There are many and varied opportunities for people to migrate to Regional Australia. 

Regional Australia includes areas outside the major metropolitan areas such as Sydney, South East Queensland, and Melbourne.

Because of skills shortages in regional areas, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have made certain allowances, which have less onerous criteria than standard visa applications. Certain professions and skills are highly desired in regional areas.  Recently some of the most in demand skills have been accountants, engineers, chefs.  However, there are many other skills that are required.

The visa options for migration to Regional Australia include the following:

Temporary Business Visas (457)

A Temporary Business Visa (457) will allow the primary visa holder to live and work for an employer sponsor in Australia for up to 4 years.  The spouse of the visa holder is unlimited in their work rights.  There are three stages to this category of visa:

• Stage 1 - Sponsorship
  
  This stage is specifically designed to assess whether the sponsor is an eligible sponsor.  An eligible sponsor can nominate more than one position under the sponsorship and this will depend upon your requirements and the size of the sponsoring organization.
  
  
• Stage 2 - Nomination
  
  The nomination is the assessment of the position you are seeking to fill.  There are some core criteria in relation to minimum salary levels and minimum skills required; however, there is some scope to waive these provisions.  Should a waiver be required, I will make an application to the relevant authority.
  
  
• Stage 3 - Visa Application
  
  This is the final step required.  This will examine the skills of the visa applicant in comparison to the nomination, ensuring that the visa applicant is suitably skilled to fill the role nominated.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)

The Regional Sponsored Migration (RSMS) program is available for employers to sponsor their employee for permanent residency.

The main criteria for this visa are:

• There is a 2 year contract between the employer and the employee, which will commence within 6 months of the visa being granted, and for a minimum of 2 years.
  
• The applicant has a minimum of a Diploma level qualification.
• The applicant is under the age of 45 years.
  
• The applicant, their spouse and any dependents over the age of 18 years has functional English.

A number of these criteria are eligible to be waived.  I will assess each on its own merits to be able to ascertain whether a waiver is achievable.

The application for an RSMS Visa consists of 3 steps:

• Step 1 - Regional Certification
  
• Step 2 - Nomination
  
• Step 3 - Visa Application

Step 1 - Regional Certification
The certification from the Regional Certifying Body (RCB) is vital to this application. It allows the RCB to certify that this position is difficult to fill in the local labour market and that the salary it will attract is comparable to other salaries being earned in the area.

Step 2 - Nomination
Once the Visa has received Regional Certification, Migration Pathways will lodge your Nomination with The Department of Immigration and Citizenship(DIAC).  At this stage no further information is required to lodge the nomination, unless it is specifically required by DIMIA.

Step 3 - Visa Application
Your visa application to DIAC can be lodged at the same time as the Nomination (Stage 2), or once the Nomination has been approved. 
The visa applicant is assessed, by DIAC, against base criteria. In addition you will also be required to provide results of full medical examinations and police clearances.

Skilled Independent Regional (SIR)

The Skilled Independent Regional (SIR) Visa is a temporary visa which allows a visa holder a temporary visa, valid for 3 years. 

After the applicant and their dependents have lived in a regional area for a minimum of 2 years and they have been employed for at least 12 months, they can apply for a permanent residency, under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) or a number of other categories.

This category of visa is points tested, however the points required are less than those required for Skilled Visas.

The applicant is also required to be sponsored by the State or Territory government.