How to get permanent residence as an engineer in Australia

If you are an engineer in Australia and are seeking permanent residence in your profession, there are different pathways you can explore depending on your profile. We will explain to you the basics while we help you save some money for the first consultation with any migration lawyer and actually understand the whole process. 

You may need to follow 2 main steps to apply for a permanent residency visa in Australia as an Engineer. 

1. Apply for an accreditation or skill assessments under the relevant pathway (Washington Accord, Sydney Accord, Dublin Accord, Qualification is non-accredited/ non- Accord) We will talk about those later, no worries!. 

Step 1:

Accreditation of your professional title with Engineers Australia (EA). 

If your purpose is to obtain permanent residency in Australia, either through the points system or through the sponsorship of a company, you must accredit your degree.  

For engineers, the skill assessing authority is Engineers Australia (EA). EA has different skills assessment pathways depending on your qualification.  

Basically, what they did was to separate different agreements between bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programs from different countries, these pathways are different depending on your nationality. 

• Washington Accord: This agreement allows Australia to recognize accredited qualifications to engineers from Korea, Russia, Malaysia, China, India, Sri Lanka, etc. The full list can be found here.

To be eligible, the qualification must be recognized by the representative body of the signatory country and the qualification must be equivalent to an Australian 4-year Bachelor’s degree. 

• Sydney Accord: This agreement allows Australia to recognize accredited qualifications to engineers from Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Korea, NZ, South Africa, UK, USA and Malaysia. You can look at the list here.

To be eligible for the Sydney Accord pathway the qualification must be equivalent to an Australian 3 years Bachelor of Technology degree in engineering. 

• Dublin Accord: This agreement allows Australia to recognize accredited qualifications to engineers from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Korea, NZ, South Africa. See the full list here. 

To sum up and not make things more complicated… Depending on your nationality you can apply for different pathways. However, as you noticed some of the countries are part of 2 international agreements. If that is your case you can apply depending on the type of certification you have obtained after checking if your home country is part of any accord. 

• If you are a professional Engineer apply to the  Washington Accord 
• If you are an Engineering Technologist apply to the Sydney Accord 
• If you are an Engineering Associate apply to the – Dublin Accord 

What happens if my country is not on the accord lists? 

If none of the above applies, you would have to apply for a skill assessment under the Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) or a non-accredited/ non- Accord pathway. 

Qualification is non-accredited/ non- Accord 

Part of the CDR pathway includes preparing a report which must include: 

• Demonstrate professional development after you have graduated 
• 3 Career Episodes highlighting your engineering education and /or work experience 
• Summary Statement there are competency units and elements that must be met to be recognized as an engineer. 

Step 2:

Apply for a visa in Australia

Almost all the engineering occupations are on the medium and long-term strategic skills list. This list is a list of occupations on-demand in Australia and gives you the opportunity to apply for migration purposes.  

Once you have the accreditation of your career and depending on your profile, you can choose to apply between skilled visas and Employer-Sponsored Visas: 

Skilled Visas for engineers in Australia: 

• Subclass 189  Skilled Independent Visa:

  This visa is one of the most competitive among applicants because it allows you to live, work and study in Australia permanently, the points for engineers to apply and be invited are now 100 or more, that is why this visa is no longer an option for many candidates. But it depends on your profile and it is totally up to you if you want to apply and give it a try. 

• Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa:

  Similar to the Subclass 189 visa, this visa allows you to live, work and study in Australia permanently too. It is also a point tested visa.  Candidates move to a regional area to apply for this visa looking for a state who is willing to nominate them. 

• Subclass 491  Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa:

  Although this visa is not permanent. It can lead to a permanent visa (Subclass 191 – Skilled Regional Visa). The Subclass 491 visa allows you to live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia. To be nominated by the state, you must check the state’s occupation list and meet all the state’s requirements. 

All skilled visas are based on the Australian points system. 

Points will be given to you based on the following: 

• Age 
• Educational Qualifications 
• Points for Professional Year 
• Points for NAATI- Credentialled Community Language 
• Points for 2 Year Study 
• Points for English 
• Points for Regional Study 
• Points for Work Experience 
• Points for Partner 

Employer-Sponsored Visas: 

• Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional Visa):

  To be eligible for this visa, you must have at least 3 years of working experience in your nominated occupation and have a relevant skills assessment. With this visa, there is a requirement that you must work for the employer who is sponsoring you. 

• Subclass 191 -Permanent Residence Skilled Regional Visa  

  This visa is for people who currently have a Subclass 491 visa or Subclass 494 visa who have lived, worked or studied in the designated regional area for at least 3 years with a taxable income at or above $53,900. This visa will allow you to live work and study in Australia permanently. 

• Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme Visa:

  This visa is permanent and will allow you to live, work and study in Australia indefinitely. To be eligible for this visa, you need to have at least 3 years of working experience in your nominated occupation and a positive skills assessment. Alternatively, if you are a holder of a Subclass 457 or TSS visa, you can apply for Subclass 186 after working for an employer for at least 3 years. 

That was a lot of information, right? Well, we just saved you around $300 AUD in any consultation with a migration lawyer, now you have the information for free and we are happy to help.  

What is the next step?  

We recommend you start doing your skill assessment as soon as possible, after completing your accreditation, looking for better visa options would be easier for you.  

You can also check the list of occupations here and see if any of those can apply to your work experience and you can have any other alternative to engineering, for example, you can be an Industrial Engineering with work experience as Engineering Manager, you should check the eligibility options for that occupation in case you do not meet the requirements to apply for an Industrial Engineering occupation. 

Confusing? 

Well, now is the time to book a consultation with real questions you can take advantage of. 

Relevant links

Useful links to get the ball rolling

Study Commercial Cookery 
The Ultimate Trade – Study Pathways 
Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa – Subclass 482
Employer Nominated (ENS) Visa (Permanent) – Subclass 186 

We are here to help:

Our website is jam packed with useful information about various visa options and common questions that answer most of our visitors’ doubts, but if you’re still not sure and would like a personalised migration plan with a step by step road map, then schedule a consultation with one of our Registered Migration Agent.

Find your migration plan: