Queensland says ‘now is the perfect time’ to apply for immigration visas
Are you thinking about applying for a business, skilled or investor retirement visa?
On Tuesday, November 26, Business and Skilled Migration Queensland announced that “now is the perfect time” to turn your thoughts into actions!
The organisation has released a new fee schedule for these and other immigration visas, which will be effective from January 1, 2014.
It will cost $200 AUD to apply for a subclass 190 (skilled – nominated) visa following the introduction of the new fee schedule.
This visa is for both skilled migrant workers and postgraduate students who want to live and work in the Sunshine State permanently. Those wishing to apply for this visa must be nominated by the government of Queensland. If you are a skilled migrant worker, your chosen profession must feature on the Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL) if you wish to be considered for this visa.
If, on the other hand, you’re a postgraduate student, you must have graduated from a university in Queensland with a PhD or Masters to apply for a subclass 190 visa. Should you fall into the latter category, your profession must also be listed on the QSOL for alumni.
It will also cost $200 AUD to apply for the subclass 489 (skilled – nominated, provisional) visa from January 1, 2014.
This allows skilled migrant workers who have been nominated by the state to live and work in regional Queensland on a temporary basis (a maximum of four years).
Again, your occupation should appear on the QSOL if you want to apply for this visa. You must also fulfil a number of other requirements, such as possessing at least competent grasp of English and being under the age of 50, in order to be eligible.
The subclass 405 (investor retirement) visa will cost $500 AUD to apply for as of New Year’s Day, as will applying under all streams for the subclass 188 (business innovation and investment, provisional) visa.
Business and Skilled Migration Queensland added that now is also “the perfect time” to apply for any or all of these visas, because the Sunshine State boasts “the most competitive processing times of all the Australian states and territories”.
“Applications for some business visa subclasses are processed in as little as one week,” said a spokesperson.