This category is for skilled people under 45 years of age who wish to live in regional Australia. Applicants who can meet the pass mark for the SIR (110), which is lower than the pass mark for the other general skilled migration visa categories, may be eligible to be granted a 3-year temporary visa. Visit our points test calculator to ascertain your point score.

All SIR (Provisional) visa applicants must meet the same basic requirements as other general skilled migration categories plus some additional requirements.


Sponsorship


All applicants for the SIR (Provisional) visas must be sponsored by a state or territory government authority. Applicants must provide evidence of their sponsorship when they apply for a SIR (Provisional) visa.

People wanting to apply for a SIR (Provisional) visa should contact the relevant state or government authority where they are interested in living, to find out about the sponsorship requirements.


Participating state and territory governments


This is a list of state and territory governments participating in the SIR (Provisional) visa program.

	New South Wales:		www.business.nsw.gov.au
	Northern Territory:		www.migration.nt.gov.au
	Queensland:		www.migration.qld.gov.au
	South Australia:		www.immigration.sa.gov.au
	Tasmania:		www.development.tas.gov.au
	Victoria:		www.LiveInVictoria.vic.gov.au
	Western Australia:		www.doir.wa.gov.au/businessandindustry/index.asp

Important Note:

The Australian Capital Territory does not meet the definition of regional Australia for the purposes of the SIR (Provisional) visa.


Applying for Permanent Residence as a SIR visa holder


Once a SIR visa holder has lived in regional Australia for at least 2 years and been employed for a total of at least 12 months, they can apply for one of the following permanent residence visas:

• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa;
  
  
• State/Territory Nominated Independent (STNI) visa; or
  
  
• State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa.

SIR visa holders will need to provide evidence that they meet the requirements for permanent residence applicable at the time of application.


Type of work permitted on a SIR visa


There is no restriction on what type of work SIR visa holders may do while on their SIR visa, however, the employment must be full-time. Full-time work for SIR visa holders would normally be at least 35 hours a week. Any employment less than 30 hours a week would not be regarded as full-time.

It is expected that SIR visa holders be employed in their nominated skilled occupation for which they were sponsored. Working in a semi- or unskilled occupation may mean that they would be unable to secure a sponsorship or nomination from a state/territory government agency or employer for permanent visa.