Applying for a Skilled Nominated 190 Visa with Western Australia
Did you know that there is a statue along the Swan river that is often dressed to amuse the many people who take Mounts Bay road daily? No one is sure who dresses it. It even has it’s own Wiki page!
You will often find picnickers and runners along the serene waters of the Swan river. Perth is a lovely city, hamburgered between the outback territory to its north and the forests and vineyards to its south. So much to see and do, and with great work-life balance, there’s always time to explore.
To be eligible for a State sponsored 190 PR visas with WA, you must fulfil the following:
- your nominated occupation to be present on the WA’s occupation list(s)
- a suitable skills assessment in that nominated occupation
- meeting the minimum Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) score of 60 on the points test (inclusive of the 5 extra points you get for state sponsorship) and other base requirements such as a health and character conditions
- committing to living and working in WA for at least the first two years upon your move to Australia should your visa be granted
- the status of your occupation on the WA occupation list is “available”
- you meet the minimum English requirement based on your occupation group
- you have a job offer if your occupation is classified under “Schedule 2” or if the applicant is outside WA
- you meet the minimum work experience requirement
- you provide evidence of sufficient migration funds
What does all the above mean for you?
“Available” Status
The Western Australian skilled migration occupation list (WASMOL) provides status of the availability of each occupation as available, restricted or closed. You must nominate an occupation that has the status of “available” to be considered for nomination.
Additional English Requirements
It is also separated into occupation groups – managers, professionals, technicians and trades workers, and community and personal service workers. These occupation groups determine the minimum English test results that you will need to obtain to be eligible for state nomination. If your nominated occupation falls under “managers” and “professionals”, you will need to meet or exceed the following English test scores:
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(taken from the WA state migration site)
These scores are above the DIBP minimum and are the same as the the DIBP definition of a proficient level of English abilityIf your nominated occupation falls under the “technicians and trades workers” or “community and personal service workers” groups, then your minimum English scores would follow the DIBP minimum standards of a competent level of English.
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(taken from the WA state migration site)
Evidence of Job Offer
WA’s occupation list also classifies each occupation as “Schedule 1” or “Schedule 2”. If you fall under Schedule 2, you will be required to present evidence of a job offer in the form of a contract of employment for at least 12 months in WA. This job needs to engage you for a minimum of 35 hours/week. It is possible to combine 2 contracts of employment to meet the 35 hours. This requirement of employment also applies to applicants who are outside of WA (offshore or in another Australian state). This ranks above the 20 hours/week asked by other states. Furthermore, it is necessarily for you to apply with a contract that has at least 12 months remaining on it at the time of application, if you are currently working in that position. Your contract should show:
- Names of both the employer and the employee
- Timeframe or contract start date and end date (unless permanent)
- Job description
- Compensation and benefits
- Conditions of employment (other conditions agreed to, including hours and location of employment
Work Experience Requirement
All applicants are subject to work experience requirements and must have at least one year of Australian work experience in their nominated occupation in the last ten years, or hold three years of overseas experience in their nominated occupation. Work experience will be considered only post-qualification and if the hours worked are 20 hours/week or more. Simply claiming that you have the required work experience is insufficient for WA. You must obtain a skills assessment where the work experience is verified as suitable to claim the 5 points (or more) under the DIBP points system. This means that when you apply for your skills assessment, you will need to apply for assessment of your work experience as well; and assessment of your work experience is not immediately included in your skills assessment. Please be reminded that if the requirements defined by the assessing authority for your nominated occupation differs from that of WA’s base ones, you must satisfy your assessing authority’s requisites to achieve a suitable skills and work experience assessment.
Settlement Funds
Finally you must be able to provide material that proves that you possess the available funds to settle in WA if you are currently outside WA. These can come in the form of banks statements or asset evaluations. The guide is as follows:
Single $20,000 AUD
Couple $30,000 AUD
Every additional dependent $5,000 AUD
If WA selects you, you will be sent a nomination application form that you will need to complete in 28 days. Wanting your settlement to run smoothly, WA will also issue you three multi-choice questionnaires regarding general knowledge surrounding WA, to which you will be provided with resources that you may refer to to complete.
