New South Wales (NSW) - State Nomination (Subclass 190) Visa Update - February 2015

The NSW government has provided more information on how the state nomination process for the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa will work from February 2015.

NSW will be moving away from the online lodgement system they have used for the last two invitation rounds for 190 visas.

 

Instead, applicants will need to lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect. NSW then selects applicants from SkillSelect, and invites selected candidates to make an application for NSW Nomination.

What will the Application Process Be?

It is understood that the process will be as follows:

1. Expression of Interest (EOI): the applicant lodges an EOI through SkillSelect and indicates that they wish to be nominated by NSW for a 190 visa.
2. Invitation by NSW: NSW will then rank applicants and select certain applicants to then lodge a nomination through NSW. We understand that applicants must lodge a nomination within 14 days of receiving an invitation from NSW.
3. NSW Nomination Application: NSW will then take approximately 12 weeks to process the nomination. The applicant will need to be able to provide evidence of the points claimed in the EOI - for instance, skills assessment, English language ability, work experience. Once the NSW nomination is approved, applicants will receive an EOI invitation through SkillSelect to apply for a subclass 190 visa.
4. 190 Visa Application: Once invited through SkillSelect, applicants have 60 days to lodge their application for a 190 visa. This usually takes approximately 4 months to be processed.

Which Occupations are Eligible?

To be eligible for NSW state nomination, you must have a positive skills assessment in an occupation on the NSW Occupations List. The NSW Occupations List is due to be updated in the first week of February 2015. The NSW Occupations List previously included all occupations on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL), but it is understood that there may be some changes to the NSW Occupations list.

Further information will be provided once another update about the NSW Occupation List is provided.   

Will a Quota Apply to Occupations?

At this point, there is no mention of any quota applying to specific occupations for NSW Nomination.

How Will NSW Select Applicants for Nomination?

New South Wales (NSW) will search SkillSelect for applicants who have lodged an EOI and indicated that they wish to be nominated by NSW for a 190 visa. They will then rank applicants and select the highest ranked ones to invite to apply for NSW nomination.

It is understood that NSW will rank applicants based on the following criteria:

1. Nominated Occupation: you must have an occupation on the NSW Occupations List
2. Points Score: applicants will be ranked higher if they have a higher points score. The minimum score for the 190 visa is 60, including the 5 points for NSW state nomination
3. English Language Ability: if two applicants have the same points score, the one with better English will be ranked higher
4. Work Experience: in the case of two applicants having the same points score and English language ability, the one with more skilled work experience will be ranked higher

When Will NSW Invite Applicants for State Nomination?

NSW has indicated that it will be inviting applicants between February 2015 and June 2015.

Whilst we do not have any specific information from NSW on timing, the following is likely based on the information available:

• When NSW will start inviting applicants: most likely, they will start inviting a small number of applicants in February to test the new system
• How often NSW will invite applicants: we expect that NSW would review applications every month or so and invite applicants for state nomination fairly regularly so that they can meet their State Migration Plan numbers