South Australia is an exciting place to live and work, offering you excellent opportunities to make your next career move, and enjoy a lifestyle that offers you more. If you are a skilled migrant, you may be eligible for state nomination.
The General Skilled Migration program helps South Australia build a diverse, skilled workforce and South Australian businesses meet their skilled workforce needs. This supports the development of the State’s priority sectors and powers the economic growth of regional communities.
To achieve these objectives, the Program’s core policy settings are designed in accordance with detailed labour market analysis and identified areas of skills shortage. These include:
- Prioritising international graduates from South Australian education providers who fill areas of skills shortage by gaining strong skilled employment outcomes – in line with their qualifications.
- Attracting overseas skilled workers who can fill labour market shortages that require higher levels of experience, highly specialised skills gaps and immediate shortages resulting from large projects or emerging growth sectors.
- Providing incentives for skilled migrants to fill skills shortages in regional South Australia.
State nomination enables the state government to nominate highly skilled migrants to meet South Australia’s skills needs.
For skilled migrants, state nomination can assist you to qualify for a skilled migration visa from the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, providing additional points toward your visa application.
There are two skilled migration visa options available for state nomination:
- Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (Subclass 190) - This is a state nominated permanent visa for skilled migrants that allows you to live and work in South Australia. Find out more about the Department of Home Affairs Subclass 190 visa requirements
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) - This is a state nominated provisional visa for skilled migrants that allows you to live and work in South Australia for up to five years and can provide a pathway to permanent residency. Find out more about the Department of Home Affairs Subclass 491 visa requirements
Before you apply for state nomination, check the Department of Home Affairs visa requirements, that your occupation is on the State Skilled Occupation List, and read about each of South Australia’s nomination streams to see if you’re eligible.
Please note: State nomination does not automatically result in the grant of a visa. Your application must also be assessed by the Department of Home Affairs against several visa-specific requirements. You will only be granted a visa if all requirements are met.
In addition to enjoying the fantastic lifestyle and work opportunities on offer, applying for state nomination in South Australia will provide you with:
- Access to an extensive list of occupations
- Additional points towards the Department of Home Affairs points test for the 190 and 491 visas
As a skilled migrant you may also be eligible for certain concessions. View the nomination streams available to you on the Nomination Options page.