NSW: State Sponsorship; General Skilled Migration 2021

NEW SOUTH WALES

The state of New South Wales has published their occupation list for SC 190 and SC 491 visa for the program year 20-21.

Priority occupation list for SC 190 – NSW

Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190)
• 133211 Engineering Manager
• 134211 Medical Administrator
• 134212 Nursing Clinical Director
• 134214 Welfare Centre Manager
• 233911 Aeronautical Engineer
• 233913 Biomedical Engineer
• 233916 Naval Architect
• 233999 Engineering Professionals nec
• 254411 Nurse Practitioner
• 254412 Registered Nurse (Aged Care)
• 254413 Registered Nurse (Child and Family Health)
• 254414 Registered Nurse (Community Health)
• 254415 Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency)
• 254417 Registered Nurse (Disability and Rehabilitation)
• 254418 Registered Nurse (Medical)
• 254421 Registered Nurse (Medical Practice)
• 254422 Registered Nurse (Mental Health)
• 254423 Registered Nurse (Perioperative)
• 254424 Registered Nurse (Surgical)
• 254425 Registered Nurse (Paediatric)
• 254499 Registered Nurses nec
• 261111 ICT business Analyst
• 261112 Systems Analyst
• 261311 Analyst Programmer
• 261312 Developer Programmer
• 261313 Software Engineer
• 262112 ICT Security Specialist
• 263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer
• 312311 Electrical Engineering Draftsperson
• 312312 Electrical Engineering Technician
• 312999 Building and Engineering Technicians nec
The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) is a permanent visa for points tested skilled workers who are nominated by a state or territory government agency. NSW Treasury nominates eligible highly skilled workers to drive economic growth in NSW.
To effectively manage the ongoing high demand for NSW nomination, and to ensure that NSW nominees are aligned to the skills needs of the state’s economy, NSW uses a selection-based invitation process.
Candidates cannot directly apply for NSW nomination and should consider being invited to apply for NSW nomination as a limited possibility. Candidates are strongly encouraged to actively consider all migration pathways and visa options.

Be invited to apply

You must be invited to apply for NSW nomination – you cannot apply directly.
NSW does not invite EOIs outside the normal functioning of an invitation round. This includes because of visas expiring, losing eligibility for the visa, or points for age.

Age
You must be under 45 years of age.

Points claim
You must obtain a minimum score of 65 points in your SkillSelect EOI.

English language
At the time of invitation, you must have an English score of at least Competent English
If you are a citizen of the USA, UK, Canada, Republic of Ireland or New Zealand, you are not required to complete an English language test.
Occupation
You must hold a valid skills assessment in an occupation that exactly matches the occupation entered in your SkillSelect EOI.
Your commitment to NSW
You must commit to living and working in NSW for at least the first two years of your subclass 190 visa.

During an invitation round, EOIs in are ranked within an occupation code in order of:
1. Point score
2. English proficiency
3. Years of skilled work experience in your nominated occupation
The highest ranking EOIs up to the number of places available for a given occupation are generally issued an invitation to apply. When an EOI was submitted, or amended, does not affect its ranking.
Invitation rounds occur ongoing throughout the Australian financial year – there are no set dates. We will not respond to requests for the date of upcoming invitation rounds.
Because of the fluid nature of the NSW SkillSelect candidate pool, we cannot predict what point score/English score/work experience will be sufficient to be invited in future invitation rounds.
We will not prioritise candidates on the basis of visas expiring, losing points or eligibility, or living and working in NSW.

SC 491 VISAS

Regional Development Australia (RDA) offices will begin assisting NSW Treasury manage the subclass 491 visa in early February 2021.
Each RDA office will accept and assess applications, and determine eligible occupations for their respective regions; however, nomination criteria is consistent across all regions. These criteria are outlined below.
Information about how to apply will be made available on RDA websites as soon as possible. Links to participating region websites can be found below.
RDA offices will focus on nominating applicants who are undertaking skilled work in critical sectors. These applicants are a priority for Government in supporting economic recovery following the impacts of COVID-19.

You must meet the all criteria in one of the following three streams to be eligible for NSW nomination:
1. Living and working in regional NSW;
2. recently completed study in regional NSW; or
3. living and working outside of regional NSW.

Applicants who do not meet the criteria in one of these three streams may be refused unless otherwise agreed with NSW Treasury.
‘Closely related occupations’ are defined as those having the same ANZSCO unit group, i.e. sharing the same first four digits.
‘Designated regional areas’ are determined by Home Affairs. Please see their website for a list of regional NSW postcodes.

1. Living and working in regional NSW
To be eligible for NSW nomination under this stream you must

•  hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region’s occupation list;
•  have been living in a designated regional area of NSW for at least the previous 12 months; and
•  have been working in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation, in a designated regional area of NSW, for at least the previous 12 months.

2. Recently completed study in regional NSW
To be eligible for NSW nomination under this stream you must:

•  hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region’s occupation list;
•  have completed study or education with an education provider, where:o the study was completed within the previous 24 months;
• o the education provider is located in a designated regional area in NSW;
  o the study meets the Australian study requirement (as determined by Home Affairs from time to time); and
  o the qualification obtained from this study has been assessed as closely related to your nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority; and
• have lived in a designated regional area of NSW while completing your study

3. Living and working outside of regional NSW
To be eligible for NSW nomination under this stream you must meet all the criteria for at least one of the following categories:

a. Job offer in regional NSW

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this category you must:
• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region’s occupation list;
• have an offer for ongoing employment that is:
o in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation; and
o for a minimum term of 12 months and 35 hours of work per week;

• have an offer for ongoing employment from an employer that is:
o located in a designated regional area in NSW; and
o registered in Australia.

b. At least five years skilled employment experience (offshore Applicants)

If you reside outside of Australia, you must:
• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region’s occupation list; and
• have at least five years of skilled employment in such nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation.

c. Family ties in regional NSW

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this category you must:
• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region’s occupation list; and
• have an immediate family member in a designated regional area in NSW who satisfies all of the criteria below:
o is either your grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, brother or sister (including by virtue of a step or adoptive relationship);
o at least 18 years of age;
o either an Australian Permanent Resident, an Australian Citizen or a NSW nominated provisional visa holder (489);
o currently residing in a designated regional area in NSW; and
o has been residing in a designated regional area in NSW for at least the previous 24 months,
o and you must ensure that your family member has completed a statutory declaration to confirm that they satisfy each of the above chain migration requirements.

Participating regions

• Central Coast
• Central West
• Far South Coast
• Far West
• Hunter
• Illawarra
• Mid North Coast
• Northern Inland
• Northern Rivers
• Orana
• Riverina
• Southern Inland (including Murray region)
• Sydney