Australia | Government Announces Two New Visa Categories to be Effective November 2019

The Australian Government has announced two new provisional visa categories, a Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional visa requiring regional sponsorship by an employer, and a Skilled Work Regional Visa requiring State or Territory nomination, or eligible family sponsorship within the same region. The program is to target skilled migrants willing to settle in regions other than Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Both Visas will have 9000/14,000 openings and  700/500 eligible occupations respectively and be valid for five years with a pathway to the new permanent residency dependent on the visa holder continuing to work in a regional area of Australia.