South Australia Migration - State Nomination Program

If you want to migrate to South Australia (SA) through the state nomination program, you need to be invited by the South Australian government. Onshore applicants must submit an EOI through SkillSelect with their priority state being South Australia. And unlike some other states, SA requires you to submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) through the Skilled and Business Migration Portal of South Australia. South Australian applicants do not have to wait for an invitation to submit an ROI. They can submit an ROI even before an official invitation has been issued. 

So eligible onshore applicants can submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) after their EOI and wait to be invited by the South Australian government. Offshore applicants do not have to submit an ROI, as their applications will be considered from their SkillSelect, Expression of Interest (EOI), and if successful, they will be invited to apply for South Australian nomination. 

South Australia invites applicants who are eligible on the basis of set standards and criteria apart from the general eligibility criteria set out by the Department of Home Affairs.

South Australia has a multitude of industries and are leading in industries like renewable energy, space and machine learning. The main industries are as of follows

Traditional strengths

• Creative industries 

• Education 

• Food and beverage 

• Health 

• Manufacturing 

• Mining 

• Tourism

Technology driven future

• Aerospace 

• Advanced manufacturing 

• Agtech 

• Space 

• Digital infrastructure 

• Health and medical technology 

• Machine learning and big data 

• Renewable energy 

• VFX, VR and AR.

The points system is designed to assess the eligibility of the applicants who are applying for the state nomination program. The respective states and territories use this system to ensure that the skilled migrants that they invite would contribute effectively to the particular state’s economy. Among many factors, points generally will be awarded for the applicant’s age, English language proficiency, skilled employment experience, and educational qualifications. The Department of Home Affairs has a table of criteria for which points are awarded. You can access it here. You can also watch this short video on how to do a points test.

The minimum points required to be eligible for an Expression of Interest (EOI) is 65. Since the migration program is competitive, it's recommended to upskill and improve your points to increase the chances of receiving an invitation. One of the benefits of applying through the state nomination program rather than the skilled independent visa is that additional points are awarded by the South Australian state government depending on the visa subclass that you have applied to.

• Skilled Nominated visa (SC 190) will receive an extra 5 points.

• Skilled Work Regional (SC 491) will receive an extra 15 points.

These points can be crucial and can increase the chances of you being invited to migrate.

The South Australian migration program has different streams through which migrants can apply. You have to check the eligibility for each stream before you apply and select the correct stream for you. There are 4 streams that you can apply from; they are:

1. South Australian Graduate

2. Skilled Employment in Australia

3. Outer Regional Skilled Employment

4. Offshore

This stream is designed for international students who lived and studied in South Australia.

What are the eligibility criteria for the South Australian Graduate stream?

• Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 

• Have an occupation in the South Australia’s skilled occupation list.

• Currently be living and working in South Australia

• Be under 45 years of age

• Have a positive skills assessment

• Have at least competent English proficiency

• Have at least 65 points

• Have completed your qualification at a South Australian education provider

• Have been residing in South Australia for at least the last 6 months

• Have been working full-time for the last 6 months, and be currently employed full-time

• Your work experience must be related to, and at the same skill level as, your nominated occupation.

• Have undertaken your skilled work experience post-course completion

• Fulfill the following course requirements

  •  Your course must be a CRICOS registered course, with a minimum of 46 CRICOS weeks 

  • Your study must meet the minimum qualification level for the occupation that is in the SA skilled occupation list

  • 75% of your qualification must have been completed in South Australia 

  • You must have lived in South Australia for at least one year during your studies 

This stream is designed for migrants who are currently living and working in South Australia in their nominated occupation.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Skilled Employment in South Australia stream?

• Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 

• Have an occupation in the South Australia’s skilled occupation list.

• Currently live and work in South Australia

• Be under 45 years of age

• Have a positive skill assessment for the nominated occupation

• Have at least competent English

• Have at least 65 points

• Have been living in SA for the last 12 months

• Have been working for the last 12 months, and be currently employed, in a full-time

• Your work experience must be related to, and at the same skill level as, your nominated occupation

• Have undertaken your skilled work experience post-course completion. 

This stream is designed for migrants who are currently living and working in South Australia in their nominated occupation.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Skilled Employment in South Australia stream?

• Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 

• Have an occupation in the South Australia’s skilled occupation list.

• Currently live and work in South Australia

• Be under 45 years of age

• Have a positive skill assessment for the nominated occupation

• Have at least competent English

• Have at least 65 points

• Have been living in SA for the last 12 months

• Have been working for the last 12 months, and be currently employed, in a full-time

• Your work experience must be related to, and at the same skill level as, your nominated occupation

• Have undertaken your skilled work experience post-course completion. 

What are the Outer Regional South Australian areas or postcodes?

Below are the postcodes that are considered to be Outer Regional Australia.

If your post code is available then your place of residence and work will be considered as Outer Regional Australia.

Having an occupation in the general skilled occupation list won’t guarantee that you have an eligible occupation; you have to check your nominated occupation in the separate occupation list that is reserved for South Australia.

Competent-level English is at least 6 for each of the 4 components in IELTS or equivalent scores for any approved English tests.

If your occupation requires you to have a licence or registration and requires you to have a higher English proficiency level, then you will have to comply with that requirement, and having a competent English language proficiency will not be sufficient.

If you are a citizen or have a passport from the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, or New Zealand, you will not have to prove your English language proficiency.

The minimum 65 points that you need to have will include the state nomination points. For example, if you have 50 points for your age, qualifications, work experience, etc., then the 15 points that you add can be from the state nomination for the SC 190 visa.

This stream is designed for skilled migrants who are currently living offshore.

What are the eligibility requirements for offshore stream?

• Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 

• Have an occupation in the SA skilled occupation list.

• Have at least 3 years of work experience in your nominated or related occupation within the last 5 years

• Have at least 65 points

• Have English language proficiency

Things to consider for offshore applicants;

For occupations in the construction trades (as listed below) applicants must have a minimum of one year of skilled employment in their nominated or related occupation within the last 3 years.  

1. Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through the Home Affairs SkillSelect system?

2. Check the Department of Home Affairs requirements

3. Check whether your occupation is in the SA skilled occupation list

4. Look into the streams to check which stream you are eligible

5. Prepare all your documents

6. Create an account for the SA migration portal

7. Make your ROI submission (This is not necessary for offshore applicants)

8. Wait until you are invited