Sponsorship Options
David Fuller talks to representatives of two Australian state governments and one Canadian provincial government to find out more about each area's sponsored visa system
What sponsorship options are available for people interested in emigrating to your state/province?
Anthony Hull (South Australian state government: South Australia actively participates in all visa programs available in Australia for which a State sponsorship or regional certification is required. In a nutshell, the following categories are being offered:
General Skilled Migration (GSM)
Offshore:
Skilled Sponsored (Migrant) Visa (subclass 176 – permanent)
Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) Visa (subclass 475)
Onshore:
Skilled Sponsored (Residence) Visa (subclass 886 - permanent)
Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) Visa (subclass 487)
Employer Sponsored Migration
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 119 / 857 - permanent)
Business Migration
State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 163)
State/Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) (subclass 164)
State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) (subclass 165)
State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Residence) (subclass 892)
State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Residence) (subclass 893)
Business Talent (subclass 132 – permanent)
Regional Established Business in Australia (subclass 846)
Investor Retirement (subclass 405)
This comprehensive list of visa categories meets the needs of most people intending to emigrate to Australia, in particular, South Australia.
Under the GSM programme, South Australia offers sponsorship for permanent residency under visa subclass 176, to people who cannot meet the number of points required for a Skilled Independent Visa but have skills that are considered in demand in our State such as managers, professionals, associate professionals and tradespeople.
South Australia's extensive list of occupations for permanent sponsorship and other criteria can be viewed online at www.migration.sa.gov.au.
South Australia has also been very successful in sponsoring people for the 475 visa subclass. This is a provisional visa suitable for people who can meet the lower pass mark set for the visa and have a skill that appears on the list of occupations for provisional sponsorship. After living and working in a regional area of Australia for the prescribed period of time, 475 visa holders can then apply for permanent residency. For migration purposes, all of South Australia, including the State's capital city Adelaide, is classified as 'regional'.
Querida Seip (Victoria state government): The Victorian Government offers visa sponsorship options to professionals, tradespeople and business people who want to live and work in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Obtaining visa sponsorship can assist eligible immigrants to meet the requirements for a permanent residence visa. Visa sponsorship can provide additional points on the DIAC points test, it does not provide financial or job support. Visa sponsorship options in Victoria are available under the visa subclasses listed below:
Skilled visas
· Skilled – Sponsored (176/886) visa
· Skilled – Regional Sponsored (475/487) visa
Business visas (Provisional)
· Business Owner (163) visa
· Investor (165) visa
· Senior Executive (164) visa
· Investor Retirement (405) visa
Business visas (Permanent)
· Business Owner (892) (Residence) visa
· Investor (893) (Residence) visa
· Business Talent (132) (Migrant) visa
· Regional Established Business in Australia (846) visa
Sonia Sinah (Alberta provincial government): The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Programme (AINP) has a number of options available for people interested in making Alberta their permanent home.
Individuals who have secured permanent, full-time employment with an Alberta employer may be eligible to apply under the Employer-Driven Stream.
Individuals with a family member in Alberta may be eligible to apply under the Family Stream.
Individuals who want to come to Alberta to establish or purchase a farming business may wish to explore the AINP's Self-Employed Farmer Stream.
Foreign nationals considering emigration to Alberta through the AINP are encouraged to visit www.albertacanada.com/ainp to fully explore their options.
When did you start offering sponsorship options?
Anthony Hull: The first State Specific and Regional Migration (SSRM) visa introduced was the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS, subclass 119) in October 1995. As other visa categories were progressively introduced over the years under the SSRM, South Australia was, and remains, an enthusiastic participant in all categories available. In March 2004 the South Australian Government was the first in Australia to launch a population policy (Prosperity though People) which set overseas migration targets to ensure that the State attracts its fair share of international migrants. To date, all targets have been met or are tracking ahead of schedule.
Querida Seip: Victoria has been offering visa sponsorship options for skilled migrants since 2000 and business migrants since 2003. Visa sponsorship allows the Victorian Government to attract to the Victorian labour market, people with trade and professional skills, that cannot be sourced locally and which complement education and training strategies. It also enables the Victorian economy to benefit from business people who bring their entrepreneurial skills and acumen to the state, establishing new businesses and creating jobs.
Sonia Sinah: The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) was established in March 2002 as an employer-driven pilot program to assist Alberta employers with attracting and retaining skilled foreign workers on a full-time, permanent basis when the employers are unable to fill their labour needs with residents of Alberta or Canada. A foreign skilled worker who applies on his or her own for permanent residency in Canada faces federal processing times of between two to five years. With a provincial nomination, the same worker can obtain permanent residency in six to eighteen months. The AINP allows the Province of Alberta to select and nominate foreign workers who will make the strongest contribution to Alberta's labour force in the long-term.
How successful have you been in utilising nomination visas and attracting the immigrants you need?
Anthony Hull: South Australia is the largest user in the country of the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) and the Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa. We have also attracted more than our population share of business migrants to settle in our state.
Querida Seip: Since 2000, the Victorian Government has nominated more than 8,500 skilled migrants and since 2003, more than 7,500 business migrants, to Victoria.
In 2007-08 the top occupations sponsored to Victoria included scientists, engineers, tradespeople, teachers, IT professionals and nurses. Migrants from the UK and Ireland are well represented in sponsored occupations, particularly, trades, nursing, allied health, engineering, and ICT.
Sonia Sinah: The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) is very successful. The numbers for UK have been increasing steadily over the last couple of years.
In 2005, there were 392 nominations issued. This number increased to 802 nominations in 2006; 1,288 in 2007; and 2,732 in 2008. A total of 5,611 persons were nominated from the UK from 2002 to 2008.
We have been successfully adding new streams/categories to AINP, and we are continuing to market Alberta as a destination of choice for immigrants and temporary foreign workers.
Key reasons people want to relocate to Alberta, include: A great lifestyle, world-class recreation and a lower cost of living; a strong economy with job opportunities; lowest income tax rates in Canada; one of the highest-ranked education systems in the world; excellent public health-care system; and low crime
Do you foresee regional sponsored visas playing a more important role in the future of your country's immigration system?
Anthony Hull: In the future, immigration will be more targeted. The Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, stated recently that priority will be afforded to employer nominated visas, state sponsored visas and general skilled applicants with a critical skill.
The Commonwealth Government has increasingly recognised the differing needs of regional economies and intends to give more flexibility and priority to state sponsorships.
Querida Seip: State sponsorship has been, and will continue to be, an important way for Victoria to attract people whose skills are most needed by industries in Victoria's labour market. Global Skills for Victoria, which sets out Victoria's skilled migration strategy for 2008-11, identifies state sponsorship as one of our strategies. For prospective migrants, with skills in demand, who do not have sufficient points to migrate independently, state sponsorship provides an alternative option to migrate to migrants' chosen destination.
Sonia Sinah: Currently the Canadian government is facing a considerable immigration backlog of people – 925,000, of whom over 600,000 are in the federal skilled worker category waiting years to get through the immigration process. The AINP is a faster avenue and allows the Alberta government to nominate the right people with the right skills in order to meet our economy's needs on a permanent basis. In December 2008, the unemployment rate in Alberta was 4.1 percent, which still reflects a labour shortage. We need the right people with the right skills in order to meet our economy's needs and build a future that benefits all Albertans. Looking ahead to the next 10 years, Alberta's labour shortage could reach as high as 111,000 workers. Immigration and the AINP will continue to play an important role in the Alberta government's strategy to address this labour shortage. Immigration continues to be a priority as it is unquestionably the future source of population and economic growth for Canada and Alberta. Most Canadian provinces also have Provincial Nomination Programmes suited to meet their specific needs.
Are you currently seeking to attract British migrants?
Anthony Hull: The UK has been South Australia's number one source market for overseas migrants for many years. The state is keen to see more British immigrants choose to settle in South Australia.
The Office of the Agent General, located in Australia House in London is very active in promoting South Australia as a migration destination of choice based on lifestyle, cost of living and economic factors.
Representatives from the state's Adelaide and London offices regularly host migration seminars and attend the major migration expos in the UK and Ireland. Employers with current vacancies are also encouraged to attend these expos.
South Australia has also made its mark in the UK press through irreverent publicity campaigns that show off the state's attributes and the downside of UK living.
Recent PR campaigns have included hosting a first-ever government sponsored speed dating event in the UK. This campaign aimed to target skilled and single female Brits. A national study was commissioned to identify why so many females are single and whether they would move abroad for love. The study revealed that Britain's single women were tired of Britain's weather and its men.
This study and the speed dating event made the leading national broadcast news and UK newspapers. In Australia, Agent General Bill Muirhead was interviewed on Channel 7's Sunrise programme.
Queria Seip: Victoria welcomes migrants who want to live, work and do business in Victoria. The UK and Ireland is an important source of skilled migrants for Victoria. Support services and information are available to assist skilled and business migrants. New migrants are invited by the Victorian Government to attend a free industry or business seminar as soon as possible after arriving in Victoria for information about accessing Victoria's many work and business opportunities.
Sonia Sinah: In spite of current economic conditions, long term immigration in skilled occupations and targeted recruitment in occupations that are still in shortage (health professions, engineers, specific construction trades) will be a priority for the coming year. Advertising will be undertaken in selected industry publications to maintain Alberta's position as an attractive location for immigration in the longer term. New approaches such as web based seminars and virtual job fairs will be introduced to provide information and link employers and workers.
Immigration information sessions will also be used to target specific occupations and geographic areas within UK.
We have also started to make extensive use of web marketing via our Immigrate to Alberta web portal. It is an effective way to reach potential skilled workers from all over the world.
The Government of Alberta travelled to the UK last summer. The trip was a success. It was a chance to identify further opportunities for attracting skilled labour from a country with which we have a longstanding, positive relationship. In the UK, we are trying to tap into the large number of people already planning to emigrate to markets like Australia, New Zealand and Spain. We also try to repatriate Canadians who left home for work and school opportunities in the UK.
Our stats show that in 2007 we had more than 1,000 people relocate from the UK; that has increased to more than 1,500 for the same period in 2008 – a 50 per cent increase.
www.migration.sa.gov.au
www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au
www.albertacanada.com/ainp