Australia has always been one of the most popular countries for Hong Kong citizens to immigrate to for studying. The Australian government launched a convenient immigration policy that grants Hong Kong citizens a five-year visa, which not only increases immigration quotas but also reduces the difficulty of immigration for a large number of Hong Kong people.
So, let’s look at the characteristics and conditions of the Australian five-year visa plan that many Hong Kong citizens are interested in.
First, what is the “Hong Kong people’s five-year visa”? The “five-year visa” is not the name of this Visa but rather a nickname used to refer to the characteristics of the Visa.
In its earliest form, this was an Australian government policy launched by Hong Kong expats in Australia. On July 9, 2020, Australia officially extended the residence rights of graduates holding Hong Kong passports and temporary work visas for 5 years. Australia then improved this policy in order to provide more convenient immigration channels for Hong Kong people for a long time. After the 5-year temporary Visa, Hong Kong citizens only need to meet the “adjustment qualification conditions” to apply for an “existing technology category permanent visa”.
Policies have expanded from Hong Kong passport holders to Hong Kong people holding a British National Overseas Passport (BNO). Because the Visa is usually 5 years, it is collectively referred to as the “Hong Kong five-year visa”.
Who can apply for a “Hong Kong Five-Year Visa”?
1. Hong Kong students currently studying in Australia or going to study in Australia in the future will be eligible to obtain a five-year graduate visa in Australia after completing higher education courses (including universities and TAFE courses).
2. When the holder of the Hong Kong passport applies for a 482 visa, if their job is included in the Occupational Skill Lists through the Labour Market Testing, they will be qualified to obtain a five-year Australian visa.
3. At present, Hong Kong citizens who have held a 482/457 visa will automatically have the validity period of this extended for five years from July 9, 2020.
4. Hong Kong citizens who have been approved or are about to be approved for 5-year residence visas will obtain Australian permanent residence status after the 5-year expiration (see the following specific requirements).
5. For Hong Kong citizens studying in remote areas and choosing to live and work locally, the time limit for obtaining permanent visa visas will be shortened from five years to three years.
What conditions must you meet for the “Hong Kong people’s five-year visa” after the expiration?
According to the new bill by the Australian government, under the current 189 and 191 technical immigration permanent residence visas, the Hong Kong category (Hong Kong STREAM) has been added, providing permanent residence for Hong Kong citizens.
In other words, under the new policy, Hong Kong citizens who hold a graduation visa can live in Australia for 3 to 4 years, meet the “Common Criteria),” skip the score requirements of technical immigrants, and directly immigrate. The difficulty is greatly reduced compared to the previous technical immigration policy, also known as the “lowest cost” approach to Australia.
Overall, if Hong Kong citizens want to get permanent residence through 189 and 191 technology immigrants in Australia, they must meet the following requirements:
1. 189 Independent Technical Immigration Visa (Hong Kong Category) Requirements:
The applicant must hold a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or BNO passport;
The master applicant must hold an effective temporary visa (SC 457/482 /485 visa), and the Visa is valid for July 8, 2025, or five years;
Hold this valid Visa for at least 4 years;
Before the application, they have lived in Australia for at least 4 years;
The main and vice applicants must meet all health requirements.
2. 191 Remote Technology Immigration Visa (Hong Kong Category) Requirements:
The applicant must hold a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or BNO passport;
The Lord’s application must hold an effective temporary visa (SC 457/482/485 visa), meet the requirements of living, working or studying in designated remote areas, and hold this valid Visa for 3 years;
Before the application, if they have lived in remote areas in Australia for at least 3 years;
There is no need to meet the requirements of the 3-year income threshold before applying for this Hong Kong category;
The main and vice applicants must meet all health requirements.
Compared to other 189 and 191 visa applicants, applicants holding Hong Kong or BNO passports do not have other scoring requirements such as occupational assessment and language.
In addition, children will still be regarded as family members, including for the SC 457/482 /485 visa, until they are over 23 years old (as long as they continue to live in the family home of the main applicant). Applicants can still apply for people to immigrate together without age restrictions.
Since 2018, applications for a temporary graduate visa in Hong Kong have increased sharply. From 2021-22 to May 2022, it reached 1,600 applications (three times greater than in 2018-19). Before the protests, there were only around 500 applicants from Hong Kong.
At the same time, since the launch of the 485 visa, the number of Hong Kong applicants who have finally obtained a temporary graduate visa has also increased. It reached its highest level in the fiscal year 2021-22. At least 767 Hong Kong applicants were successful during this period of getting a visa.
According to the 2020-21 immigration plan of the Ministry of the Interior, 4,300 of the 160,000 people who received permanent residence visas in that year had Hong Kong citizenship.
Due to the surge in the number of Hong Kong citizens who have obtained permanent visas, Hong Kong has become the eighth largest source of immigrants who obtain permanent residence status and has entered the top ten for the first time in six years.
A new measure that took effect on July 7 last year means that when the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport and BNO holders apply for a temporary or permanent technical immigration visa in Australia, they will get a case of waiting for “Approval of the highest priority“.
Measures are suitable for all temporary or permanent technical immigration visa categories, including employer guarantee, state government guarantee, and independent immigration applications.
Is it easy for Hong Kong people to be approved for five years?
When Hong Kong and BNO passport holders apply for a temporary or permanent technical immigration visa in Australia, they will receive the “highest priority order” for the waiting case.
In fact, since the launch of the 485 visa, the number of Hong Kong applicants who have finally obtained a temporary graduate visa has increased, reaching the highest level in the fiscal year 2021-22.
According to the 2020-21 immigration plan of the Ministry of the Interior, 4,300 of the 160,000 people who received permanent residence visas in that year had Hong Kong citizenship.
In addition, from 2021-22 to May 2022, the application for temporary graduates of Hong Kong people also increased sharply, reaching 1,600 applications.
Last year, due to the surge in the number of Hong Kong citizens who obtained permanent visas, Hong Kong became the eighth largest source of immigrants who obtained permanent residence.
This policy changes from time to time, and specific information can be found on the official website of the Australian government:
189 Independent Technical Immigration Visa (Hong Kong Category):
191 Remote areas of technical immigration visas (Hong Kong category):
You can also watch the video below to learn more about buying property in Australia:
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Born in Hong Kong an moved to Australia, I have been associated with real estate all my life. As the plane slowly landed on the runway of Melbourne Airport, my life and career also changed to another runway. I changed from a Hong Kong real estate agent to an Australian real estate agent, and successfully obtained the Australian lawyer qualification.
When I was working in a law firm, I was surrounded by highly educated professionals. Even though their wages are very well, and they are absolutely the elites in society, but their lives are full of hard labor, and it’s hard for them to get rich through buying properties.
So I spend all my time and effort on learning financial and real estate investment knowledge, hoping to achieve financial freedom as soon as possible, and let my parents who have worked hard for many years live a good life.
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