New visa
The Australian Government has introduced a new permanent residence visa, subclass 192, from 3 June 2024 which permits eligible nationals of participating Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste to apply if they are first selected in a ballot.
The new visa is intended to deepen connections and improve mobility and migration opportunities within the Pacific region. It gives priority to countries with limited permanent migration opportunities to Australia, or citizenship rights with New Zealand, France, and the United States.
Three thousand places are allocated for this visa annually.
To be eligible to apply for the visa, an applicant has to be randomly selected in a ballot. The ballots are intended to ensure a fair and transparent process and equal access to the new visa for persons of any skill level, occupation, and gender. A separate annual ballot is held for each country and registration through the Department of Home Affair’s ImmiAccount is required.
Eligibility requirements to take part in the ballot are:
- aged between 18-45 years at the commencement of the ballot registration period for the particular country
- hold a valid passport issued by one of the participating countries
- be born in, or have a parent that was born in, any of the participating countries, or Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, or the Marshall Islands
- not be a citizen of New Zealand
- not already be registered in the same ballot
- pay the registration fee of AUD25.
Registration for the ballot has to occur within the registration period when the ballot is open.
If an applicant is selected, they can submit their visa application within 120 calendar days.
To apply for the permanent visa, selected applicants have to be between 18 and 45 years old, have a formal job offer in Australia, and meet general visa requirements
More details can be found in the full commentary in the By Lawyers Immigration guide.