The Australian Government has increased flexibility for some citizenship applicants. Skilled migration visa applicants are processed in accordance with government policy priorities. These are set out in the Ministerial Directions.
The Minister of Immigration has updated his instructions to the Department of Home Affairs, which detail the process for temporary and permanent work visas.
A summary of the new priority processing order is below.
- Subclass 124 (Distinguished Talent)
- Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme)
- Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme)
- Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment)
- Subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent) (Points-tested Stream)
- Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated)
- Subclass 489 (Skilled – Regional (Provisional))
- Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)
- Subclass 494 (Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)
- Subclass 858 (Global Talent)
In order of priority, processing of the above-skilled migration visa applications is determined by:
- Any of the following:
- Employer-Sponsored or Regional Sponsored where the nominated occupation is specified in the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL)
- Employer-Sponsored or Regional Sponsored where the nominated occupation is an Agriculture Sector Occupation
- The applicant is nominated by an employer under a Global talent employer-sponsored agreement
- All applications identified through the Global Talent Program
- Applications for the Subclass 188 visa in the following order:
- Subclass 188 visa applications in the Significant Investor stream
- All other Subclass 188 visa applications.
- Occupations within a Critical Sector
- Employer-Sponsored or Regional Sponsored by an employer who is a party to a labour agreement under a Designated Area Migration Agreement
- Subclass 494 (Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional)), where the applicant is nominated by an approved sponsor with Accredited Status or nominated by a labour agreement not mentioned in priority above
- Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional))
- Employer-Sponsored, where the applicant is nominated by an approved sponsor with Accredited Status, or nominated by a party to a labour agreement not mentioned in priority (1) or (2) above
- Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), where the applicant is nominated by an approved sponsor with Accredited Status
- Subclass 489 (Skilled – Regional (Provisional))
- Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated)
- Subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent) in the Points-tested stream
- All other visa applications that are subject to this Direction.
For categories 1 – 6 above, priority will be given to holders of eligible passports who are in Australia over those offshore.
For categories 3 – 7 above, priority will be given to applications made by other passport holders who are onshore.
Processing priorities for skilled temporary visa applications
Skilled temporary visa applicants are processed in accordance with government policy priorities. These are set out in the Ministerial Directions.
The following skilled temporary visas are subject to Ministerial Directions and include:
- Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage)
- Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled).
In order of priority, processing of the above skilled temporary visa applications is determined by:
- Any of the following:
- Nominated occupations specified in the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL)
- Nominations lodged in relation to a Global Talent Employer-Sponsored Agreement
- Nominations lodged in relation to an Agricultural Sector Occupation.
- Nominations lodged for an occupation in a Critical Sector not mentioned in above
- Any of the following:
- Occupations in regional Australia, where applicants are nominated under a Designated Area Migration Agreement.
- applicants who are nominated by approved sponsors with Accredited Status
- applicants who seek to satisfy the criteria for grant in the Labour Agreement stream of the Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage Visa) program not mentioned above
- Applicants who are nominated by approved sponsors with Accredited Status not mentioned above
- Nominations lodged by a Party to a Labour Agreement not mentioned in priority above
- All other nominations lodged under the Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa program, including Subclass 457(Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa applications.
For categories 1 – 6 above, priority will be given to holders of eligible passports who are in Australia over those offshore.
For categories 3 – 6 above, priority will be given to applications made by other passport holders who are onshore.
Processing priorities for other skilled visa applications
All other skilled visa applications are assessed in order of date of lodgement.
Visa application lodgement requirements
It is essential to submit a complete application along with all supporting documents in order to speed up the processing. You may not be asked for additional documents to help us process your visa application.
- If you have applied for your visa in ImmiAccount, the checklists provided will help you in making sure you include all required documents in your application.
- If you did not apply for your visa in ImmiAccount, please refer to the relevant webpage for your visa subclass. You must ensure you have included all documents listed in the Gather your documents section under Step by Step instructions.