Concessions for Subclass 887 due to COVID – 19 to ensure applicants including restrictions imposed on businesses, border closures, and the general economic downturn related to COVID-19 are not disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control.
The new concessions are in relation to application requirements and full-time work in regional Australia and visa criteria requiring specified periods of residence. The Subclass 887 visa is a permanent visa who is a pathway to the permanent visa and the amendments assist holders of qualifying provisional visas. For prospective Subclass 887 visa applicants these amendments allow flexibility in meeting visa eligibility requirements and their families who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic adversely.
In meeting visa eligibility requirements and or prospective Subclass 887 visa applicants.
The amendments include changes to:
- Applicants who are outside Australia; allow Subclass 887 visas to be granted
- With a concession toward the requirement to live for two years in a specified regional area to provide (whose visas expired during a concession period) provisional visa holders and former provisional visa holders . if the applicant was outside Australia during a concession period and made the application during the concession period, The applicant is taken to have lived in a specified regional area for six months (or a longer period specified in a legislative instrument).
- Allow provisional visa holders and former provisional visa holders to apply for a Subclass 887 visa (whose visas expired during a concession period) while outside Australia during a concession period; and
- If the applicant held a provisional visa during a concession period and the application is made no later than three months after the end of the concession period reduce the requirement for full-time work in a specified regional area from 12 months to nine months (or a shorter period specified in a legislative instrument)
Eligibility for the employment and residence concessions for subclass 887 visa applicants:
| LOCATION | EMPLOYMENT CONCESSION (3 MONTHS) | RESIDENCE CONCESSION (6 MONTHS) |
| Onshore lodgement | Yes | No |
| Offshore lodgement | Yes | Yes |
To assist applicants is the purpose of the concessions who are impacted by Because the concession period is defined to commence on 1 February 2020, the concessions reflect what has occurred during the pandemic, and the benefit of the concessions is available to all eligible applicants who apply from 19 September 2020.
The purpose of these amendments is to ensure that skilled visa holders who were on a pathway to permanent residence prior to the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic and held a provisional visa retain their eligibility for a Subclass 887 visa caused by the pandemic despite the disruptions.
The amendments are advantageous for regional businesses allowing them to address labour skill shortages in regional Australia associated travel restrictions and rising rates of unemployment and underemployment Additionally.IME Advisor – The Immigration Agency in Sydney will be helpful regarding this visa.
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