As of 1 July, 2020, the Northern Territory (NT) has added 2 additional requirements to their state nomination requirements. These changes affect international students are already studying, or plan to study in NT in order to obtain state nomination.
What are the changes to NT State Nomination Requirements?
For international student graduates applying for 190 visa nomination, you must:
- Have completed at least one qualification after studying in the NT for at least 2 years
- Have lived in the NT for 6 consecutive months immediately after graduation, while holding a visa that allows full-time work^ (for example, the 485 Temporary Graduate (TR) visa, or employer sponsored visa, etc.)
- Demonstrate that you have been genuinely seeking employment from an NT employer in a field related to your nominated occupation
^ You are exempt from this full-time work visa requirement if you completed all course requirements in semester one of 2020 and your letter of completion is dated prior to August 1st, 2020
For graduates on a 485 TR Visa planning to study in NT in the future :
Unfortunately you are likely no longer able to apply for the 190 visa via NT state nomination because you won’t be able to obtain another 485 visa after your NT studies. However, you can still apply for the NT state nomination for the temporary, 5-year 491 visa with full work-rights, which leads to PR via the 191 visa, after studying in NT for 2 years.
For other non-student residents who started living in the NT on/after July 1st, 2020, you must:
- Have been living in the NT for a minimum of 12 consecutive months
- Have no migrating family members currently living in another part of Australia
- Have had full-time employment in an eligible occupation for at least 6 consecutive months immediately prior to applying for nomination
- Prove that your employment is available for at least another 12 months into the future.
If you need help with planning your pathways to permanent residency, please book in a free consultation with one of our experienced migration agent today. For further information about the changes you can visit Migration NT website.
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