Australia has extended the Regional work visas, also released update on Subclass 485 visa

In a latest announcement, Australian government has extended the regional visa. Hence, now the regional visa holders will have their visas extended by 3 years to give them enough time to enter Australia and start or resume living and working in a regional part of the country.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Australia has been releasing various measures and updates based on the assessment of the current pandemic situation in the country.

Regional Visa Extension

The extension is applied to the visa holders, holding either a:

• Subclass 489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa,
• Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa, or
• Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa.

At now, the allotted duration may not be enough for 491 and 494 visa holders to satisfy the requirements for a subclass 191 – Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa. The reason for the same is that one of the main requirements for grant of Subclass 191 visa is that the primary applicant’s taxable income for minimum 3 income years, i.e. from 1 July to 30 June, is more than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold.

Also read- How to Immigrate to Australia in 2022- Find out key pathways & visa categories to apply

Moreover, 3 years must have elapsed, as any claimed income year must have finished before the date of application. Hence, 3 calendar years may not be sufficient particularly for those who cannot claim any past income years and who do not have any existing employment arrangements.

Subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate visa extensions and new visa

The DHA will also extend Subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate visa for the holders. This visa will be enlivened (i.e. resuscitation) if the holders were outside Australia during a definite period. To get an automatic extension, 485 visa holders need to:

• have held a Temporary Graduate visa on 15 December 2021 and this visa expires before 30 September 2022,
• not have their visa cancelled since 15 December 2021
• have not been granted a further substantive visa since 15 December 2021, and
• Have the primary 485-visa holder in Australia when their 485 visa was granted and was outside Australia for any period between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021.

To become eligible for visa enlivening, former 485 visa holders need to:

• have held their 485 visa and it expired between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021,
• not have their visa cancelled,
• have not been granted a further substantive visa since,
• have the primary 485 visa holder in Australia at time it was granted and was outside Australia for any period between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021.

No application is required, as the Department of Home Affairs will directly contact the visa holders.

Assured Visa stream for Subclass 485 visa holders

The assured visa replacement stream, which will provide current and former 485 visa holders affected by travel restrictions a further 485 visa, will start from 1 July 2022. To be eligible,

• candidates must hold, or have held a Temporary Graduate visa that expired on or after 1 February 2020, and
• Were outside Australia at any time between 1 February 2020 and 15 December 2021.

What will be the charges?

• There is a visa application charge for this application, and likely other costs, i.e. for a visa medical, being granted a further 485 for the same duration as their original 485 visa with supplementary full work rights might be too good to ignore.
• As of now, there are no regulation changes made to other assured 485 visa changes other than the surge in the duration of visa grants as this is a policy decision and was in effect shortly after the announcement.

To confirm further details or to apply for the most appropriate visa in Australia in 2022, you may contact Australia migration expert at Visas Avenue on Toll-Free No. 78-18-000-777 or you can drop us an e-mail at info@visasavenue.com.

- Rajneesh Kumar