To support the State Government’s response to COVID-19, Immigration SA is implementing changes which prioritize the processing and nomination of health and medical professionals.

Reduced work experience requirements for medical and health professionals working in South Australia

International graduates of South Australia – medical and health professionals  

Medical and health professionals listed here who have graduated from a South Australian higher education provider and currently reside and work in South Australia in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 40 hours per fortnight), are exempt from the three-month work experience requirement. Applicants accessing the work experience exemption will only be eligible for nomination for a provisional 491 visa. New requirements apply to 190 nomination eligibility – see below.

Applicants currently working as a medical or health professional in South Australia 

Medical and health professionals listed here who currently reside and work in South Australia in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) are exempt from Immigration SA’s current work experience requirements. Applicants accessing the work experience exemption are only eligible for a provisional 491 visa nomination.

Please note the 5 year work experience requirement has been removed for Registered Nurses working in their occupation or closely related occupation in South Australia.

For medical and health professionals who are currently working in their nominated or closely related occupation in South Australia, a minimum of 65 points is required, including state-nomination points, and competent English.

190 nomination eligibility – medical and health professionals 

Medical and health professionals listed here who are currently working for the last 12 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in South Australia (or the last 6 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in a country region of South Australia) remain eligible for a permanent 190 visa.

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. If your current visa is within 2 weeks of expiration, and if you have not requested priority processing of your application, please lodge an online enquiry to Immigration SA as per the standard process.

Changes to requirements for 190 visa subclass nomination

Immigration SA is closing visa subclass 190 eligibility for applicants who are not currently working in South Australia for the last 12 months (or 6 months in a region). Only applicants currently working for the last 12 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in South Australia or the last 6 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in a country region (of South Australia) will be eligible to apply for permanent 190 visa nomination. If you do not meet these requirements, you are only eligible to apply for 491 visa nomination. This applies to all occupations except for the following:

• 132211 Finance Manager
• 149914 Financial Institution Branch Manager
• 221111 Accountant (General)
• 221112 Management Accountant
• 221113 Taxation Accountant
• 221211 Company Secretary
• 221213 External Auditor
• 221214 Internal Auditor
• 222112 Finance Broker
• 222311 Financial Investment Adviser
• 222312 Financial Investment Manager
• 224711 Management Consultant

These occupations are no longer eligible for a subclass 190 nomination as they have reached their quota. Applicants for these occupations can still apply for nomination for the provisional 491 visa subclass.

Occupations closed to offshore applicants

The following hospitality occupations are now closed for offshore applicants.

• 141111 Cafe or Restaurant Manager
• 351311 Chef
• 351411 Cook

The changes listed in this news item are effective immediately for state nomination applications submitted to Immigration SA on or after 12pm on 27 March 2020. If you currently have a saved state nomination application that has not yet been submitted to Immigration SA, you will need to meet the requirements above relevant to your nominated occupation or visa subclass.

Immigration SA is aware that the COVID-19 situation and the impact of the travel ban is presenting challenges for some applicants and current visa holders who may be required to lodge from offshore, or are currently overseas and are unable to return to South Australia.

If your application for nomination or ability to meet the eligibility criteria is impacted due to the travel ban restrictions, please log into your account and submit an online enquiry through the Immigration SA Apply website. We are receiving a large volume of online enquires so we ask for your patience at this time, we will reply as soon as we can.