Temporary Visa Holders Eligible to Travel to Australia During COVID-19

Australian Government has announced the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) to fill critical skills needs in support of businesses during COVID-19. The PMSOL gives priority to certain occupations for Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (Subclass 186) and other work visa applications, including Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (Subclass 482), Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 494) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (Subclass 187).

The list is temporary and priority occupations may change as based on support that Australian business need to fill critical skills, as Australia economy recovers from recovers from the effects of the pandemic. The list identifies 17 occupations required to fill critical skills in Australia and allows temporary visa holders, who are otherwise ineligible to travel to Australia amid Covid-19 restrictions, to travel if their occupation is on the list.

This is a relief for certain temporary visa holders who are stranded outside the country and are waiting for an opportunity to come back. However, the temporary visa holders, like Australian citizens and permanent residents, are subject to obtaining a travel exemption from the Commissioner of Australian Border Force (ABF) prior to their travel to Australia.

The 17 priority occupations are as follows:

1. Chief Executive or Managing Director (ANZSCO – 111111)
2. Construction Project Manager (ANZSCO – 133111)
3. Developer Programmer (ANZSCO – 261312)
4. General Practitioner (ANZSCO – 253111)
5. Maintenance Planner (ANZSCO – 312911)
6. Mechanical Engineer (ANZSCO – 233512)
7. Medical Practitioner nec (ANZSCO – 253999)
8. Midwife (ANZSCO – 254111)
9. Psychiatrist (ANZSCO – 253411)
10. Registered Nurse (Aged Care) (ANZSCO – 254412)
11. Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) (ANZSCO – 254415)
12. Registered Nurse (Medical) (ANZSCO – 254418)
13. Registered Nurse (Mental Health) (ANZSCO – 254422)
14. Registered Nurse (Perioperative) (254423)
15. Registered Nurses nec (ANZSCO – 254499)
16. Resident Medical Officer (ANZSCO – 253112)
17. Software Engineer (ANZSCO – 261313)

In this regard, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, said, “Our priority is getting Australians back into work but we also need key health workers to help fight the virus and skilled migrants who are going to be job multipliers, to help the economy recover…Visa holders, who have been sponsored by an Australia business in a PMSOL occupation can request an exemption from Australia’s travel restrictions, but will be subject to a strict 14 days quarantine on arrival at their own expense.”

If you have any questions or are seeking travel exemption for your travel, Contact Us or call us on (02) 4626 100 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents in Sydney who can help you.