The Federal Government is currently making calls for overseas workers to consider migrating to regional areas of Australia as means to develop regions outside of the major cities.
In the beginning of the year it was forecasted that at least 17% of the year expected migration flow will go to regional Australia. However, there are efforts being made to increase the number to 40%
It is important to remember that in the light of immigration, regional areas cover all of Australia except for Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
There are several advantages for migrants that choose to live in regional Australia, including students undertaking courses located in these areas.
As a business located in regional areas, there are several visas that can be offered to overseas workers, including:
| Visa | Advantages |
| Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa: this visa allows business to sponsor overseas workers to live and work in regional Australia. | Offers a pathway for Permanent Residency after being 3 years on this visa. |
| Subclass 491 Visa: This visa allows overseas workers to live and work in regional Australia. | Although this visa does not require sponsorship from an employer, holders of this visa will work for businesses located in regional areas. It is a Permanent Visa |
| Labour Agreement: This is an agreement reached in between a business and the Government that allows to sponsor overseas workers | This agreement allows business to sponsor through the 482 visas. In this instance, the visa will lead to permanent residency. One of the benefits of these agreements is that businesses are allowed to negotiate job positions that are not necessarily on the occupation lists of the Department of Home Affairs.Moreover, you can negotiate the English requirements with the Department of Home Affairs, which can be lower to the one normally required for other pathways. |
| Designated Areas Migration Agreement (DAMA) | While this is not a visa, businesses located in DAMA regions have the opportunity to engage in a Labour Agreement with the government to offer overseas worker visas such as 482 or 494 with pathways to Permanent Residency. |
If you want more information and require assistance with an application to be able to sponsor visa applicants on any of these pathways, Crystal Migration can provide you with what you need.