Requirements & Steps to Apply for PR in Australia

With over 100 institutions, 10,000 beaches, and 5,000 pubs, Australia is a dream destination for Nepalese students to study,  work and apply for a PR in Australia from Nepal.

Did you know?

The United Nations ranks Australia as the second-best country globally for its quality of life. The country unceasingly attracts skilled international students to study in Australia, and workers to migrate-cum-lead their dream life.

Know the Australian PR points and other requirements to apply for a pr in Australia. Under Skill based division, people from all nationalities can apply for a PR in Australia from Nepal in the below-mentioned categories:

• Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186)
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 187)
• Business Innovation & Investment Visa (Subclass 188)
• Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189)
• Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190)

How to apply PR in Australia from Nepal?

Permanent Residency in Australia is a coveted status that most immigrants and international students dream for. When you become a permanent resident of Australia, you enjoy most of the privileges that Australian citizens do. You can live and work in Australia permanently, travel in and out of the country and eventually become an Australian citizen. Given the opportunities in the country and the high quality of life it assures, thousands of immigrants from countries around the world apply for Australian PR every year.

For your query of how to apply PR in Australia from Nepal, the answer is: Obtaining an Australian PR is a transparent, straightforward process. Here are the steps.

• You check your eligibility and PR points yourself
• You take an English test
• You get your skills assessed
• You express interest
• You get invited to apply for the visa
• Submit application and complete payment
• Wait for the results

If you are a student aspiring to Study in Australia and wondering how a PR in Australia can impact your life, then here is a good read for you. Read on to know more about the metrics of PR points in Australia (Australia PR points calculator).

 1) Right to live & work in Australia

Being on a permanent resident visa entitles you to travel in and out of Australia. But do take note that your introductory PR visa is valid only for a 5-year duration. Nevertheless, you are eligible to renew the introductory PR visa before its expiry date.

If you are a PR in Australia, you may choose any occupation you are interested in and are allowed to work with no restrictions. However, exceptions do apply for work types such as Public service or Armed forces; as such Australian citizens can apply for the jobs that fall under these two sectors.

2) Sponsoring family members

With an eligible PR in Australia, you can sponsor your family members who are willing to live in Australia. This is applicable if you met the residence and support assurance pre-requisites by the Australian Government.

Related Article: Benefits of Studying in Australia

3) PR Points Calculator in Australia:

As a permanent resident in Australia, your credit rating will promptly rise to enable you to gain easy approval on personal loans, car loans, home loans, and credit cards.

Note: In order to apply for a PR in Australia, you must have a minimum of 65 PR points. These points are calculated based on your visa subclass, age, English language proficiency, Australian Educational Qualification, and work experience. 

Australia PR points calculator

Eligibility criteria for applying PR in Australia

The first step towards your PR application is to check your eligibility and the total PR points you possess. First, your occupation should be listed in the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). The list keeps changing every year based on the country's skill requirements. The list is available on the Home Affairs Ministry website for you to check.

Next, you need to make a good estimate of PR points you can accumulate. Australia's PR point system is a method of finding out the most valuable candidates by awarding points to various valuable aspects of their background. Learn the PR point system in detail here. The minimum score to become eligible to apply for PR is 65. At this stage, take the help of a migration counsellor to make the most accurate estimate of your PR points. You do not want to underestimate or overestimate your points here since it could adversely affect your visa prospects later. 

10 Eligibility Criteria for applying PR in Australia

1. Age: Applicants for Australian skilled migration visa should be between 18 and 44 years old to score age points.
2. English language Skills: Applicants must demonstrate the required level of English language proficiency by submitting test results from a recognized English language test.
3. Skilled Employment Experience (Overseas employment): Points can be claimed for having three, five, or eight years of overseas experience in the nominated occupation in the last 10 years.
4. Skilled Employment Experience (Australian experience): Full-time work in one of the occupations listed on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in Australia qualifies for points. Points can also be claimed for having one, three, five, or eight years of Australian experience in the nominated occupation in the last 10 years.
   
5. Overseas Qualification: Points can be claimed for recognized qualifications gained outside Australia that are at a level of bachelor's or higher or Ph.D.
6. Australian Study: Additional points can be claimed for completing a course in Australia of at least two academic years.
7. Live and Study in Regional Area: Additional points can be claimed if the applicant has met the Australian study requirement of living and studying in a "regional low population growth metropolitan area" for at least 2 years.
8. Partner Skills: Applicants can claim points under partner skills if their partner satisfies the basic requirements of age, English language ability, qualifications, and skills assessment result.

Age:

English language skills:

Competent English – IELTS score of 6 or more in all 4 sections (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking)

Proficient English – IELTS score of 7 or more in all 4 sections

Superior English – IELTS score of 8 or more in all 4 sections

You can also take the following widely accepted English tests

• TOEFL iBT
• PTE Academic
• OET
• Cambridge C1 Advanced Test

Skilled employment experience:

Educational Qualification:

In the last 4 years, you must have worked for 12 successive months in a nominated occupation or a closely related one.

Credentialled Community Language:

National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) conducts a test for fluency in languages spoken by international communities living in Australia. If you take the test for one of the listed 48 languages and qualify, you will be awarded 5 points.

Study in Regional Australia:

If you obtain a qualification from an institution in Regional Australia by living and studying in the region, you get 5 PR points.

Partner points:

4) First Home Owner Grant

You would be eligible for the FHOG (First Home Owner Grant) worth $10,000 if you signed your first house acquisition contract. Your new home could be an apartment, unit, house, townhouse, or similar, which costs $750,000 or less. 

5) Access to student loans 

The Higher Education Support Act 2003 states that Australian citizens and permanent visa holders are given the privilege of receiving financial assistance on their education through the Higher Education Loans Program (HELP). This is helpful when you come across a financial crisis while studying a master's or PhD course in Australia.

6) Privilege for the children & Healthcare entitlement 

One of the tremendous benefits of becoming a PR in Australia is that when your children are born in Australia, they will be automatically deemed Australian citizens by birth. In essence, your children will be provided with utmost benefits in health care and education.

An all-inclusive Medicare health coverage will be available for you, which grants you cheaper health insurance, free treatment at public hospitals, and subsidised medicine.

7) Social security benefits

After two years of settling down in Australia as a permanent resident, a master program by Australia's Social Security Department, widely known as Centrelink, will provide you social welfare aids associated with sickness, and unemployment which can be extended to your family.

Process to apply pr in Australia from Nepal

Take a standard English test

As a potential immigrant and a future PR prospect, you are expected to possess a level of command over the English language. To prove your English language skills, you should take one of the five accepted English tests and achieve your best score to obtain the maximum PR points for English language skills later.

You can take one of the following five tests.

• IELTS
• TOEFL iBT
• PTE Academic
• OET
• Cambridge C1 Advanced Test 

Related Article: English Proficiency Coaching

Skill Assessment:

Skill assessment is the stage where your claims of relevant educational qualifications and work experience are assessed by authorities. Depending on your nominated occupation, you need to get your skills assessed by a specific assessment body. Find out who your assessing authority is from the Home Affairs website. You need to pay the fee and get positively assessed by them.

Expression of Interest:

Expression of Interest (EOI) is done through an online portal called Skillselect. EOI is not a visa application. It is your expression of interest in migrating to Australia as a skilled worker to the government. While registering with this portal, you will be asked to fill in the details of your English test, skill assessment, your educational qualification and work experience. This registration process doesn't incur any cost.

Based on the details you provide on the portal, the system calculates your PR points. After this stage, the candidates will be invited to the next round based on their points. The higher the points, the earlier the invite will be.

Related Article: Cost of Studying in Australia

Submission of Application:

This is the last stage of the process in which you apply for the visa of your choice. As the first step, you need to complete the payment. Visa charges are currently AUD 4,045 for skilled work visas (subclass 189,190, 489 and 491). You can find out the current pricing of all visas here.

Once you have paid the fee, you need to submit all the required documents within two months from the date of application. You should provide personal documents like birth certificate, national identity card, driver's licence, marriage certificate, police clearance document, your education documents, work experience certificates, salary slips, tax documents etc along with your English test and Skill assessment results.

Your documents will be scrutinized and any discrepancy at this stage could lead to rejection of your visa application. Therefore, take professional help and file all the necessary documents in the right time and form.

After a successful application, within a few months, you will be notified of the results. A PR grant letter will be issued to you if you are granted the visa.

Australian PR is difficult to obtain but not impossible. Especially, as an international student in Australia, you are at an advantage compared to your counterparts offshore. Being onshore, with the right professional guidance, you are at an advantage right from your university days. By making smart course choices matching the current needs of the country, by choosing the right visa at the right time after graduation, you can outrun your competition.

Related Article: PR Courses in Australia

Eligibility to apply for Australian citizenship

Permanent residence acquired may be qualified to apply for Australian citizenship if you have lived lawfully in Australia for at least 4 years and have lived in Australia for at least 12 months as a permanent resident. To be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship, you should have:

• been a PR in Australia for more than a year and lived in Australia for over 9 months.
• not lived in Australia for over 12 months in the last 48 months before you apply
• good moral character

To know more about applying for a PR in Australia and to choose a course that helps you get easy access to PR, connect with our expert counselors. AECC Nepal has been constantly helping Nepalese students to study, work, and applying for a PR in Australia. We wish you the best of luck!