How to get permanent residency as a carpenter in Australia?

Choosing what to study in Australia can be overwhelming given the huge amount of courses available for international students. Also, the General Skilled Migration program has many pathways and options to achieve permanent residency in Australia.

Based on this, one of the most popular pathways for our clients is through studying carpentry.

Why study Carpentry in Australia?

It is a fact the Australian population is growing, there is a huge demand for new houses and the construction industry is booming (even during COVID). Every city in Australia has major development projects that need hundreds of skilled carpenters to meet demand. Every year the Department of Home Affairs releases an occupation ceiling for each occupation in demand.

This could be considered a good indicator of how many places are available in that occupation and also how important or “in demand” this occupation is.  For this year (2021-2022) Carpenters have been allocated roughly 7.000 places and it’s one of the occupations with most places available in the Medium and Long term Strategic Skills List.

How to become a carpenter in Australia?

There are three main steps you need to fulfil the requirements to be eligible as a carpenter to apply for permanent residency.

Step1: Choose the right course:

• • Choosing the right course at the right level is key. To be recognised as a carpenter in Australia you have to study a Certificate III in Carpentry. This could be a stand-alone course or a package that includes this program. In total the course (or courses) must be registered in CRICOS for at least 92 weeks. During your studies, you must complete a 360 hours work placement as a carpenter. Given this occupation is in high demand, usually, students don’t have any issues finding a company to undertake their placement.

Step 2: Apply for your 485 Visa:

• • The next step after graduation is to apply for the 485 Visa – Graduate stream -. This visa allows you to work full-time for 18 months from the date of grant (temporarily granted for 24 months). To apply for this visa you would need to provide your carpentry qualification and transcript, a recognised English test (IELTS, PTE, Cambridge, OET or TOEFL), a provisional skills assessment from TRA (hence the need for the 360 vocational placement), health insurance, and medical and police check clearances.

Step 3: Complete the Job Ready Program:

• Studying carpentry doesn’t make you a carpenter straight after graduation (at least for migration purposes). For this reason, you need to have paid work in your occupation for at least 1 year. This is done through the Job Ready Program.The Job Ready Program is a one year program. You and your company need to sign up. You then need to log your hours for the year and complete and on a job assessment. At the end of this program, you get your full skills assessment as a carpenter in Australia.

What happens next?

After you get your Full Skills Assessment issued, you are then eligible to apply for residency in Australia.   We say eligible because you need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) with the Department and they periodically send invitations to apply for residency visas. This step is key and there are some factors that you have to consider.

You need to have at least 65 points to be invited. This is why factors such as English level, age and where you studied and work will play a vital role to get you more points. It’s important that you check if the state where you are living can give you extra points through state sponsorship as this way might be easier to receive an invitation. When your EOI is accepted and you receive an invitation to apply, you can lodge your visa through ImmiAccount. Only at this point, after you have submitted your visa application, you will get a bridging visa, which allows you to stay in Australia until a decision is made.

Carpenters are one of the most demand trades in Australia and with a growing population, there is going to be more demand for carpenters and possibilities to get residency in Australia.

At EMSA we specialise in finding pathways and strategies to help you achieve permanent residency in Australia. Contact us today and we will help you with your case.

Interested? Contact us!