Getting Permanent Residency (PR) in Australia

What we cover

What is PR in Australia
Benefits of getting PR in Australia
PR pathways to Australia
PR cost and processing times
Permanent residency and citizenship

Key Takeaways

There are 4 main pathways to PR in Australia
If you are a permanent resident, you can sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
After getting your PR you can apply for citizenship
Every year the Department publishes its allocations under each pathway

What is PR in Australia?

You can become a permanent resident in Australia if you have applied for and have been granted a permanent visa.

After you become a permanent resident, you can live, work and study in Australia indefinitely and will be eligible for Australian citizenship.

Australia provides pathways to PR through skilled migration, employer sponsorships, family based migration and business migration.

Every year, the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs publishes the allocations that will be given for different visa pathways. Accordingly, migrants will be invited and granted the respective visa based on their eligibility.

Benefits of getting PR in Australia

After being granted a permanent visa, you become a permanent resident in Australia. Though a permanent resident is not an Australian citizen, you can access the following benefits:

Live and work in Australia indefinitely
Be enrolled in Medicare (Australia’s free health care scheme)
Buy property in Australia
Apply for bank loans
Bring your spouse and other eligible relatives
Free education for your children up to certain age limits
Apply for citizenship

PR pathways to Australia

There are several pathways to PR in Australia, depending on your current immigration status. Broadly they are of 4 categories:

Skilled Migration
Employer Sponsorship
Family Visa
Business Migration

While these schemes contain permanent and temporary visa categories, every application should be made considering your circumstances and eligibility criteria for each.

Skilled Migration

You can apply for permanent visas if you are trained or qualified in an occupation on Australia’s skilled occupation list.

To apply for skilled migration, you should obtain a positive skill assessment for your nominated occupation and receive an invitation to apply for a skilled visa.

Employer Sponsored

You can be sponsored by your employer for a permanent employer sponsored visa if you can establish that your employment is genuinely essential to the organization and that there is no equivalent Australian worker who can undertake your tasks.

Read more about employer sponsored visas here.

Family Based visa

If your spouse, prospective partner or your children are permanent residents or citizens in Australia, you can apply for permanent residency in Australia through the family based scheme.

You should meet the specific requirements under the partner and parent visa programs.

Business Migration

Business migration is a specific stream for applicants who have successful business careers overseas or in Australia.

You have to meet the minimum turnover and asset requirements and show why your business would be economically beneficial to Australia.

PR cost and processing time

Every permanent visa has its own costs for the visa application including the amounts for the primary and any other applicants.

Processing times for each of these visas are also published by the Department time to time.

The PR costs and average processing times can be summarized as below. These charges are current in 2022 as per the Department notices.

Permanent Residency and Citizenship

There are significant differences between being a permanent resident and a citizen in Australia. While permanent residency may lead to citizenship, becoming a citizen makes you an Australian with a right to vote and a valid Australian passport.

While you can become an Australian citizen by conferral if you’re over 60 or by descent, permanent residents are eligible for citizenship if they meet the following: