Australian PR Options

August 29, 2022 Josie Marr

How Can I Get Australian Permanent Residence?

There are more than 100 different Australian visas, some of which are permanent residence visas and others that are temporary visas with the potential to provide a pathway to Australian permanent resident and even Australian citizenship. Your options will depend on your circumstances. If you:

Have family that live in Australia as permanent residents or Australian citizens, they may be able to sponsor you for a family sponsorship visa; or
Work as a professional or tradesperson, you may be eligible for skilled migration either with the help of an employer operating in Australia (employer sponsorship) or with the support of the Australia government (General Skilled Migration); or
Are seeking refugee status, you may qualify for a Humanitarian visa New Zealand citizens living in Australia may already be deemed to have Australian permanent residence, or may be eligible to seek Australian permanent residence status. This will depend on a number of factors including when they first entered Australia to live.

Our website provides a basic overview to the various permanent residence visas and temporary visas available.

What are the Requirements for Getting Australian PR?

This will depend on the permanent residence visa application you submit.

For example, skilled migration requires you to nominate an occupation on the relevant occupation list. The visa you apply for will determine whether you will need a positive skills assessment in that occupation, if you need to meet the points test, and whether you need to have an employer or Australian government agency supporting your application. On the other hand, family sponsored migration doesn't require you to be "skilled" but, you must be sponsored by an eligible Australian spouse, de facto partner or child. An aunty, uncle, siblings or eligible NZ citizen may also be able to sponsor you but, this will depend on the visa type you lodge.

What Next?

Australian immigration changes frequently to suit its needs at the time. For example, over the last few years, the Australian government have been reducing the number of places given to the skilled category within the migration program. However, in recent response to Australia's skill shortage (in part due to Covid-19) the government increased the numbers in this category in the 2022 to 2023 migration program year. To accommodate this, a number of provisions have been introduced which has given some people a pathway to Australian permanent residence when they would typically not have been eligible.

Seeking advice from an Australian registered migration agent (with a migration agent registration number "MARN") or an Australian practising solicitor will be useful in helping you to rule out irrelevant details and narrow in on the visa options and requirements suitable to you.