I Want to Live in Australia Permanently — Where Do I Even Start?

You want to live in Australia. Properly.

Not just a three-week holiday. Not six months backpacking up the East Coast. You're imagining a job, a home, weekends at the beach and a life that actually has Australia as the permanent address.

Amazing.

There's just one small issue:

Where the hell do you start?

If you've already Googled “how to move to Australia permanently”, you've probably been introduced to an exciting collection of numbers, acronyms, occupation lists and government webpages.

And suddenly moving to Australia feels less like an exciting life plan and more like you've accidentally enrolled in a university subject.

It doesn't need to start that way.

Start with you — not a visa number

One of the easiest mistakes to make is finding a visa online and immediately trying to make your life fit its requirements.

Instead, start with your own situation.

What do you do for work?

What qualifications do you have?

How much experience do you have?

How old are you?

Where are you willing to live?

Are you moving alone or with a partner?

Do you already have connections to Australia?

These aren't questions we're asking you to answer for us right now.

The point is that Australian migration pathways aren't one-size-fits-all.

Understanding your own starting position makes researching the system a whole lot easier.

What does permanent residency actually mean?

You'll see PR everywhere when researching Australia.

Permanent residency isn't one single visa you simply apply for because you've decided you'd quite like to stay forever.

Australia has different visa pathways that can lead to permanent residence, while other visas are temporary or may form part of a longer journey.

Permanent residents generally have the ability to remain in Australia indefinitely and work and study in Australia, although permanent residency and Australian citizenship are not the same thing.

So if permanent Australia is the goal, it's worth understanding the difference between your end goal and the pathway that might eventually get you there.

You'll probably come across skilled migration

If you have professional qualifications, a trade or significant work experience, there's a good chance you'll encounter Australia's skilled migration system during your research.

That's where you'll start seeing things like:

occupation lists, skills assessments, points, expressions of interest and state or territory nomination.

Don't panic.

You don't need to become an expert in all of them overnight.

The important thing to know is that your occupation alone doesn't determine whether you can migrate permanently to Australia.

Different skilled pathways have different requirements, and factors including qualifications, work experience, English ability, age and location can become relevant.

We'll unpack plenty of these individually in future Drift Journals.

What about getting sponsored by an employer?

Another route you'll probably hear about is employer sponsorship.

Australia has visa pathways that allow eligible businesses to sponsor eligible overseas workers for certain positions.

But finding an Australian company willing to employ you and qualifying for an employer-sponsored visa are two separate things.

There are requirements involved for both sides.

So while sponsorship may be worth researching for some people, don't automatically assume:

“I want to live in Australia permanently = I need to find a company to sponsor me.”

The Australian migration system is bigger than that.

Your life might point you somewhere completely different

Not everyone's Australian story starts with their career.

Some people meet an Australian partner.

Some study here.

Some arrive on a Working Holiday Visa and unexpectedly build a life.

Some have family connections.

Some are offered opportunities by Australian employers.

And some start researching from overseas without ever having set foot in the country.

That's why your first question shouldn't necessarily be:

“Which visa should I apply for?”

A much better starting question is:

“What pathways exist, and which ones are worth getting professional advice about based on my circumstances?”

You don't need to figure this out alone

There's a lot of information online about Australian visas.

Some of it is excellent.

Some of it is outdated.

And some of it comes from a bloke on Facebook whose cousin apparently got PR in 2017, so he's now appointed himself Australia's unofficial immigration department.

Use official sources for the facts.

And when the question becomes about your eligibility, your circumstances or what you should do, that's the point to speak with a registered migration professional.

Start with the destination. Then find the route.

If the goal is:

“I want to build my life in Australia.”

That's enough for today.

You don't need to know your visa subclass before you've even started.

Learn about the landscape. Understand your own circumstances. Ask questions. Get professional advice where you need it.

Then build the plan.

At Drift, we make the beginning a little less overwhelming. We provide general information to help you understand Australia's migration landscape and can connect you with a registered migration professional when you need advice specific to you.

You already know where you want to end up.

Now it's about figuring out the route.

This article provides general information only and does not constitute migration advice. Australian visa requirements and pathways can change and depend on individual circumstances. For advice about your specific situation, speak with Drift who will provide you with a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner.