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There barely must be someone who doesn’t want to secure a better future for themselves and their family. If you want a prominent future in a land of captivating landscapes, vibrant culture, and limitless possibilities, Australia is providing multiple visa options and an easier migration pathway for you. Out of various visa options, 187 visa Australia is a working visa that provides you with the opportunity to grasp permanent residency in Australia. You can work, study and live indefinitely in Australia along with your family members. Though you need to fulfil a few of the eligibility requirements, the benefits that you get are more rewarding.

What is RSMS 187 Visa Subclass?

The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa Subclass 187 is a working visa that allows you to live and work in regional areas of Australia as a skilled worker with the employer’s nomination. The 187 visa Australia is designed to address labour shortages in regional areas by enabling employers in those regions to sponsor foreign workers to fill skilled positions that cannot be filled by the local workforce. This visa provides you with permanent residence in Australia. Thus you can live in Australia as long as you want. You can bring your family members along with you in this visa subclass and enjoy the opportunity to live together in a vibrant and prosperous country like Australia.

Visa 494 has three visa streams: Employer-Sponsored Stream, 494 Labour Agreement Stream, and Subsequent Entrant Stream. You can choose from one of the streams depending on your circumstances and your employer’s agreements with the Australian Government. Although the visa subclass 494 is a temporary residence visa, you can obtain permanent residency in Australia after three years by fulfilling certain criteria set by the Australian Department of Home Affairs. You can include your family members along with your visa application so that they can enjoy the same benefits as you.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme 187 Visa Australia Streams

There are two streams for the subclass 187 visa:

Direct Entry Stream

The direct entry stream is closed now(From 15th November 2019) and has been replaced by Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) – Subclass 494 Visa.

Temporary Residence Transition Stream

You can apply for the subclass 187 visa through the Temporary Residence Transition Stream. Now all the applicants for the Subclass 187 visa Australia need to apply through this stream as specified by the Australian Department of Home Affairs. The eligibility and document requirements, benefits, visa process, 187 visa cost, and processing times for this stream are all described in the topics below.

Subclass 187 Visa Requirements

The eligibility requirement for both the primary applicant and employer are given below:

For Primary Applicant

187 visa eligibility requirement for the primary applicant is as follows:

1. Work Experience: You must have been employed with your current employer for a minimum of 2 to 3 years while holding either a 457 Visa or a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 Visa.

2. Age: You must be under 45 years of age unless you are an exempt

3. 187 Visa English Requirements: You need to provide evidence of competent English through any of the following:

• You need to have a valid passport from the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, or the Republic of Ireland.

OR,

• You need to achieve the following minimum scores in English language tests:
  • IELTS: Minimum of 6 scores overall
  • OET: Minimum of B overall
  • TOEFL iBT: Minimum scores of 12 for listening, 13 for reading, 21 for writing, and 18 for speaking
  • PTE: Minimum of 50 scores overall

OR,

• You have to provide evidence of completing five years of full-time study in a secondary or higher education institution where all instruction was delivered in English

4. Health and Character: You have to meet the health and character requirement as specified by the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

5. Nomination: You must receive a nomination from an Australian employer and apply for the visa 187 within six months of the nomination being approved, in cases where the visa and nomination applications were not lodged simultaneously.

6. You need to have the necessary skills and qualifications required to carry out the tasks of your nominated occupation. You may also need to go through the skill assessment if the DHA Australia asks for it.

For the Employer

187 visa eligibility requirements for the employers are as follows:

• The employer who sponsored you for the 457 visa or subclass 482 must remain the same
• The business of your employer must not be engaged in unlawful activities or have a disreputable reputation
• Your employer's business should be legally active in regional Australia
• Your employer must genuinely require someone to fill the nominated position in regional Australia
• Your employer must offer you a position for a minimum of two years, with the option to extend beyond two years
• Your sponsor must have the capability to pay at least AUD 250,000 during the two-year period. If not, they must pay at least the annual salary market rate for the duration of those two years

You are exempt from the age requirement if:

1. You have been nominated by an Australian university for an academic position, such as a university lecturer or faculty head, at Academic level B, C, D, or E
2. You have been nominated by an Australian scientific government agency for a role as a scientist, researcher, or technical specialist with an ANZSCO skill level of 1 or 2
3. You are a health worker who has worked in your nominated occupation under a 457 visa or a visa 482 for a minimum of three years, out of which two years were in regional Australia
4. Throughout the three years of working under a 457 visa or a 482 visa, you earned an income that was at least equivalent to the Fair Work High Income Threshold, currently AUD 153,600 per year
5. You either had or were granted a visa 457 or a visa 482 in April of 2017 when you were 50 years old

Benefits of 187 Visa Australia

The following are the benefits that you get with visa subclass 187 Australia:

• You get to stay in regional areas of Australia permanently
• You can work and study in Australia
• You get enrolled in Medicare
• You can sponsor your relatives to come and live in Australia
• You can travel to and from Australia anytime you want for 5 years
• You can also apply for Australian Citizenship( if you are eligible)

Regional Employer Nomination Subclass 187 Visa Document Checklist

Below mentioned are the 187 visa checklist for the primary applicant:

1. Identity documents: You must provide a copy of your current passport’s information page. If you’ve got your national id then you’ll have to provide a copy of it too

2. You need to provide the document for the proof of name change such as a marriage certificate, divorce certificate(if applicable), etc

3. Proof of skill assessment: You may need to submit evidence demonstrating that you possess the required skills to undertake the nominated work position

4. You will need to provide the documents to prove that you’ve at least a competent level of English language

5. Health Documents: You won’t have to provide the health documents

6. Character Document: You will need to provide documents proving your good character, such as police clearance certificates

7. If your partner is coming along with you then you’ll have to provide their:

• Identity documents
• Character documents
• Partner documents
• Evidence of English language proficiency

8. If you are including family members under 18 years old then you need to provide the following documents:

9. If you are including family members who are 18 years old or older then you need to provide the following documents:

• Identity documents for each family member
• Documents related to their additional relationships, if applicable
• Character documents for each family member
• Evidence of their dependence on you
• Evidence of Functional English, (if applicable)

187 Visa Checklist for Employers

Your sponsor is required to submit various documents for your nomination for the 187 visa:

1. Employment contract: The contract should outline your base salary or the annual market rate. If you are earning less than AUD 250,000, your employer must pay you the annual market salary rate.

2. Proof of legal business activities: Your employer must provide evidence of legal business operations, such as tax certificates, business name registration certificates, etc

3. Written statement: Your employer must provide a statement confirming that you met the work conditions while you held a visa 457 or 482. This statement should include details about your work period, any leave taken, business-related trips, etc.

4. Financial statements (if required): Your sponsor may need to submit financial statements if they are part of the nomination process.

5. Evidence of genuine need for an employee Your employer must provide evidence to support the genuine need for overseas workers to fill the nominated position.

6. Proof of paid levy fund: As a sponsor for visa 187, your employer must pay the Skilling Australians Fund. The amount will vary based on the size of the business and the employment period:

• AUD 3,000 for a small business with an annual turnover of less than AUD 10 million
• AUD 5,000 for a larger business with an annual turnover of AUD 10 million or more

7. Proof of eligibility If the nominated position is subject to specific conditions and is not on the skills occupation list, your employer needs to submit evidence justifying why they believe the position is eligible for nomination.

8. Documents proving sponsor change If there was a change of employer while you held a visa 457 or 482, your new employer must demonstrate that you worked for the same sponsor in the same role for at least three years or two years. They also need to provide records of any sale, business takeover, or restructuring that occurred

Australian 187 Visa Application Process

Step by step 187 visa application process is described below:

Check Eligibility

You need to ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria for the 187 visa Australia. You’ll need to have the required skills and qualifications, and meet the health and character requirements.

Nomination

Your sponsor needs to nominate you for a specific occupation within their business and submit an online application through ImmiAccount on the website of the Australian Department of Home Affairs. Your sponsor needs to complete the application form properly and also attach all the necessary documents.

Get your TRN

After submitting a nomination application, your nominator will receive a Transaction Reference Number (TRN). The TRN serves as a unique identifier for your nomination application and is required for making a valid visa request. Therefore, you have to ensure that you have this number when you submit your visa request.

Apply for the Visa

You’ll need to apply for visa 187 by submitting an online application via ImmiAccount from the website of the Australian Department of Home Affairs. You will also need to submit all the required documents along with the 187 visa application. You will need to pay the 187 visa fee at the time of application submission to complete your application process.

Decision on the Visa Application

The Department of Home Affairs will assess your visa application, and if all requirements are met, visa 187 Australia will be granted to you.

RSMS Australia 187 Visa Fees

The visa 187 cost may differ as per whether or not you’re a primary applicant or an additional applicant. The following table shows the 187 visa fee that you need to pay:

187 Visa Processing Time

The 187 visa Australia processing time as per the Australian Department of Home Affairs is as follows:

• 25% of applications: 10 Months
• 50% of applications: 12 Months
• 75% of applications: 15 Months
• 90% of applications: 16 Months

However, it may take a longer period of time for your visa application to be processed if:

• If you don’t fill out your visa application properly
• If you don’t include all the required documents along with your visa application
• If you don’t pay the necessary application fee on time
• If it takes more time for DHA to verify the information that you provided

Conclusion

The Subclass 187 Visa, also known as the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Visa, provides a valuable pathway for you to obtain permanent residency in Australia while contributing to the regional development of the country as a skilled worker. 187 visa Australia provides you with numerous benefits such as you living together with your family, enjoying the Medicare benefit, etc. But you have to make sure that you fulfil all the required eligibility criteria and submit all the necessary documents for visa subclass 187. You can also enjoy the opportunity of obtaining Australian Citizenship if you are eligible for it.

Though it’s a great opportunity for your professional career and personal well-being if you obtain this visa, you can still face a lot of difficulties in the application process and gathering the documents. Thus you can contact the professionals like CDR Writer Australia to assist you in your journey to apply for Australia visa 187. Our team of professionals who have been working in this field for a long time can provide you with expert suggestions and guide you throughout the Visa 187 Australia journey.