Visa Options for Filipinos

The Philippines continues to be a major source country for migrants in Australia.  In the latest Program Report from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), the Philippines ranked fourth next to India, China and the UK with 10,639 Filipinos adopting Australia as its second home.

It is but not a secret of the immense talent pool of highly skilled professionals and trades people coming from our nation.  And armed with an excellent command of the English language, a friendly demeanour and a remarkable work ethic, we arguably remain one of the most sought-after workers of business organisations from every corner of the globe.

So the big question is, “what visa options do Filipinos have for Australia”?  The short answer to this question is, “quite a few”.

In recent times the most common pathway for Filipinos migrating to Australia was through the DIBP’s skilled migration program.  Australia’s migration program has evolved from previously social driven through family reunion, to a more economic-driven and highly-targeted program with focus on specific skilled occupations.

For the program year 2013-2014, DIBP has allocated 190,000 places for its migration program.  Of this total, 128,550 places have been allocated for skilled migration and 60,885 for family migration[1].  In a recent conference organised by the Migration Institute of Australia in Canberra, Scott Morisson MP, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, commented in his speech that the skilled migration intake should not fall below two thirds of the overall migration programme levels[2].  Simply put, Australia’s migration program will primarily be focussed on economic fundamentals, ensuring new migrants are able to participate in building Australia’s economic prosperity through employment participation.

Some of the common visa pathways that Filipinos could consider include the following skilled migration visa subclasses:

–          Subclass 189 skilled – independent (permanent)

–          Subclass 190 skilled – nominated (permanent)

–          Subclass 489 regional nominated or sponsored (provisional)

–          Subclass 186 employer nomination scheme (permanent)

–          Subclass 187 regional sponsored scheme (permanent)

–          Subclass 457 temporary work (skilled)

Australia’s skilled migration program has recently moved to a demand driven, points-tested program through a system called SkillSelect.  It allows DIBP to control who and how many skilled migrants it lets in.  Under SkillSelect, a prospective migrant would need to submit an Expression of Interest or EOI, which would then sit in the DIBP database for up to two years.  It then allows organisations such as State/Territory Governments, employers and DIBP to consider the prospective migrant’s EOI, and invite that person to lodge a visa application.  Your skilled occupation should generally be found on DIBP’s Skilled Occupation List[3].  For those with no employers in mind, the most logical visa to apply for would be the subclasses 189, 190 or 489 visas.

An alternative would be is to find an employer who would be willing to sponsor the applicant under the various demand driven employer visa program such as the subclass 457, 186, and 187 visas.  A prospective migrant could initially come in on a temporary visa (eg 457 visa), work for a minimum two years preferably with one employer, and apply for permanent residency after two years under the subclass 186 or 187 visa.  A direct pathway to permanent residency could also be applied under the subclass 186 and 187 visas.

Whichever pathway a prospective Filipino migrant chooses, he/she would always be a step ahead because we are a bunch of highly skilled with an excellent command of the English language.

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[1] The Migration Program also includes 565 places for special eligibility migration such as former Australian permanent residents with close business or cultural ties in Australia