There are over 80 types of visas which allow you to enter Australia for visiting, studying, working, doing business and living permanently

Australian Immigration law is very complex and requires lot of understanding , , compliance and following the correct procedures for a valid visa application

There are two categories of Visas

Permanent Residency Visas , Temp Visa and

The Permanent Residency Visas include Skilled, Business, Partner, Family and Refugee and Humanitarian Visas

Temp Visa include visas for a certain period with certain conditions attached. It is quite possible to change the status from one category to other category

NEW VISAS

1 Skilled-Independent Regional (Provisional) Visas (SIR VISA )

Introduction

The Skilled–Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR) visa is suitable for those skilled people who wish to live and work in a regional or low population growth area in Australia. The object is attract more skilled migrants to settle in regional areas where their skills are in demand to contribute to state economy

This is a Proviosnal Visa Valid for 3 years and requires State or Territory Sponsorship

Applicants has to sign an undertaking that they , and the members of their family unit, will live, work or study in regional Australia or a low population metropolitan centre for the duration of their SIR (Provisional) visa.

More prospective migrants are eligible to apply for the new SIR visa because it has a lower passmark

requirement

It is a two-stage visa process, SIR visa holders must live and work in or a low population growth metropolitan area for at least 2 years before they can apply for permanent residence.

Stage 1 - SIR (Provisional) visa stage - successful applicants will be granted a 3 year temporary visa to live and work/study in regional Australia.

Stage 2 - Permanent residence stage - SIR visa holders who have met the SIR visa conditions of:
• having lived in regional Australia for at least 2 years; and
• having been employed (including self employed) for at least 12 months in regional Australia; may apply for one of the following permanent residence visas:
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
• State/Territory Nominated Independent (SNTI)
• State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner

Note: If you are considering applying for the SIR (Provisional) visa, you should take every opportunity to find out about the employment opportunities and available services in the area where you are interested in living.

Priority processing

SIR visa applications will receive priority processing through the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre. This means they will be processed ahead of other applications for general skilled migration.

From July 1 of this year, the Government will introduce new visa classes, which will be available to qualified people who wish to immigrate to Australia as skilled migrants. A three year temporary visa will be available to skilled applicants, if they commit to settling in regional Australia. After two years, those visa holders will be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

2 Retirement Visas

From November 1 2004, self-funded migrants with $500,000 (tbc) will be able to seek state sponsorship to apply for an independent retiree visa. Stay tune for more details.

Medical Practitioner Visas

At present, there is a shortage of doctors in Australia. Overseas doctors are welcomed to apply to migrate to Australia. The change, made as part of the enhancements to Medicare, will allow Medical Practitioners to migrate to Australia under the points-tested General Skilled Migration (GSM) program.