Pinoy Australia Information Forum

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), many states and territories have closed off their borders and implemented travel restrictions. In addition, some states and territories have met the nomination allocation for FY 2019-20, therefore they are not receiving new nominations. Below we summarised the status of each state and territory.

	Subclass 188	Subclass 132
Victoria	Closed – reopens in new financial year	Closed – reopens in new financial year
Australian Capital Territory	Closed – Any applications submitted will not be processed until 1 July 2020	Closed – Any applications submitted will not be processed until 1 July 2020
New South Wales	Closed – reopens on 1 July 2020	Closed- reopens on 1 July 2020
Northern Territory	Open	Open
Queensland	Closed – reopens in July 2020	Closed – reopens in July 2020
South Australia	Closed – reopen in July 2020	Closed – reopen in July 2020
Tasmania	Open	Open
Western Australia	Open	Open

COVID-19- Latest updates Coronavirus and Australian visas TSS visa holders affected by Coronavirus State migrations closing in response to COVID-19 COVID-19, TSS, Student and 485 visa holders COVID-19 and New Zealand visas Travel exemptions Visas eligible for government support

491 visa state requirements 190 visa state requirements

Important message about Victoria’s subclass 132 and 188 visa nomination program

From 12pm AEST Thursday 9 April 2020, Victoria’s subclass 132 and 188 visa nomination program will be paused for the remainder of 2019-20. This means that no new nomination applications will be accepted.

We will continue processing those received prior to this date, in accordance with our published processing times. New applications will be accepted in the 2020-21 financial year.

Please submit all draft applications on the Live In Melbourne website prior to this time. If draft applications are not submitted by this time, they will be removed and inaccessible.

Victoria will continue to accept nomination applications for the following visas:

Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491)
Skilled Nominated (subclass 190)
Business Innovation – Extension only (subclass 188A Extension)
Significant Investor – Extension only (subclass 188C Extension)
Permanent Business Innovation (subclass 888A)
Permanent Investor (subclass 888B)
Permanent Significant Investor (subclass 888C).

188 & 132 States Status - Business migration programs

Priority processing for medical and health professionals working in South Australia

Processing times for state nomination vary depending on the volume of applications received and applications from medical and health professionals will be prioritised in the first instance.

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BUSINESS (PROVISIONAL) – 188

SUSPENSION OF PROCESSING – ACT BIIP nomination. The ACT has now met the 2019/20 allocation of BIIP nomination places. Any applications for ACT 188 nomination submitted from this date will not be processed until 1 July 2020.

Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) (subclass 188).

If you are a successful business person who wishes to establish a new business or invest in an existing business you may be eligible to apply for ACT nomination of your Business Skills visa. Please ensure you read the ACT nomination guidelines to check your eligibility before you apply. A non-refundable service fee is charged for processing applications for ACT nomination.

This visa has four streams:

Significant Investor stream. This is a provisional (4 year) visa for people who want to invest A$5 million into a complying investment.
Investor stream: the ACT does not participate in this stream.
Business Innovation stream: this is a provisional (4 year) visa for people who want to invest at least $200,000 to establish or purchase a business in Canberra.
Entrepreneur stream. This is a provisional (4 year) visa for people who are undertaking, or proposing to undertake, an entrepreneurial venture in Australia

ACT nomination fee: $600

ACT 188 nomination guidelines

PROCESSING SUSPENDED

SUSPENSION OF PROCESSING – ACT BIIP nomination. The ACT has now met the 2019/20 allocation of BIIP nomination places. Any applications for ACT 132 nomination submitted from this date will not be processed until 1 July 2020.

Business Talent (permanent) (subclass 132).

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government welcomes overseas investment in Canberra, Australia’s national capital; a city of innovation and opportunity. If you are a successful business person who wishes to invest in an existing ACT business you may be eligible to apply for ACT nomination of your Business Skills visa

ACT nomination fee: $1,100

This visa has two streams:

Significant Business History stream: This is a permanent visa for owners of a business who have entered into a contractual arrangement to invest A$2 million into an existing business in Canberra.
Venture Capital Scheme: nomination for people who have obtained at least A$1 million in funding from an Australian venture capital firm.

Tasmania Subclass 491: Category 3A – Overseas Applicant Restrictions

The rapidly evolving situation regarding COVID-19 has necessitated temporary changes to eligibility for the Subclass 491: 3A Overseas Applicant (TSOL) nomination category.

As of 20 March 2020, applications for this category are temporarily restricted until further notice to occupations listed in the ‘High Demand’ section of the Tasmanian Skilled Occupation List (TSOL).

Applications under Category 3A lodged prior to this date which specify other occupations will still be considered. Applicants with ‘High Demand’ occupations will, however, be given priority. This means processing times for other Category 3A applications with occupations not listed in the High Demand section will become extended (approximately 6 months from lodgment).

The updated Tasmanian Skilled Occupation List (TSOL) can be found here.

Northern Territory Immigration closure of offshore GSM applications

In response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak the Australian Government announced closure of its borders effective from Friday 20 March 2020 at 9pm EST (Eastern Standard Time).

In light of this MigrationNT will stop accepting offshore General Skilled Migration applications for the Northern Territory nomination effective from 12 midnight on Tuesday 24 March 2020 until further notice.

Existing applications received and paid will still be processed in accordance with current service standards.

Seekvisa’s Coronavirus action plan

The Seekvisa team have plans in place to ensure ongoing operation for our current and prospective clients. We are able to work entirely remotely in the event that self-isolation is required or the offices are closed, including accessing client files, emails and phones, lodging applications, and accessing documents.