International students and skilled or semi-skilled people who find it hard to get state government nomination or employer nomination discover that Darwin and other areas of the NT to be an easier place to gain permanent residence in Australia. There are many concessions on age limits, English ability and lower skill occupations as shown below.
NT GOVERNMENT NOMINATIONS
THE 190 VISA
The 190 Skilled Nominated visa is a permanent resident visa and must be nominated by a State or Territory government. The basic requirements from Immigration for this visa are:-
1. The visa applicant is under 45 years of age;
2. He has been skill assessed for an occupation in the MLTSSL occupation list;
3. He has competent English which is 6.0 for each of the four components of the IELTS test.
4. He has a minimum of 65 points on the skilled assessment point calculator for 190 visas.
5. He has been nominated by the NT government which also gives him 5 extra points.
Here are the full requirements by the NT government for nomination of the 190 visa:-
International Students
International student graduates who have studied in the NT will be eligible for a subclass 190 nomination if they have met the following criteria before applying for nomination:
- successfully completed one or more qualifications after studying in the NT, at an NT-based institution for two years in a single tertiary course or a set of nested tertiary courses, and lived in the NT for a period of at least six continuous months immediately after the date of completion* of their last qualification, while holding a visa that has no work limitations (graduates will be required to apply for a subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa to enable this); the time spent on a bridging visa associated with a subclass 485 visa application can be counted in the six month period, and demonstrated genuine and sustained efforts to obtain employment** from an NT employer in their nominated occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.
Other NT residents
An NT resident applicant includes those on temporary visas with work rights, currently residing in the NT.
NT resident applicants will be eligible for a subclass 190 nomination if you:
demonstrate that you have been residing in the NT for at least two consecutive years immediately prior to application
demonstrate that none of your migrating dependants are residing in another part of Australia, and
demonstrate full-time employment in the NT in an eligible occupation continuously for at least two years immediately prior to applying for NT nomination and demonstrate the employment is available for at least a further 12 months.
General Information
• if you or any of your migrating dependants are currently living interstate, you will not be eligible for the Northern Territory (NT) nomination
• if you or any of your migrating dependants are currently on a student visa and are currently still studying in an NT institution, you will not be eligible for NT nomination
• if you have already been nominated for a subclass 489 or 491 visa by the NT, you will not be eligible for a subclass 190 nomination.
THE 491 VISA
The 491 Skilled Nominated visa is a temporary resident visa and must be nominated by a State or Territory government. The basic requirements from Immigration for this visa are:-
1. The visa applicant is under 45 years of age;
2. He has been skill assessed for an occupation in the combined Skilled occupation list;
3. He has competent English which is 6.0 for each of the four components of the IELTS test.
4. He has a minimum of 65 points on the skilled assessment point calculator for 491 visas.
5. He has been nominated by the NT government which also gives him 15 extra points.
International student graduates who are unable to live in the NT for six months after completing two years of study in the NT will only be considered for a subclass 491 nomination. They must provide evidence of making genuine efforts to obtain employment** from an NT employer in their nominated occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.
They will be expected to demonstrate genuine efforts and progress towards being employed in the NT in their nominated occupation both during and after your studies. These applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
* Date of completion is the date on which you were notified that you have met all academic course requirements. This is the date when the final exam results or notice of course completion were available or published.
** Genuine and sustained efforts to obtain employment can be demonstrated through evidence of a number of applications made over a period of time for jobs in relevant occupations in the NT, and other supporting evidence such as membership in relevant professional associations, or positive feedback from industry contacts in the NT.
Other NT residents
NT resident applicants will be considered for a subclass 491 nomination if you meet the following requirements:
applicants who started living in the NT prior to 1 July 2020, must:
demonstrate that you have been residing in the NT for at least six consecutive months immediately prior to application
demonstrate that none of your migrating dependants are residing in another part of Australia, and
demonstrate full-time employment in the NT in an eligible occupation for at least six consecutive months immediately prior to applying for NT nomination and demonstrate the employment is available for at least a further 12 months.
applicants who start living in the NT on or after 1 July 2020, must:
demonstrate that you have been residing in the NT for at least 12 consecutive months
demonstrate that none of your migrating dependants are residing in another part of Australia, and
demonstrate full-time employment in the NT in an eligible occupation for at least six consecutive months immediately prior to applying for NT nomination and demonstrate that the employment is available for at least a further 12 months.
NT EMPLOYER NOMINATION
AGE CONCESSIONS FOR 482 AND 494 VISAS UNDER DAMA NT
The Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement (NT DAMA) provides eligible businesses access to occupations and visa applicants that are not available through the standard stream. This is because of a special arrangement between the NT government and the Immigration Department through an over-arching labour agreement.
The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa (subclass 494) provides for English language, age, skill and Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) concessions.
The SESR visa normally requires workers to be under 45 years of age. Under the NT DAMA Labour Agreement Stream for 494, worker nominated for skill level 1 to 4 occupations have a higher age limit of under 55 years. The 494 visa can transition to the 191 permanent resident visa after 3 years.
Similarly, those are transitioning from a TSS visa to permanent residency through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 also have a higher age limit of under 55 years. SESR and ENS visa applicants may be nominated if they have not turned 55 years of age at the time of SESR or ENS nomination. Age concessions only apply to skill level 1 to 4 occupations.
482 (NT DAMA II) VISA
This is a temporary resident skilled visa specifically granted for workers who are sponsored by an NT based employer under the Labor Agreement stream of the 482 Employer Nomination Visa. It is a pathway to the 186 permanent resident visa after 3 years of working for the same employer. NT government endorsement is required in each case.
Criteria and Requirement
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Must be under 55 years
This is a major concession compared to the 489 or 494 visas which is restricted to under 45 years of age. This age requirement is at the time of application and not at time of decision nor at the time of transition to the 186 visa.
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Functional level (5.0 IELTS overall with no component less than 4.0)
Some occupations have lower requirements. When transitioning to the 186 visa the level must be 5.0 overall and each component not lower than 4.5 in IELTS.
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Normally the TSMIT salary level of $53,900 applies
Some occupations allow salary concession for up to 10% below the TSMIT level. i.e. not less than $48,510.
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Any occupation on the NT Migration Occupation list or the DAMA Occupation list qualifies. These include:
Barista, Bar Attendant Supervisor, waiter supervisor, beauty therapist, book keeper, beef farmer, bus driver, child care worker, community worker, crop farm worker, crowd controller, disability services officer, fishing hand, family day care worker, general clerk, OSH care worker, office manager, store person and truck driver.
Other skilled migration visas require the occupation to be on the MLTSSL or STSOL occupation lists. These occupations are usually on Level 1,2 or 3 of the ANZSCO occupations. The DAMA occupation list includes ANZSCO level 4 occupations.
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The NT Government may assess the visa applicant’s skills in lieu of a formal skills assessment by assessing bodies such as TRA or VETASSESS
491 VISA
The 491 visa is a temporary skilled visa for applicants willing to live and work in regional Australia. It requires nomination by a State or Territory government under terms and conditions determined by those governments. This table is for the NT government nomination. Other States or Territories will have their own conditions.
Criteria and Requirement
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Under 45 years of age
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Competent level (6.0 overall and 6.0 for each of the 4 components in IELTS)
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The occupation must be on the CSOL list and on the NT Migration Occupation list.
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Skill Assessment must be done by the assessing body mentioned in the CSOL list.
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Must have a minimum of 65 points on the skilled assessment point calculator. The visa application assessment of points must not be less than the points shown in the EOI. Points are awarded for age group, post-secondary qualifications, overseas work experience, Australian work experience, qualifications held by the applicant’s partner, studies of at least 2 years undertaken in Australia, license to be a NAATI interpreter.
Begin with an application for Expression of Interest (EOI) and then to the NT government for nomination. If nomination is approved, the Department of Immigration will automatically issue an invitation to lodge the 491 visa.
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This is compulsory. If the NT government does not support the nomination no invitation to lodge the visa will be issued. 15 points will be added to the applicant’s skilled points score if a nomination is offered by the NT government.
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Has studied in the NT for 2 years. But has not lived continuously in NT for 6 months after graduating. But shows evidence of making genuine effort to obtain employment in NT both during and after studies. Genuine effort means having made a number of applications over a period of time to find employment in the nominated occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.
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Started living in NT before 1/7/20. Demonstrates having resided in the NT for at least 6 months. No dependents are living in another state. Has full-time employment in an eligible occupation for at least 6 months immediately before applying for nomination. “Eligible occupation” means the occupations in the NT eligible occupations list which is quite comprehensive.
Started living in NT on or after 1/7/20. Has resided in NT for at least 12 consecutive months. No dependents are living in another state. Has full-time employment in an eligible occupation for at least 6 months immediately before applying for nomination and the employment is available for another year. “Eligible occupation” means the occupations in the NT eligible occupations list which is quite comprehensive.
190 VISA
The 190 Visa is a Permanent Resident Visa and must be nominated by a State or Territory government.
Criteria and Requirement
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Under 45 years of age
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Competent level (6.0 overall and 6.0 for each of the 4 components in IELTS)
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The occupation must be on the CSOL list and on the NT Migration Occupation list.
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Must have a minimum of 65 points on the skilled assessment point calculator. The visa application assessment of points must not be less than the points shown in the EOI. Points are awarded for age group, post-secondary qualifications, overseas work experience, Australian work experience, qualifications held by the applicant’s partner, studies of at least 2 years undertaken in Australia, license to be a NAATI interpreter.
Begin with an application for Expression of Interest (EOI) and then to the NT government for nomination. If nomination is approved, the Department of Immigration will automatically issue an invitation to lodge the 491 visa.
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This is compulsory. If the NT government does not support the nomination no invitation to lodge the visa will be issued.
15 points will be added to the applicant’s skilled points score if a nomination is offered by the NT government.
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Has studied in the NT for 2 years. Has lived continuously in NT for 6 months after graduating and held a visa with no working limitations. Demonstrated genuine and sustained effort to obtain employment from an NT employer in the nominated occupation or closely related skilled occupation.
If a person is still on a student visa he/she is not qualified. Work done while on a Bridging visa A and awaiting a 485 application will count towards the 6 months of work. The date for beginning the 6 months is date of final exam result or notice of course completion.
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Currently living in NT. Has resided in NT for 2 years. No dependents living in another part of Australia. Has a temporary visa with work rights. Worked full-time in an eligible occupation in the NT for 2 years immediately before applying for nomination and the job is available for another year.