Apex Visas explains benefits of Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa

For those candidates who fall in the category of skilled labor but are not sponsored, Australian Immigration policies have an upside. The Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa is specially designed for those candidates who are skilled but have not been sponsored by a state or territory, employer or a family member. This visa will allow such skilled-independent candidates to live and work permanently anywhere in Australia. On top of this, candidate can also include eligible family members in the application. Apex Visas lauds this as an option which would offer the candidates a permanent visa and allows one to remain in Australia indefinitely and enjoy all the working rights.

To apply under this subclass, one needs to submit an Expression of Interest. The biggest catch in this type of visa is that the applications are by invitation only. Now in order to be invited, a candidate must submit an Expression of Interest and have an occupation that is relevant to the skilled occupation list (SOL). Along with this, one needs to have within the age group of 18-50 years and meet the necessary English language requirements.

Candidate can include a partner, own or partner’s dependent child and dependent relatives/parents. The processing for this visa takes place on priority basis. Australian Immigration follows a specific procedure to arrange the applications and process them in a specific order.

Under this visa, a candidate receives following benefits:

v  live and work permanently in Australia

v  study in Australia

v  enroll in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses

v  access certain social security payments

v  apply for Australian citizenship (subject to residency criteria)

v  Sponsor family members for permanent residence.