New South Wales opens 491 nominations

As we enter the second half of the migration year, New South Wales opens their regional state nomination program.

New South Wales opens 491 nominations

On 15 Feb 2021, New South Wales regional sponsorship opened. Applicants who meet the specified criteria can apply to NSW for 491 Regional state sponsorship.

The basic nomination criterion is the main applicant must nominate an occupation on the NSW 491 List.

And apply under one of the following streams:

Stream 1: Living and working in regional NSW
Stream 2: Completed study in regional NSW
Stream 3: Living and working outside of regional NSW and

a) formal job offer in regional NSW or;
b) at least five years skilled employment experience (offshore applicants) or;
c) close family ties in regional NSW

If you meet the criteria…

NSW is split into a total of 13 regions, and we have looked over all 13 websites to see which are accepting nominations. Currently only a few regions are open, and those that are will not accept offshore applicants.

The only exception is Far South Coast which is open to Stream 3a (job offer).

For full details of NSW 491 nomination criteria you can visit their website.

Our advice to skilled applicants

We recommend reaching out to employers and recruiters in regional NSW and Tasmania. These states are opening to offshore applicants with job offers. A couple of contacts we have include:

Use recruitment agents, search for jobs online and speak with Australian employers.

We remind you that because of COVID-19 and significant reductions in Australia’s Migration Program Planning Levels 2020/21, the chances of being nominated are currently low. However, the opening of these states is a step in the right direction. We continue to work with our clients to give them the strongest opportunity of securing a skilled visa.

If you require professional migration advice, you can complete our free assessment and arrange a consultation today.