Australia Permanent Visa Age Limit Over 45 years old
Australia Visa Age is the goal for any person who wants to live in Australia permanently. Most permanent visa types have restrictions placed on them on who is eligible to apply and be approved as a permanent resident. The restrictions can come in the form of occupation, annual earnings, visa history or even what age someone can be to apply for a specific visa subclass. This last aspect especially can be an issue for some potential applicants, especially if someone aims to live on a permanent basis within Australia but is over 45 years old.
In this article, we discuss briefly about some Australia permanent visa options for people who are over this age.
The Australian migration programs that allow people over 45 years old to apply for permanent residency are the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, Labour Agreements with approved ceiling for permanent resident visa, the Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)., Business, Partner and Parent Visas. The cut-off age for Skilled Migration Program (subclass 189 Independent, 190, 491 visas) is 45 and there are no exemptions.
Subclass 189 Visa New Zealand Stream: Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
Unlike most other Australian skilled residency visas, the New Zealand stream of 189 skilled independent visa has no upper age limit. Old aged New Zealand citizens can apply for the visa as long as they meet the other visa requirements such as the arrival date in Australia, residency requirements, taxable income, health and character requirements.
Subclass 186 Employer Sponsored Permanent visa Age Exemption
The subclass 186 Employer Sponsored Permanent visa has an age limit of 45 at the time of application. However, there are exemptions for this visa subclass that assist an applicant over the age of 45 to be eligible for it. One of the age exemptions is based on occupations.
These occupations can be found in the legislative instrument LIN 19/216 that outlines all the exemptions applicable to this subclass dependent on age, English language, or skills. The first is academic applicants that are applying for key positions within the academia field. Most notably, it enables nominations made by Australian Universities for either University Lecturers or Faculty Heads.
The other areas that are often called upon to be filled in despite age limits that are firmly in place otherwise, is in the field of regional medical practitioners. Australia’s Regional areas are almost always requiring more skilled individuals to render further aid due to shortages in key areas, not the least of which being the medical practitioner fields.
To be eligible, the applicant must have been working for 3 years before the day the visa application was made, as a medical practitioner and as the holder of a work visa. Additionally, during those 3 years, the person spent at least 2 years (whether made up of a continuous period or 2 or more non-consecutive periods) employed, as a medical practitioner, at a place or places that, at the time, in a designated regional area.
Another designated occupation that has been granted exceptions for the age limit is the science applicant including researcher, scientist and technical scientist. A science applicant is an individual that has been nominated by a science organisation and has been given an ANZSCO code nomination of level one or two. All of these occupations present opportunities for someone over the age of 45, to apply for a permanent Visa.
While it is not a permanent visa for people over the age of 45, the subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage Visa is an option that can be considered if someone wishes to come to Australia and work for some time. If you are over the age of 45 and working in specific occupations, you may be able to apply for permanent residency under the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme Visa, Temporary Residency Transition Stream. This is a very complicated process and requires a comprehensive assessment of the nominator and the applicant’s visa history.
subclass 858 Distinguished Talent Visa
The subclass 858 Distinguished Talent Visa is another visa type available to applicants who are over 45 years old. It is a visa subclass that normally has an age limit of 55. In order to be eligible for this visa subclass, you must firstly have internationally recognized proof of your skill level and capabilities.
This can be within the fields of sports, arts, academia, research or even a profession. This is done through promoting yourself as being exceptional within your chosen field of achievement, and needing to be acclaimed as exceptional within your chosen country within your field. The field must also be one that is recognized as legitimate within Australia, and has international standing. The applicant must also be nominated by an individual or organisation, with expertise in the same field.
The nominator must be either an: Australian Citizen, Australian permanent Resident, an eligible New Zealand Citizen or an Australian Organization. If you were chosen by the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy or supported by the Minister or Director-General responsible for national security, you will not need a nominator. Instead, you will simply have to provide evidence of your endorsement.
Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa
For individuals that are not internationally recognised in their area of expertise however they have an impressive business background, there is the option of going for a Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa. This is a visa subclass primarily devoted to those who seek to run their own business within Australia, engage in management of a business or even undertake an investment activity. The key aspect of this Visa that makes it attractive for an applicant over 45 is that it has an applicant age limit of under 55 years of age.
An important aspect of this visa subclass though is that you must submit an expression of interest over Skillselect and have at least 65 points in the points test. You must be nominated by a state or territory government agency or through the organization of Austrade. Finally, and most importantly, you must be invited to be able to apply for this subclass of Visa. There are many streams that can be offered throughout this subclass, ranging from Business innovation and investor all the way to more advanced option such as entrepreneur.
Australia Partner Visa
There are other options for a Permanent Visa under the Family Migration Program, such as the subclass 820 and subclass 801 or subclass 309 and subclass 100, the Temporary and Permanent Partner Visas respectively. The partner Visa subclasses do not have an upper age limit requirement. This subclass of Visa does however require that the applicant be in a genuine and continuing relationship with an Australian Citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen meaning that the applicant must supply proof that they are in a de-facto relationship or be in a marriage with one another.
The applicant and the sponsor must have at-least known one another for a period of twelve months to prove that the relationship is a genuine one. Alternatively, your relationship can be registered with an Australian authority such as registry of births, deaths and marriages. However, this subclass is naturally reliant on the ability for a prospective applicant to be able to have a long-term relationship already ongoing with an Australian sponsor. As always, it is important to only make Visa applications for visas that you are eligible for.
Australia Parent Visa
Finally, another option to consider if you are seeking permanent visa options after being over the age of 45 is the option to apply for a Parent Visa. These visa subtypes are varied, as can be found in our previous article on the matter; ranging from both contributory Parent Visas to more standard parent Visas. Both with their own advantages and disadvantages. However, the key factor in going for any of the parent Visas is that you are eligible for them regardless of your age provided you pass the balance of family test requirements that are needed to be fulfilled in order to be eligible.
Contact Visa Lounge team of registered migration agents in Brisbane to discuss your application for Australia permanent visa age limit over 45 years old and get your permanent residency even if you are over 45 years old.
