Sam Hopwood: Welcome everyone to our webinar on Australian migration. We are really happy that you've joined us. Firstly, an introduction. I'm Sam Hopwood. I've been with the business for 17 years now. I'm the managing director of Sable International Australia. I'm a Registered Migration Agent. I've been practicing Australian migration law for the past 15-odd years, started my career in London and now I'm based here in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. And I'll be I'll be leading the webinar today, but I've also got my esteemed colleague with me, Jamie.

Jamie-Lee le Roux: Hi everybody. I'm Jamie. I'm a immigration consultant and caseworker within our Australia migration team here in Cape Town. I work very closely with Sam and I've been with the business now for almost four years. It's a very exciting space to work in. I'd be your first point of contact. Calling us up, you'd speak with me, and I can assist with all the visas that we're going to be discussing today. So please feel free to give me a call or pop me an email at the end of this and I'd be more than happy to hear from you and help you.

Why Australia?

Sam: So, Jamie made me put this in here. Why Australia? Because she's like, "We should explain how good Australia is". And I'm like, "Everyone knows, don't they?".

(And I can hear everyone in the webinar going, "Oh, that typical Aussie. So arrogant!")

So, why Australia? Australia ranks very high on different livability concepts like job security, health, happiness, prosperity and safety. But more than that, I think, from a South African's point of view, it's because, as a people, we're very similar to South Africans. We speak the same language, which helps when you're migrating to another country. I understand you speak more languages than just English. There are a lot of languages in your culture, but predominantly, the English language is spoken in your country and ours. And that makes migrating easy.

But more than just the English language. It's what we do. We play cricket, you play cricket. We play rugby. You play rugby better than us. We have barbecues and you have braais. You know, what we do is very similar. I've been traveling to South Africa for over 15 years now. And when I ask people why they've chosen Australia to migrate to, it's often those reasons. We all enjoy outdoors and similarities are many, so I think that's why people choose Australia over other destinations.

Choosing the right visa option

So how do we get there? What's the right visa for me? This space is confusing to people because there's so many to choose from, from independent skills visas, state nominated visas, regional visas, employer nominated visas, business visas, investor visas, student visas, partner visas, parent visas, visitor visas.. the list goes on.

I think at last count, there were like 102 different visas in the list to choose from. And I think, when you go on to the department of Home Affairs website and you look at working visas, there's like 20 different working visas that you could choose from.

I think at last count, there were like 102 different visas in the list to choose from. And I think, when you go on to the department of Home Affairs website and you look at working visas, there's like 20 different working visas that you could choose from.

So, today we're going to give you just a couple of visas that are popular for South Africans and will explain to you why they are popular and important concepts within those visas that you need to concentrate on. What I should say also is that we're happy to field questions throughout the webinar.

Note: questions have been grouped together at the bottom of this post. Jump to Q&A.

So, today I'm going to concentrate on general skilled migration. General, skilled migration is the way in which the majority of people who have migrated from South Africa to Australia did it, through a skilled visa. And they probably did it through one of these three visas that I'm going to be talking to you about today.

How to qualify for an Australian skilled visa

In order to qualify for any one of these three visas, you need to:

• be under the age of 45
• work in a skilled occupation on a skilled occupation list
• have your skills assessed, which means that you need to have a positive skills assessment in that occupation
• pass an English language test
• pass health and character requirements

And these are all points tested. So you're only going to get invited to apply for one of these visas if you score sufficient points. It's important to note that you can't just go and apply for one of these visas, you need to be invited to apply. All these visas require that you complete what's referred to as an expression of interest. It's kind of like throwing your hat in the ring, as they say.

Every month the Department of Home Affairs decides who they're going to invite from that database. So they kind of cherry pick the best of the best in certain occupations and with certain points.

Basically an expression of interest (or an EOI) is you putting your information into a very large database. And every month the Department of Home Affairs decides who they're going to invite from that database. So they kind of cherry pick the best of the best in certain occupations and with certain points in order to migrate.

Skilled Independent (subclass 189)

Now the first thing that you need to know when you're talking about visas for Australia is that we talk in subclasses. So every visa has its subclass, and its subclass is determined or defined by a numerical number. So 189 is what we refer to as a Skilled Independent visa.

As the name suggests, this visa is independent of any nomination criteria. You are free to live anywhere and work in any profession. This visa was the visa that traditionally everyone was trying to get and that a lot of people were successful in getting. I think, historically, they used to issue like 40,000 of these a year. And if you scored 65 points, and you were an accountant and or another occupation which was on the list, chances were you could get a 189.

As the name suggests, this visa is independent of any nomination criteria. You are free to live anywhere and work in any profession.

Now, what happened is that the government fell out of love with subclass 189, because it wasn't delivering targeted skills into the areas of Australia that Australia needed. So they reduced the numbers of visas that they were providing. The good news is they're going to increase the planning levels from 65,000, last year, to 16,652 this year.

A really important concept to understand is that our federal government announces and plans for how much migration will come into Australia. And at the start of our financial year, which starts in July, they issue quotas to each of the states. Now we have seven different states and territories in Australia. And just this week, I'm talking just days ago, the states and territories have been in receipt of their quotas for the next 12 months. So the 16,652 visas in this visa category have just been announced this week, and will be available for the next 12 months until they are basically all taken up.

Recent examples of successful occupations in this visa category include: nurses (all types of nurses, because there's a there's a worldwide shortage of nurses and everyone's looking for them), general practitioners, childcare managers, early childhood teachers and university lecturers.

So, if you're a nurse on 65 points, applying for a 189, the chances of you being selected are reasonably good. Whereas if you're an accountant, applying for 189 and you've got 100 points, the nurse is going to beat you every day of the week at the moment because that occupation is higher in demand.

It's a permanent visa, which means that you're a permanent resident, and you can do whatever you want, as far as work is concerned.

Someone has asked if you have to stick to the profession that you've applied under within the 189 visa? No. No, you don't. And that's an important concept and I think it's part of the reason why the government fell out of love with 189. Because you had people who came to Australia, under a certain occupation, they were provided a visa based on the fact that they were, for example, a nurse. And then, when they got here, they decided to go and do something else, which is not nursing related. So that's not delivering the skills that Australia was after. So, no. It's a permanent visa, which means that you're a permanent resident, and you can do whatever you want, as far as work is concerned.

State Nominated (subclass 190)

This is my new favorite visa. This is what the majority of people should be aiming for. This is a visa that the government is now in love with. And this is how the government believes they are going to deliver skills to particular parts of Australia, which they are in need of.

So, this visa is different to 189 insofar as this visa requires that you are sponsored by a state government. Don't be confused about the word "sponsored." It's not being sponsored in a financial sense. The state government is providing you a nomination and that nomination means that you will get an invitation to apply for a visa. But that's where the support stops. They're not going to provide you with a job, they're not going to provide you with housing, they're not going to, you know, shower you in presents and gold and all that sort of stuff.

The state government is providing you a nomination and that nomination means that you will get an invitation to apply for a visa. But that's where the support stops. They're not going to provide you with a job, they're not going to provide you with housing, they're not going to, you know, shower you in presents and gold and all that sort of stuff.

So, what the state governments do is they survey their local labour market requirements. And, based on those requirements, they then devise their own lists. And if your occupation is on one of their lists, and you meet their criteria, then chances are you might be lucky enough to be nominated by that state.

Then at the point in time that you are nominated by the state government, you will then be provided with an invitation to apply for subclass 190. You've got 60 days in which to submit your application once you've been nominated. Once the visa is granted, you're granted a permanent visa, so you're a permanent resident on the day that you arrive.

Just like with the 189 visa, you don't have to work in your profession. You can work in any profession you want. So the state government is taking a chance on you, they're taking a little gamble, I guess, that you will work in your occupation when you get to Australia. Now, in turn, you've got to agree to live and work in that state for at least two years. So they're giving you something and they want you to give them something, which is a guarantee that you will live and work in that state for the next two years.

So they're giving you something and they want you to give them something, which is a guarantee that you will live and work in that state for the next two years.

Jamie-Lee: A common question that we get is  is there any one state that's easier to get into? If I just want to get to Australia, what state's going to give me that option?

Which state or territory is best to apply for?

Sam: "Give me the easy state. I want to get into the easy state." Yeah, I understand the reason why people ask this question. And I get asked that question as well, because people just want to get into Australia.

My response to that question is: yes, some states are easier than others. And the reason some states are easier than others is because some states are more popular than others. So you've got really popular states like New South Wales. Sydney is in New South Wales. It's the largest city in Australia and it's really pretty. People want to go live in Sydney, go to the famous beaches, all the rest of it. And it's a big city, there's a lot of jobs and opportunities. Similarly, here in Melbourne, where I am, in Victoria, it's a very popular state. A lot of people want to migrate to Victoria. So those states, which are more popular, like New South Wales, and Victoria, make it more difficult for you to migrate there because they can be very specific in the type of skills they're looking for and the type of people they're looking for. And they have a big, big group of people to choose from.

See also: Living in Australia: Cost of living in Adelaide vs Sydney

Whereas states like Western Australia or South Australia are less popular, and therefore it's easier for people to get into those particular states. As I said earlier, there's seven different states and territories. They all have their own lists. They all have their own criteria. And we as Migration Agents are here to hopefully provide you a service, which includes finding out which state you might qualify for and where the opportunities lie for you.

I'll give you an example of how people who sometimes tackle this themselves come undone. And that is when they apply to be nominated by a state government. The application form asks you which states you would like to be considered by, and then you can take all states. New South Wales will not nominate you, even if you're someone they really want like a nurse, if you've ticked all states in your nomination form.

They're not going to nominate you because New South Wales wants you to have specified that you wish to migrate to New South Wales. They want you to make them feel special. They want you say that you only want to migrate to New South Wales because you've researched New South Wales and there's a reason why you want to go there.

I'm not going to put you into the easiest state, I'm going to put you into the state where you've got best chance of success.

So, no, there's not an easy state. There are easier states, but from my point of view, I'm not going to put you into the easiest state, I'm going to put you into the state where you've got best chance of success. And what we're going to do for you is make sure that when we present your application to one of the state governments, they will look upon you as favorably as possible.

And the great news about this is the quotas have been increased from 11,200 places last year to 20,000 places this year. So there's 20,000 spots up for grabs through State Nominated 190 visas.

Regional State Nominated (subclass 491)

Now, when I say "regional", in your mind, you're thinking of a great sandy desert, you're thinking of the Outback. You're thinking massive creepy crawlies and spiders and snakes. Yes, the Outback is considered regional. Of course it is. But there're a lot of very beautiful towns and cities in regional areas.

If you know where the Gold Coast is, if you know where the Sunshine Coast is, these are considered to be regional areas, which are an hour's drive from a major metropolitan city, Brisbane. So there're lots of beautiful regional areas.

I grew up in a regional area. My mum and dad live in a regional area. It's a town of 40,000 people, a beautiful place to go to school and to grow up. And, you know, a lot of people would be be very happy there. So that's the first thing I'll say about the regions: don't be put off by the word "region". Someone's asked if Townsville in Queensland would be regional. Absolutely. Townsville is considered a regional area. I've just come back from holidays from Queensland, not too far away from Townsville. And yes, it's a regional area. And what a lifestyle! Queensland is sunny all the time. It's winter here in Australia right now. In Melbourne it dark, grey, clouds cold. I've just been to sunny Queensland where it's like 22 degrees in wintertime. It's beautiful. It's like Durban, basically.

I grew up in a regional area. My mum and dad live in a regional area. It's a town of 40,000 people, a beautiful place to go to school and to grow up. And, you know, a lot of people would be be very happy there. So that's the first thing I'll say about the regions: don't be put off by the word region.

All right, less babbling more talking about subclass 491. So, this is also a state nominated visa similar to subclass 190. The main difference is that this is a temporary visa. So you do not enter Australia as a permanent resident, you come in as a temporary visa holder. But it has a defined pathway from temporary to permanent.

So, what they've done in the state governments is they have built even more precise skills lists based on local regional labour market shortages. And if you're on one of their lists in one of their regions, then chances are you might get nominated by one of the state governments for subclass 491.

So you'll get a visa which is valid for five years. You need to come to Australia, you need to live and work in that regional area, before you can then apply to become a permanent resident of Australia. The good news is they've increased the quota for subclass 401 from 11,200 places last year to 25,000 places this year. So this gives you an idea of how important the Australian government believes populating the regions even further and sending more skilled applicants to the regions is.

What you'll find with regional migration is that there will be occupations on the regional lists, which you will not find on the 190 and 189 lists. For example, you will find "cafe and restaurant manager" on a 491 list, you won't find that on 190 list, guaranteed. You'll find "graphic designer" on a 491 list, you won't find that on a 190 list. So, if you're a skilled person, but you're not on a 189 list, because that's like the creme de la creme of all the lists, then you need to go looking on the 190 lists, and then on the 491 lists.

Jamie-Lee: Interestingly enough, with the 491, you actually have access to public health care, which I know is a massive positive for a lot of South Africans looking to relocate because health care, private health care in particular, in Australia can be incredibly expensive.

Sam: So with the other skilled subclasses, 189 and 190, you enter Australia as a permanent resident. And as a permanent resident of Australia, you have access to our Medicare system, right? All permanent visas in Australia have access to our Medicare system. Most temporary visas don't have access to Medicare. However, they changed the rules on the Regional State Nominated visas a little while ago. Now, when you come to Australia on a 491, whilst you are a temporary resident, you do have full access to our Medicare system, which is of real benefit. And as a skilled migrant coming to Australia, you should have those rights, and you should have access to those types of things. Because you bring a lot to Australia. And the Australian Government should give you a little bit back also.

See also: Australian public schools – who pays and who does not?

Jamie-Lee: A lot of South Africans hear "temporary" and it's concerning. They don't want to pack up their whole lives and move on a temporary visa if they don't know for sure I'll get permanent residency. If you apply for the 491, is there any guarantee that you'll qualify for permanent residency?

They've structured this visa so that they make sure that you go and live and work in a regional area for a lengthy period of time. So the government is hoping that you will ingrain yourself in that community, the kids will go to school there, you'll get a job there, you'll buy a house there. And over a period of time, you'll love the area and you won't want to leave.

Sam: As long as you come to Australia, and you live and you work here in a regional area whilst holding the 491 visa, you can then apply for the permanent visa, which is subclass 887. Basically, they've structured this visa so that they make sure that you go and live and work in a regional area for a lengthy period of time.

So the government is hoping that you will ingrain yourself in that community, the kids will go to school there, you'll get a job there, you'll buy a house there. And over a period of time, you'll love the area and you won't want to leave. That's what they're gambling on. What they don't want you to do is get your permanent residency set up and then move to Sydney. Because there's too many people in Sydney already. They want you to stay in that regional area. So that's the way the visa is designed: put you in the regional area for a period of time in the community. And then, once you get your permanent residency, they're hoping that you've built a life there, you've made friends and have family there and you don't want to leave.

But yes, to answer your question, there is a high degree of certainty that you will become a permanent resident if entering on the 491.

Q&A

Can I apply if I'm over 45?

Not for these visas, but if you're over 45, not everything is lost. There are still possibilities, depending on you and depending on your skills. There are pathways to permanent residency for people who are over 50. I'm not going to go into them today. But it's worthwhile having a conversation with Jamie or her colleagues in our Cape Town office. And they can explain to you what options might still be available to you.

What's the turnaround time on getting a 189 visa?

It's a tough question to answer with any certainty because there's a lot of different components that go into that. Please get in touch so we can look into your particular situation and provide you with an answer based on that.

Does it help my application if I have family living in Australia?

The 491 does have a family-sponsored stream as well. It doesn't attract as large a quota. But there is a possibility that if you have family living in a specified region in Australia, then they can sponsor you. You do have to be working in a certain occupation and it's usually a little bit harder than being nominated by state governments, but it is something that you should look at closely to see if you have eligibility based on family who could nominate you.

If you apply for a visa and everything goes smoothly, do you have to hop on a plane immediately or do you have some time to prepare?

So the three visas we've spoken about today are all granted for five years. When you're granted your visa, you will be granted a visa with what's referred to as an "initial entry date", which means that you and your family need to come to Australia within that initial entry date. That initial entry date is usually roughly 12 months from the date of grant, which means that you need to get to Australia within a year. It's actually based off when your medicals and your police clearances were issued.

So some clients come to us and go, "I'm ready to apply. And here's my police certificate." We say, well put that in the bin, because you're not going to need that for at least another 12 months or so. So don't do your police checks early, there'll be no use to you. It's a waste of time and money. Wait until your visa is ready to be granted before you do those documents.

To go back to the question, yes, you do need to come to Australia to activate your visa within the initial entry date, which is usually within about 12 months of the grant date. But then you can go back to South Africa, and you know, sell your house, resign from your job. Sell whatever things you need to sell and then pack everything up and ship it back. And then you've got that full five-year visa to use. You need to get back here within that period of time.

If you're a British citizen, does that offer any benefit in being granted a visa?

It depends which visa. If you're applying for Working Holiday visa, which is for those people under the age of 31, then yes, it brings you a lot of benefit, because South Africans don't qualify for a Working Holiday visa, whereas British citizens do.

For these subclasses, it won't bring you much benefit at all. It means that you've got competent English, but you've probably got to do an English language exam anyway, in order to raise your points to what they need to be to get the invitation. So I'm gonna say no, not really. British citizenship doesn't really help you in this process.

Do spouses get the same work rights as primary applicants?

Yes. All family members included in the visa application get the same entitlements. They get the same visa, they get the same conditions.

How much does Australian immigration cost?

It's difficult to give you a cost estimate as there are so many variables built into an application – if you're a single applicant, if you're an applicant with a family of four, what your occupation is, which state government you might be nominated by, etc. So there's a lot of variables to build into an answer of that particular question. I'll give you ballpark figures. You are probably starting at about AUD 15,000 all said and done if you're a single person. If you're a family of four, you might end up spending somewhere in the order of AUD 50,000 once you've shipped your goods and flown over and paid for the visa fees, etc. You can get quite granular with fees. Once we assess you as an applicant, we can give you quite detailed information on costs.

If you obtain a job offer from an employer, can they restrict your visa to only you and not your spouse and family?

This would be for an Employer Sponsored visa (not the visas we've covered today), but I'm happy to touch on that particular question. The simple answer is, yes. So, the employer decides who they wish to include in the application because the employer is typically sponsoring everyone in the application.

However, the employers that I've dealt with over the course of time are very unlikely to restrict an offer of employment to just the main applicant, because who's going to leave home without their spouse and children?

What's the best pathway for general practitioners?

Subclass 189 is probably a good pathway for you. But even better than that, Employer Sponsored pathways for general practitioners, in my experience, have been probably the easiest and quickest ways to get into Australia. We recently helped a client migrate from the United Kingdom to Tasmania. The employer sorted out the nomination for them and we sorted out the visa for them. We find that general practitioners are often offered Employer Sponsored visas, which get processed rapidly. And then once they're onshore, they often have further opportunities and different visa types.

Are barristers likely to be on the new lists?

Definitely. Legal advocates, who we refer to as "solicitors" here in Australia, are likely to be on the list. The problem with that occupation is the skills assessment requires that you come to Australia and study law here in Australia in order to obtain a positive skills assessment, which is basically being admitted to the board to practice here in Australia. So it's possible, but it's difficult because of the skills assessment requirement. Most clients I've seen who have been successful in that particular occupation have come to Australia and studied at a university doing a master's degree in law, and then found a pathway thereafter.

Attend our next webinar for more information on paths to immigration through studying in Australia

Where can I find the regional shortage occupations list?

There's not just one regional list. There are seven states and territories. And within each of those states and territories, there might be four or more different regions, which means four or more different lists, which means that we could be looking at about 28 different lists for the regions only. So what I'd suggest you do if you want to be assessed is get in touch with Jamie and her team in the Cape Town office and they can let you know what your chances might be.

Jamie-Lee: . I think it's also worth mentioning that we are quite brutally honest in our assessments. We have a strict policy of not signing on clients unless we feel that there's a reasonable chance of success. No agent can guarantee that you'll be selected and invited to apply for your skill visa. It is a competitive process. So, you know, it's our practice that we don't take you on unless we think that there's a likely shot that you would be selected.

Sam: Yeah, we don't want to take money off you if we don't believe that you're going to be successful in this process. Be careful who you do give your money to. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who will tell you what you want to hear and take your money. So absolutely. Buyer beware. But get in touch with Jamie. She's brutally honest.

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If you’d like assistance applying for your Australian visa, our registered migration agents are ready to make the whole process easier. Get in touch via email on migration@sableinternational.com or call  +27 (0) 21 657 1526 to discuss your options in more detail.