Australia’s regions, their economies and employment opportunities for skilled migrants vary greatly and not all migrant’s will find that their skills are needed in Tasmania. If you are considering settling in Tasmania, you should carefully research the state’s employment vacancies to ensure that your skills and experience will help you gain skilled employment soon after you settle.

Pathways to permanent residence

The SIR visa does not offer immediate permanent residency but a three-year provisional visa. Once you and your dependants have resided in Tasmania for at least two years under the SIR visa and you have been employed (or self employed) for a cumulative period of 12 months during that time, you can then apply for permanent residence under one of the following permanent (regional) visas:

• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme
  
  
• State/Territory Nominated Independent (STNI – modified for SIR applicants and administered in Tasmania by Economic Development)
  
  
• State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (administered in Tasmania by Economic Development)
  

Economic Development can only consider SIR sponsorship applications if applicants can demonstrate one or more of the following points:

• A job offer (in writing) from a Tasmanian employer
• Existing links with Tasmania (e.g. graduated from Tasmanian educational institutions)
• Family/relatives living in Tasmania
• Previous visit to Tasmania.

If you meet one or more of the above eligibility criteria, you will be assessed against the following:

• You must score at least 100 points in the points test.
  
  
• You must have a positive skills assessment from a recognised Australian assessing authority. Applicants whose nominated occupation is on the Tasmanian skills shortage list will be given preference. However, people with other occupations will be considered depending on other factors outlined below.
  
  
• English language requirements
  
  - Applicants assessed by VETASSESS (unless recent graduates from a Tasmanian educational institution such as the University of Tasmania, AMC and TAFE Tasmania) - overall IELTS band score of 7 or greater
  
  - Recent graduates from a Tasmanian educational institution – overall IELTS band score of 6.5 or greater
  
  - If new graduates cannot provide IELTS results due to the backlog at IELTS test centres, their language ability may be inferred through academic transcripts. (e.g. an average mark of 60 or higher indicates sound English language ability)
  
  - All other applicants - overall IELTS band score of 6.5 or greater
  
  NB: Under any visa category, native English speakers or applicants with a full time skilled job offer from a Tasmanian employer are exempted from the above 'English Language' points assessments.
  
  
• You should complete an application form available by clicking on the link below. Applications will be assessed on your demonstrated ability to settle and secure skilled employment easily. You will need to provide evidence of your skills, English language ability, work experience, assets to aid settlement, attempts to contact employers and existing links with Tasmania.
  
  
• The Department of Economic Development reserves the right to modify conditions of sponsorship subject to labour market changes.
  
  

Note: Applicants with IT occupations and new graduates with IT qualifications (e.g. degrees in Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer & Information Science, etc.) must have a firm job offer of at least 3 months from an employer in Tasmania unless the applicant has strong existing links to Tasmania (e.g. graduated from University of Tasmania, relatives settled in Tasmania, etc).

Processing time for complete SIR applications will take approximately four weeks. Incomplete applications (ie without the correct documentation provided) will cause delays in the processing time.