The Australian Government recently reformed how it will prioritize processing for different visa types, ending the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) and critical sectors. According to the government announcement, the PMSOL “was outdated and no longer reflected the critical workforce shortages across Australia.”
Skilled visa applications are now processed in the following order of priority:
- Visa applications in relation to a healthcare or teaching occupation.
- For employer-sponsored visas, visa applications where the applicant is nominated by an Approved sponsor with Accredited Status.
- Visa applications in relation to an occupation to be carried out in a designated regional area.
- For permanent and provisional visa subclasses, visa applications that count towards the migration program, excluding the Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)) visa.
- All other visa applications.
For all categories above, priority will be given to holders of eligible passports.
Within each category above, for provisional and permanent skilled visa applications, priority is given to visa applications where the primary applicant is located outside Australia when the visa application is made.
Applications with occupations on the PMSOL or in critical sectors will continue to be processed efficiently, given the improvements in visa processing since the Government committed additional funding and staff to reduce processing times.
Erickson Insights
More information about visa processing timelines and skilled visa application prioritization is available here. Erickson Immigration Group will continue to share updates as more news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.