Skilled Visa Program of Queensland Closed For 2021–22

Queensland Skilled Program (Subclass 190 Visas and Subclass 491 Visas) is closed now for the year 2021-22. The program has closed due to the nomination allocation for the year being filled. Some of the important points of the announcement are as per below.

• For those candidates who have already received the invitations, their process will be continued by Migration Queensland.
• Moreover, the authority has also advised the nominated candidates to submit their required documents and pay the applicable fees within 14 days.
• If any candidates fail to do so then their applications will be considered closed.
• Those candidates who missed the chance to be nominated for the year will need to wait to lodge their Expression of Interest (EOI) until the next skilled migration program going to open in the next year 2022 – 2023.
• On the other end, candidates of subclass 491 Small Business Owners who have submitted their EOIs and the same category candidates, who have filled their assessment forms online until 6th May 2022 will still receive the invitations.
• Those candidates under the subclass 491 who have not submitted their Assessment Form for the 491-SBO by 6th May 2022 will need to submit the news EOI and assessment form when the new Skilled Program will open by the next financial year 2022 – 2023.
• However, the business programs of the migration Queensland remain open for the year 2021 – 2022.
• According to Migration Queensland due to the heavy demand for the pathway, the processing time will be up to 8 weeks to 2 weeks.

Migration Queensland

There are certain programs in Queensland State, that open time-by-time based on matching the nomination allocations quotas. Here is the list of the programs and their eligibility criteria.

• Subclass 190 Visa
• Subclass 491 Visa
• Graduates of a Queensland university
• Skilled workers living in Queensland
• Skilled workers living offshore – closed
• Small business owners operating in regional Queensland

Eligibility Criteria For 190 Subclass & 491 Subclass for Queensland State

• Candidates must have valid skilled assessment from any of the Australian Immigration nominated bodies.
• Candidates’ Age must be under 45 years.
• Candidates have to achieve 65 points at least (Count your Score for Free with Eligibility Point Calculator)
• English language proficiency must be achieved as per the requirement. Candidates need to appear any of one English language test
  • PTE (A) or
  • IELTS (G)
  • TOEFL (iBT)
  • Occupational English Test (OET)
  • ​Cambridge C1 Advanced test
• Skilled Occupations are also one of the key factors for state selection criteria

Eligibility Criteria for Graduates of a Queensland University for Queensland State

Here are the basic eligibility criteria for the candidates who have done Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree or PhD from a Queensland University.

• PhD Graduates (For subclass 190 & 491)
  • Occupations must fall in Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities)
  • Complete 100% courses within the last 2 years
  • No Job Requirement
• Master and Bachelor Graduates (491 only)
  • Occupations must fall in Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities)
  • Studied from Queensland University
  • Complete 100% course
  • Achieved GPA 60. or higher
  • Appear English Test with proficient result
  • Have at least 3 months’ work experience (with 20 hrs per week) in nominated or closely related occupations
  • Job offer of 12 months with at least 20 hrs per week

Eligibility Criteria for Skilled Workers Living in Queensland

• Occupations must fall in Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities)
• For the Subclass 190
  • Evidence of post-graduation employment with at least 35 hours per week.
  • The employment must be 6 months old and within the Queensland only and
  • The employment has to be under the nominated occupation before 6 months to submit the EOI.
• For the Subclass 491
  • Evidence of living or have been living in Queensland regional area.
  • Must have a full-time post-qualification employment (at least 35 hours per week) form the last 3 months or more.
  • The employment has to be under the nominated occupation before 6 months to submit the EOI.

Eligibility Criteria for Skilled Workers Living Offshore – Closed

Currently, the stream is closed for the offshore candidates and it may open in July – 2022. However, the basic subclass 190 and subclass 491 criteria remain applicable for all the candidates.

Small Business Owners Operating in Regional Queensland

Business owners need to achieve the basic eligibility criteria first and need to fulfil the requirement if department add in the application.

• Business occupation must fall in Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities)
• The business has successfully started at least 6 months before submitting the EOI or if it is a start-up then it must be 2 years old at least.
• Candidates must be on a visa that allows them to work full-time and operate the business at least 35 hours per week.
• In terms of purchasing a business these conditions are applicable
  • The business must not be home-based business
  • If it is franchise business then it has to be two years old before it purchase in the present location.
• Minimum amount of purchase business should be at least $100,000 or if it is a profitable start-up then it should be at least 2 years or higher and has turnover of $200,000 before the application.
• Business should be 100% owned – the partnership or joint ventures are not eligible
• Provide the evidence of sufficient funds and
• It must employ at least 1 Australian citizen, resident, who working for at least 20 hours per week.