Australia Permanent Residency Visa (PR) is a type of visa given to foreign nationals on meeting the set criteria by the immigration authority of Australia. An Australian PR (permanent resident) is a non-citizen of Australia, who can work, live and study in Australian just like an Australian citizen without any restrictions.

The permanent residency of Australian and citizenship bear differences in cases of international travels and voting.

Australia Permanent Residency Visa and Eligibility Criteria

The immigration process of Australia is based on points system. For someone, who is interested to apply for Australian Permanent Residency Visa, it is mandatory to follow the point based system. The point test system is applicable to some of the categories, and not all.

Subclass 189, 190, and 489 under skilled migration are point tested and the minimum requirement is 65. In business migration only two streams in subclass 188 are points tested and the minimum score requirement is 65.

The calculation of points varies for each visa and subclass. Greater the points, the stronger would be your permanent visa application case.

Points Test (only for subclass 189, 190 and 489)

The Australian Immigration Authorities have a clear and concise method of weighing your credentials while granting you Australia Permanent Residency Visa. The factors on which you are assigned points are:

  • Age: You should be below 45 years of age to get Australian PR.
  • Skills: Your skills, are your greatest markers for PR visa application. Every year, the Immigration and Border Protection Department of Australia releases updated list of skill sets, that are highly rated in Australia or in any region of Australia.

If the skills, you have nominated are in the regional or Australian highly rated skills list, you are more likely to get invitation for visa application and approval thereof for permanent residency in Australia.

  • English language proficiency: The minimum requirement for making a valid application for Australia PR visa is competent English, which is as follows:
  • IELTS – The minimum requirement is 6 points for listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills.
  • TOEFL iBT – The minimum requirements for listening skills is 12, reading skills is 13, writing skills is 21, and speaking skills is 18 points.
  • PTE Academic – The minimum requirement for listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills is 50 points.
  • CAE – The minimum requirement for speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills is 169 points.

  • Academic qualification: Your academic qualification (accredited in Australia or overseas) count to the points test.
  • Profession: Your occupation would not offer you points, but would surely give your application an edge over others. It is because points are awarded based on the number of years of ‘recognized experience’ you have in that occupation. Most importantly, it is mandatory to nominate an occupation from one of the lists (MLTSSL or STSOL or ROL), which not necessarily will give you points.

The points test, decides what advantages you bring to Australia if you work and live here as an Australia PR holder.