How to migrate from India to Australia in 2021?

For Indians looking to move abroad, Australia has always been a choice destination owing to its promise of job opportunities for skilled professionals, a high quality of life and opportunities for further study or even set up a business.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the biggest source of migrants to Australia has been India. In the 160,323 places allocated to permanent residents in Australia’s migration program for 2019-20, 33,611 places went to Indians. In the same year over 28,000 Indian nationals became Australian citizens.

With the growing population of Indians in Australia, Indian languages are being widely spoken in the country. Hindi and Punjabi are among the top ten languages spoken in the country.

There is no surprise that many Indians prefer to move to Australia when looking at overseas opportunities to work, study or live.

The country provides several subcategories of visas to applicants with unique criteria for eligibility. The Australian government has devised many immigration systems for the PR visa in order to streamline the immigration process, filter the immigrants and ensure that eligible applicants are given visas.

Each immigration program has its own specific requirements for eligibility and selection criteria.

Australia follows a points-based system for its migration programs. You must first meet the eligibility criteria which requires that you have a score if 65 or above out of 100 points. The below table describes the different criteria for scoring points:

Check your eligibility

Skilled migration program

Most Indians prefer to migrate to Australia as a skilled worker and make use of the Skilled migration program to migrate to Australia.

The Skilled stream is a points-based system and is the most popular immigration program. Here are the details of the eligibility requirements for the three main visa categories under the Skilled Migration Program.

Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189): Before submitting your application under this category, you must give an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect. This can be done within or outside of Australia.

Eligibility requirements

• Have Experience in a nominated occupation on Australia’s Skilled Occupations List
• Get a skill assessment report by a designated authority for that occupation
• Submit an Expression of Interest
• Be under 45 years
• Meet general Skilled Migration basic requirements
• Score at least 65 on the points test
• Meet health and character requirements

Once you receive an invitation to apply for this visa, you must do so within 60 days.

Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190): If you are nominated by an Australian state or territory, you are eligible for this visa. This visa has the same benefits as the Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) except that you should have experience in a nominated career on the Skilled Occupations List.

Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Subclass 491 Visa: As a route to a PR visa, this visa has replaced the Subclass 489 Visa. Skilled workers and their families must live, work and study for 5 years in specified regional areas under this visa. After three years, they will be eligible for a PR visa. The criteria for eligibility are the same as for other Skilled Nomination Programs.

Global Talent Program: The government has also introduced a Global Talent Independent Visa program (GTS) to help fill the tech talent shortage in Australia. The GTS aims to attract tech workers and encourage innovation in the future-focused industries in the country. There are plans to expand the GTS visa to provide permanent residence option.

Employer Sponsored Migration: By matching the vacancies to those migrants who have the necessary skills and experience, the program aims to fill skill shortages in the Australian labor market.

Business Innovation and Investment Program: The Australian business visa program helps foreign business owners, senior executives and investors to come here for business purposes and develop new or existing businesses in Australia. This can also be a pathway to permanent residency.

Family stream

Another stream you can consider is the family stream. If your near family member is a citizen or permanent resident in Australia, you can move into Australia under the family stream. The family stream gives preference to the spouse/partner, dependent children, parents of citizens and permanent residents in Australia. It also provides an opportunity for other family members such as relatives who are old and dependent, caretakers etc. to move to Australia to be with their families.

Migration places in different streams

Every year, the Australian government sets the migration planning levels and fixes a certain number of places under each migration program. Here is a table with details of places allotted to each migration program in 2020-2021:

For 2020-21, the highest number of places is allocated to the Skilled Stream category which has a total of 79,600 immigration places for 2020-21.

You have better chances under this stream, provided you meet the eligibility requirements and score the required points.

The Family stream has also seen an increase in the number of places by about 61 percent (an increase from 47,732 to 77,300) out of which 72,300 are partner visas.

To choose the right stream which will help you to migrate from the UK to Australia in 2021, take the help of an immigration consultant who will provide you with the right guidance.