/ Immigration South Australia
SKILLED INDEPENDENT REGIONAL
(PROVISIONAL) “SIR” VISA /

This fact sheet explains how the Government of South Australia, through Immigration South Australia, will consider sponsorship for applicants to migrate to South Australia (SA) under the Skilled Independent Regional “SIR” (Provisional) Visa (subclass 495) which has been established by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). The new SIR visa came into operation on 1 July 2004 – see the DIMIA website for details at

Please read this fact sheet thoroughly to understand all the criteria for Sponsorship and to determine eligibility.

What is the SIR Visa?

The SIR Visa (subclass 495) is a Provisional (temporary) visa and will be valid for a period of three years. Applicants for the SIR (provisional) visa will be required to sign an undertaking with DIMIA and the Government of South Australia, that they, and the members of their family unit, will live, work and study in a “*regional or low population growth metropolitan area of Australia” for the duration of the provisional visa.

*South Australia is in a unique position as our capital, Adelaide is included in this definition. This means that if you are successful in obtaining a sponsorship for the SIR Visa from our State, you can live anywhere in South Australia.

The SIR Visa is a two-stage visa process. Sponsorship from a participating State or Territory Government will be required for both the provisional and permanent stages of the visa.

Eligibility for the SIR (Provisional) Visa

Applicants must achieve 110 or 115 Points as indicated in the DIMIA Booklet 6 to be eligible to seek Sponsorship.

As described in the DIMIA Booklet 6, applicants need to:

Be under 45 years of age;

Have vocational level English;

Nominate an occupation on DIMIA’s Skilled Occupations List Form 1121i (a skilled occupation) and be found suitable for that occupation by the relevant Australian assessing authority;

Have recent work experience in a skilled occupation or have recently completed an Australian qualification;

Be sponsored by a state/territory government.

How to seek Sponsorship from the Government of South Australia – First stage

SA is a participating State and is able to provide Sponsorship for the granting of the SIR (Provisional) visa by DIMIA. Sponsorship from the Government of South Australia is at no cost to the applicant, however, costs are involved when lodging the visa application at DIMIA, visit To seek sponsorship from the Government of South Australia, you should:

  1. Assess your points for migration purposes (you must achieve 110 or 115 Points);
  2. Provide a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority.
  3. Download Form 1244 from the DIMIA website at
  4. Download Sponsorship Application Form from our website.
  5. Complete both documents (SIR Sponsorship Application Form and the DIMIA Form 1244) and return them to Immigration SA with the accompanying documents;;
  6. If you are successful in obtaining Sponsorship from the Government of South Australia, the Form 1244 will be signed by Immigration SA and returned to you by post. You must then lodge your visa application (Form 47SK) together with Form 1244 with DIMIA. (Note: the processing of visa applications is undertaken by DIMIA); or send the Form 1244 with your OSF number if you have already lodged your visa application with DIMIA.
  7. Applications for the SIR Visa will receive Priority Processing status from DIMIA.
  8. The DIMIA Form 1244 must be sent to Immigration SA with the applicant’s signature. If approved, Immigration SA will sign the Form 1244 and send the original back to the applicant for them to lodge with their visa application.

Order of Processing

Applicants whose occupations are listed in this State’s “Occupations for State Nominations” will be considered under the State/Territory Nominated Independent Scheme option first. (See fact sheet on the Immigration SA website)

Applicants whose occupations are not on this list will be considered under the SIR criteria.

Special Note: Sponsorships for IT occupations not included in the “Occupations for State Nominations” list will be considered under the SIR criteria but will be required to provide a job offer from a South Australian employer before Sponsorship is considered.

Once you have determined that you meet all the eligibility criteria, contact Immigration SA for a copy of the SIR Sponsorship Application Form at:

Immigration South Australia

Email:

GPO Box 2343, Adelaide 5001

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Ph: +618 8204 9250

Fx: +618 8204 9244

Website:

Second Stage – Permanent Visa application

After 2 years residence in South Australia, candidates can apply for the Permanent visa.

Sponsorship from Immigration SA will be required again for the permanent stage of the visa. In order to approve the Sponsorship, Immigration SA will require that the applicant and their family unit meet these conditions:

Demonstrate that they have lived anywhere in South Australia for at least two years; and

The principal applicant (or their partner) has been employed full time (ie 30 or more hours per week) for at least 12 months; and

Intend to continue to live in South Australia for at least the next two years.

Plus meet any outstanding DIMIA criteria.

Full details about the permanent stage application will be available on the DIMIA ( website.

The visa options available at the permanent stage are:

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS);

OR

State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner

OR

On-shore State/Territory Nominated Independent Scheme

Eligibility details are contained on our website at:

Why South Australia?

*South Australia, including Adelaide, is the only mainland capital city, included in this visa category. This means that sponsorship for the SIR visa allows visa holders to live anywhere in South Australia, including the city of Adelaide.

School-going children of SIR Visa holders will be able to access all educational services in the government education system and pay the same fees as local students in South Australia.

SIR visa holders who are re-locating from overseas may also be eligible for the unique On Arrival Services package available to skilled migrants through Immigration SA

All SIR applicants who arrive in South Australia, whether from Overseas or from within Australia, will have access to the Migrant Employment Consultancy Service (MECS – refer to our fact sheet) to assist in seeking employment in our State.

Other relevant issues

Eligibility for provisional stage is based on achieving 110 or 115 Points for migration purposes, read DIMIA Booklet #6 under Points test and self-assessment at:

Applicant must meet all DIMIA criteria at the time of lodgement of the migration application for the first stage of the visa, including the need to be under 45.

For information about purchasing of property during the provisional stage of visa, visit:

Temporary visa holders are generally not entitled to Medicare benefits, for more information, read DIMIA Booklet #6 at: under Part 2 - Categories (Medical Costs in Australia).

Eligibility for permanent stage visa via the STNI pathway is not based on the Occupations for State Nominations List, but it is expected that candidates will need to be employed in a skilled occupation.

This information has been compiled by the Government of South Australia using information from the Commonwealth Department of Immigration & Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

September 2004