Immigration News: February 2022

Recent updates on their skilled migration programs came from Tasmania and Queensland.

Queensland is unlikely to open to overseas applications this fiscal year, while Tasmania has a limited number of quotas left and is concentrating on priority cases first.

Update on Tasmania’s Skilled Migration Program for 2021–2022.

There is only a certain amount of space left in Tasmania’s skilled migrant program, according to the state.

Tasmania had 2,200 slots available for the category 491 visa, but only 1,274 of those slots were utilized. Tasmania has utilized 731 of the 1100 subclass 190 visa spots that were made available.

When managing its quota of locations, Tasmania will concentrate on three priorities.

Tasmania has made the following three decisions in order to manage its restricted quota:

• Candidates with experience in vital positions including health, allied health, infrastructure, and engineering, as well as skills evaluations that are relevant to and closely align with those responsibilities
• Candidates who have a job and a skills evaluation for a position on the Tasmanian Skilled Occupations List
• Candidates with experience that is closely relevant to their assessed capabilities

Competitive rankings will be used to determine which applications are given consideration for any open nomination slots.

The program year, which concludes on June 30, 2022, may not see the availability of results for candidates who do not fall into the three priority areas.

Please take note of these hiring requirements.

Employment with a well-established Tasmanian company that has been active in Tasmania for at least a year is classified as employment as indicated in the priority categories listed above.

A “well-established business” in Tasmania is one that is actively run there and has:

Permanent commercial signage active and continuing marketing and promotion efforts online

As a registered business location, a Tasmanian address

a local landline number to call

A permanent office space (not a home address) that is not “casual” or “virtual,” such as a co-shared office or a corporate office.

Additionally, the employee must be full-time for the Working in Tasmania categories, however, Tasmanian Graduates may work part-time (a minimum of 20 hours) if their employment has lasted for at least three months.

A current report on Queensland state nominations for the year 2021–2022, the migration program

It’s unlikely that Migration Queensland will open to offshore skilled applicants this fiscal year given the existing large number of applications for Queensland State Nomination from temporary migrants onshore who are living and working in Queensland.

Business applicants are excluded from this because Migration Queensland is still operating and processing business applications from abroad.