There were a total of over 32,000 skilled migration visas granted in the period of 2017/18 including subclass 189 skilled independent, 190 skilled nominated and 489 skilled regional (provisional) visas, out of which about 300 were from Hong Kong applicants. The majority of Hong Kong applicants were in the age group of 25 to 29. 

With an upper limit of 190,000 permanent visas reduced to 160,000 in the period of 2019/2020 and coming years, the skilled invitation visas numbers have been slashed to about 18,000. This means that applicants who are invited to apply require higher points and have a longer wait at each point level for all occupations.

To apply for skilled Australian immigration, you are required to make an expression of interest (EOI) online application, complete a skills assessment and meet the pass mark of 65. You are invited to apply if you have high enough points and/or meet all state nomination and visa requirements. Your eligible occupation must be on the skilled occupation list and your total points are calculated by the Skilled Migration Points Test. 

Recent changes in Skilled Migration

• Improvement in economy capacity and fulfilment of skills shortages as well as more distribution of migrants especially in the designated regional area.
• Contribution of temporary immigration as the majority of permanent visas are granted to people who are in Australia on a temporary visa.
• More migrants are sponsored by local Australian employers.
• Skilled migrants with higher education levels and local employment contribute more to the Australian tax revenue.
• Two new regional (provisional) Skilled Work subclass 491 and Employer Sponsored subclass 494 visas promote regional migration and replace the previous subclass 489 and 187 respectively.
• Subclass 491 and subclass 494 visa holders may apply for subclass 191 permanent skilled regional after working in the designated regional area for at least of 3 years and meet the minimum threshold for a taxable income.

John Hu (MARN 0746141) a registered Australia migration agent of John Hu Migration Consulting has 20 years of successful experience in processing hundreds of skilled Australian Immigration visa for his clients who have been working and living in different states of Australia. 

Interested in applying for a skilled immigration visa to Australia? Contact us today to learn more.