What is the Permanent Residence Visa / Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa?

The Skills Assessment – Permanent Residence Visa/Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa is a document-based assessment designed to assess your qualifications and work experience. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will then use this information to evaluate whether you meet the educational and/or skilled employment requirements for your visa, or to award you points in these areas if your visa includes a Points Test.

Successful candidates will be awarded with a Skills Assessment Certificate to allow them to lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) and/or submit their visa application.

Do I Need to Provide Any Work Experience?

You do not need to provide evidence of skilled employment to be eligible for a Skills Assessment in support of a Permanent Residence/Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa.  However, you may wish to claim skilled employment as part of your visa application – this will need to be included in your Skills Assessment.  The amount of skilled employment you need to include will depend on your visa’s requirements regarding this – for example, if you are applying for a points-based visa you would need to include in your Skills Assessment all the work you wish to claim points for in your visa application.  If you’re unsure what the skilled employment requirements for your visa are, please check the relevant page on DHA’s website.

For further information on the documentary requirements for skilled employment, please see the Fact Sheet below.

When Should I Make My Skills Assessment Application?

You should ensure that you meet all the requirements for your intended visa and have completed any specific period of work you wish to claim as skilled employment before submitting your Skills Assessment application.  For example, if you wish to claim 3 years of employment for your visa, you should wait until you have completed 3 full years in relevant roles before lodging your Skills Assessment application.  If you wish to make further claims of skilled employment after a Skills Assessment outcome has been issued, you may need to make another application and could be liable for additional fees.