Immigration to Australia
Find out what it takes to be eligible for Australian immigration and get visa faster with the help of our experienced migration experts.
Australia has long been a magnet for ambitious individuals seeking a brighter future.
Its thriving economy, cutting-edge industries, and world-class education system create an environment where talent and determination thrive.
With a strong Australia immigration process designed to attract skilled professionals, entrepreneurs, and families, Australia offers a structured pathway to success. It’s no wonder thousands of applications are received each month to immigrate to Australia.
Whether you are pursuing career advancement, quality education, or a safe haven for your family, Australia provides the tools and opportunities to turn aspirations into reality.
Here is the complete process of how to immigrate to Australia from Pakistan. This guide has answers to all queries about the Australia immigration process and step-by-step guidance on the procedure.
Why Immigrate to Australia
Australia consistently ranks among the top nations for quality of life, economic stability, and global competitiveness.
With a GDP of over AUD 1.7 trillion and an unemployment rate of 4%, the nation boasts a strong demand for skilled professionals in sectors like IT, engineering, healthcare, and construction.
The Australian education system is home to eight of the world’s top 100 universities and attracts over 500,000 international students each year.
Additionally, Australia’s Human Development Index (HDI) score of 0.951 places it in the top 10 globally, reflecting its high standards in healthcare, education and income.
For families, professionals, and entrepreneurs, Australia offers a future underpinned by stability, growth, and opportunity.
Australia Immigration Program
Now that you have decided to immigrate to Australia, there are various options you can explore. You can pick any pathway that matches your criteria and begin the process.
Here are some of the key Australian immigration pathway
General Skilled Migration to Australia
Australia’s General Skilled Migration (Skillselect) program allows skilled people to migrate to Australia for better career opportunities.
The General Skilled Migration (GSM) program is extremely competitive, with the number of invitations allotted closely tied to Australia’s recent economic priorities and labor market demands.
Applicants can obtain a permanent Australian visa on the basis of their experience, qualification and language abilities. Candidates must secure 60 points from the points table to be considered for a visa. The system offers 5 visa subclasses namely:
In this subclass, the candidate is not nominated by the state or territory. They do not require an Australian employer’s sponsorship. Instead, they only need to score 65 points on points-based immigration Australia.
A person on a Skilled Independent Visa with their accompanying family member can work, study and live on an Australia PR visa.
In this subclass, the candidate is invited by the Australian State or Territory Government. Skilled Nominated Visa in a points-based immigration Australian visa for skilled workers. Candidates must achieve 65 points to be eligible for invitation.
Nominees must submit the expression of interest (EOI) and wait for the invitation from SkillSelect for Skilled Nominated Visa subclass 190.
The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa can be applied if nominated by a state or territory or sponsorship by a relative in a designated (regional) area.
The states that fall under the category of Australia regional migration are Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Gold Coast, and Perth.
The candidate is eligible to work, live, and study in Australia for five years in a designated regional area. They can further apply for Australia PR visa subclass 191 three years after they meet the criteria of a certain annual income
This allows migrant students who have lived at least 2 years in Australia, to live and work in the country for a period of 18 months to 4 years.
This is a second stage permanent visa with no points-based requirement. It allows provisional Skilled Regional visa holders to apply for Permanent Residency.
Student / Tourist Visa
The Student Visa subclass 500 allows visa holders to stay up to 5 years and in line with their enrolment.
With this visa, you can undertake the desired disciple of study and bring family members to Australia with you.
For this visa, the applicant must
- be enrolled in a course of study in Australia
- hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), or fall in one of the exemption categories, for the stay in Australia
Business Visa
Entrepreneurs, investor and senior executive can pursue exciting work opportunities in Australia under this visa program.
The Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa Subclass 188 is for people owning and managing a business in Australia. This visa permits you to operate a business and invest in Australia.
Applicants must:
Submit an expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect
Be nominated by a State or Territory government agency or Austrade
Be invited to apply for the visa
Holding this visa is necessary before qualifying for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888).
Interested applicants may choose from the following business streams available for business innovation and investment visa in Australia:
Entrepreneurs, investor and senior executive can pursue exciting work opportunities in Australia under this visa program.
The Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa Subclass 188 is for people owning and managing a business in Australia. This visa permits you to operate a business and invest in Australia.
Applicants must:
Submit an expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect
Be nominated by a State or Territory government agency or Austrade
Be invited to apply for the visa
Holding this visa is necessary before qualifying for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888).
Interested applicants may choose from the following business streams available for business innovation and investment visa in Australia:
This visa is for people operating a business in Australia. The applicant must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency.
The visa permits you to stay for 4 years and 3 months.
This visa requires the visa holder to invest at least AUD1.5 million in an Australian State or Territory. The applicant must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency.
The visa permits you to stay for 4 years and 3 months.
This provisional visa requires the businessperson to invest at least AUD5 million in Australia.
The applicant must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency.
The visa permits you to stay for 4 years and 3 months.
This visa requires the businessperson to invest at least AUD15 million in Australian investments and/or philanthropic contributions meeting certain requirements.
The applicant must be nominated by Austrade.
The visa permits you to stay for 4 years and 3 months.
This provisional visa permits the visa holder to undertake entrepreneurial activities in Australia. The businessperson should have a funding agreement with a third party for engaging in entrepreneurial activities.
The applicant must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency.
The visa permits you to stay for 4 years and 3 months.
Skilled Work Visa
This visa allows skilled workers to come to Australia and work for an approved business for up to:
- four years after it is granted – if their occupation is listed on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
- two years after the date of issuance – if their occupation is on the list of eligible skilled occupations but is not included in the MLTSSL
To hold this visa, you must get sponsored by an approved business.
This visa permits the visa holders to work in Australia and bring their family for work or study.
Partner Visa
Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)
This visa allows people to come to Australia for the purpose of marriage and then apply for a Partner visa. It permits you to stay for a period of 9 months from the date of grant of visa.
Visa holders can work and study in Australia.
The applicant must:
- be 18 years old or older
- be sponsored
- intend to marry the prospective spouse before the end of the visa period
Prerequisite:
You might get this visa if you intend to marry:
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen.
This visa lets you apply for a permanent Partner visa (subclass 100).
Visa holders can work and study in Australia while their permanent Partner visa is under progress. They can travel to and from Australia as frequently as they want. The visa holders can stay temporarily until the status of their permanent Partner visa is decided.
The applicant must:
- be in a relationship with their spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- be outside Australia at the time of visa application
You might get this visa if you intend to marry:
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen.
This visa is usually granted to people holding the temporary Partner visa (subclass 309). It allows visa holders to stay permanently. With this visa, you can live, study and work in Australia for an indefinite period of time and sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia.
The applicant must:
- hold a temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309)
- continue to be the spouse or the de facto partner of the person who sponsored them
This visa allows the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, to live in Australia.
You can apply for temporary and permanent visas together.
To get this visa, you must be the spouse or de facto partner of:
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen.
Partner visa (Temporary) subclass 820 is the temporary visa while the partner visa subclass 801 is a permanent visa.
Parent Visa
This permanent visa lets the parent live in Australia if their child is
- a settled Australian citizen
- a permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen settled in Australia
With this visa, the parent can stay in Australia permanently and sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia. For this, the applicant must be outside Australia during the visa approval process.
This visa lets the parent live in Australia if their child is
- an Australian citizen
- a permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen settled in Australia
This is a temporary visa allowing the parent to stay for two years in Australia. With this visa, the parent can live, study and work in Australia, get health coverage from Australian health care and visit Australia frequently for two years onwards from the date of issuance of a visa.
For this visa, the applicant must
- have a child who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- have a child who has been living in Australia legally for at least 2 years
- have a sponsor
- meet the balance of family test
- meet health and character requirements
This visa lets the parent live permanently in Australia if their child is
- an Australian citizen
- permanent resident
- eligible New Zealand citizen settled in Australia
With this visa, the parent can study, work and live permanently in Australia, get health coverage from Australian health care and sponsor eligible relatives. The visa holder can apply for Australian citizenship and can visit Australia frequently for five years onwards from the date of issuance of a visa.
For this visa, the applicant must
- hold a Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173)
- abide by the criteria applicable to the Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173)
This visa lets the aged parents (already on temporary visas) live in Australia permanently if their child is:
- an Australian citizen
- a permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen settled in Australia
You can get this visa if you:
- are in Australia
- are sponsored
- meet age requirements
- meet the balance-of-family test
- can wait in queue for visa approval
Australia Immigration Process: Step-by-Step Guide
Australian immigration is a long process. First, you must understand the system to get the complete idea of the process.
If you have developed a step-by-step understanding of the process, only then can you work to get all the documents aligned to apply for the visa.
Here is the step-by-step breakdown of the process to begin the process to immigrate to Australia:
Step 1: Check Your Eligibility (Points Test) – Get your Skill Assessment
Of course, this is the deal breaker when planning to immigrate to Australia. This is a straightforward process to see if you stand as a candidate or not.
If not, you can also identify where you fall short and work on the aspect to apply in a couple of months.
The skill assessment is done by relevant authorities who are approved in the particular trade to conduct the assessment for you.
Australian immigration pathways may have different criteria depending on the subclass, different processing times, and assessment procedures.
It falls onto the candidate to know the process and comply with all requirements in the required timeframe.
Step 2: Gather All Documents
You do not need the documents until you receive the invitation to apply, but knowing what documents are required will save you time. Some documents may take a few days, while some take months. It is best to be aware of processing time to avoid any delays.
Step 3: Get Your Skill Assessment
SkillSelect is a crucial step before getting the invite. Maintain all requirements to meet the SkillSelect criteria.
Step 4: Submit the Expression of Interest (EOI)
Expression of Interest is the candidate explaining to the visa officer why and how they become a valuable asset for the country.
In this segment, for an Australian PR visa, you would need to attach all the details of the language proficiency test and skill assessments.
Once you submit the case, you can change or add to the EOI until you get an invitation to apply for the visa.
Step 5: Lodge Visa Application
Now, this is where you take the big step towards the process. The most important aspect to know here is the sixty-day time to submit a complete application.
Within sixty days, you must submit all documents, personal, education, work, and immigration, to process the Australian PR.
Benefits of Working with an Immigration Consultant
Immigration consultants are your best for this challenging and fast-paced process of Immigrate to Australia. If you are a student, and looking to immigrate to Australia, talk to expert immigration consultants.
With their experience and command of the complete process, they will be able to guide you better for a glitch-less visa process.
Since they know what they are doing, all documents are aligned, and your chance of rejection becomes slimmer or nonexistent.
The Australia immigration process relies heavily on the score. The points-based immigration Australia is very straightforward. It highlights all the weaknesses and strengths of your case.
If you align all your Australian visa requirements in the specified time frame, there is no stopping you from immigrate to abroad.