Comparisons · Checked 30 October 2026
Visa head-to-heads
Most migration decisions are a choice between two doors. These pages put each pair side by side — settings, charges, PR pathways — and give the honest verdict on who each one fits.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed 30 October 2026
The migration agent that other migration agents learn from. WIDEN is an OMARA-approved CPD provider — our training is rated ★4.8 by 40+ registered migration agents.
About the CPD →- 482 Skills in Demand vs 494 Regional Employer Sponsored — The 482 is the default employer-sponsored visa; the 494 wins when the employer is regional and the occupation or applicant does not fit the 482 — its list is broader and it carries its own PR route (191).
- 190 Skilled Nominated vs 491 Skilled Work Regional — The 190 is immediate permanent residency with 5 nomination points; the 491 is provisional but adds 15 points and regional lists are easier to enter.
- 189 Skilled Independent vs 190 Skilled Nominated — Same points test, one big difference: the 189 needs no state and has no strings, but its rounds are fiercely competitive and list-limited; the 190 adds 5 points and a much wider set of occupations via state lists, in exchange for a two-year commitment to the nominating state.
- 482 Skills in Demand vs 186 Employer Nomination (Direct Entry) — Not really rivals — more a question of sequencing.
- 407 Training vs 482 Skills in Demand — Different jobs: the 482 fills a position; the 407 trains a person.
- 500 Student vs 407 Training — The 500 buys classroom study toward a qualification; the 407 buys supervised workplace training on an existing skill base.
- 485 Temporary Graduate vs 482 Skills in Demand — If you are a recent Australian graduate, the 485 is usually first: it needs no employer and buys years to gain the experience, English scores and job offer that make the 482 or points visas real.
- 491 Skilled Work Regional vs 494 Regional Employer Sponsored — Both are 5-year regional provisionals ending in the 191 — the difference is who backs you.
- 820/801 Partner (onshore) vs 309/100 Partner (offshore) — Same relationship test, same two-stage structure, same $11,710 — the choice is geography and what you get while waiting.
- IELTS vs PTE Academic — Both are fully accepted for Australian visas at equivalent score bands — the Department does not prefer either.
- Points-tested (189/190/491) vs Employer-sponsored (482/186/494) — Two different engines: points visas run on your profile (age, English, experience, qualifications) and need no employer; sponsored visas run on a job offer and mostly skip the points test.
- 186 Employer Nomination vs 191 Permanent Residence (Regional) — Both end in permanent residency; they start from different lives.
- 186 Temporary Residence Transition vs 186 Direct Entry — Same permanent visa, same $6,140, same employer nomination — the stream is decided by history.
- 189 Skilled Independent vs 491 Skilled Work Regional — Both are points-tested through SkillSelect; the 189 is permanent on grant, needs no nominator and is therefore the most competitive invitation in the program, while the 491 adds 15 points for a state or family nomination, is provisional for five years, ties the holder to regional Australia, and reaches permanent residence through the 191 after three years at the required income.
- 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) vs 143 Contributory Parent — The 870 is a long visit: three or five years at a time, up to ten in total, no work, no Medicare, private insurance, a sponsor child who meets an income test, and no path to permanent residence.
- 143 Contributory Parent vs 804 Aged Parent (onshore) — The 143 is the parent visa that is actually granted: expensive, with a queue of years, but with a decision in the parent’s lifetime.
- 417 Working Holiday vs 462 Work and Holiday — You do not choose between them; your passport does.
- 820/801 Partner (onshore) vs 300 Prospective Marriage — The partner visa is for a couple who are married or de facto now; the prospective marriage visa is for a couple who intend to marry and are not yet in a de facto relationship, and it is applied for from outside Australia, grants a temporary stay to come and marry, and leads to the partner visa onshore at a reduced charge after the wedding.
- 482 Skills in Demand vs 400 Short Stay Specialist — The 400 is for highly specialised, short-term work, up to three months in the ordinary case and six in strong business circumstances, with no sponsorship, no nomination, no labour market testing and no levy; the 482 is for a position in the business that will last, with the sponsorship, the nomination, the obligations and the path to the 186.
- 601 Electronic Travel Authority vs 651 eVisitor — Your passport decides, not your preference.
- 601 Electronic Travel Authority vs 600 Visitor — If your passport is ETA-eligible and you want up to three months at a time with no convictions to declare, the ETA is faster, cheaper and granted in minutes.
- IELTS Academic vs IELTS General Training — For the visa itself the Department accepts either module at the same band scores, so General Training, with its everyday reading and writing tasks, is the one most migration applicants find easier.
- OET vs IELTS — The OET is written for health professionals, with clinical scenarios, patient letters and consultations, and nurses, doctors and allied health applicants who use English at work usually find it the more natural test; the Department accepts it for every English level and the health registration boards accept it for registration, so one result can serve both.
- DAMA labour agreement vs 494 standard regional nomination — They are not alternatives but layers: the 494 is the regional employer-sponsored visa, and a Designated Area Migration Agreement is a regional labour agreement that lets an endorsed employer nominate for the 482 or the 494 in the labour agreement stream with concessions the standard nomination does not have, on occupation, salary, English, experience and in some regions age for the permanent stage.
- 600 Visitor (parent) vs 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) — For a parent who wants to visit, the Visitor visa 600 is cheap, quick and, for the parent of an Australian, often granted with multi-year validity and stays of up to twelve months at a time, with the condition that the parent must leave between stays and usually cannot apply for anything else onshore.
- Permanent residency vs Australian citizenship — Permanent residence gives almost everything citizenship gives for daily life: work for anyone, Medicare, study at domestic fees, a home, sponsoring family.
- PTE Academic vs OET — For a health professional both tests serve the visa and, at the right grades, the registration board, so the choice is which one you will score higher on: the OET uses clinical scenarios, case notes and patient letters that nurses, doctors and allied health workers already write, while PTE Academic is a general computer-marked test of academic English with results in days and a format that rewards practice.
- 143 Contributory Parent (permanent) vs 173 Contributory Parent (temporary) — Same program, same parents, same end point, split differently.
- 864 Contributory Aged Parent (onshore) vs 143 Contributory Parent — The same contributory visa in two doors.
- Bridging Visa A vs Bridging Visa C — Both keep you lawful while a visa application is decided; what you held on the day you lodged decides which one you get.
- Partner visa vs Skilled visa — A couple with one Australian partner and one skilled migrant can often go either way, and the answer turns on certainty and time.
- 155 Resident Return (5-year or 1-year) vs 157 Resident Return (3-month) — You do not pick one; you lodge a Resident Return visa application and the Department grants the subclass your residence history earns.
- Citizenship by descent vs Citizenship by conferral — Descent is a registration of a status the child already has a claim to: born outside Australia to a parent who was an Australian citizen at the birth, with no residence requirement, no test, no pledge and no visa.
- Review at the Tribunal vs A new application — The refusal letter decides whether review exists at all: most onshore refusals and sponsored offshore refusals carry a right to merits review at the Administrative Review Tribunal, lodged within the short period in the letter, with the applicant usually kept lawful on a bridging visa while it runs; most unsponsored offshore refusals carry none, and a new application is the only route.
- Second regional 485 vs 482 Skills in Demand — A regional graduate on a first 485 who can get a second one buys one or two more years of unrestricted work at a low charge and keeps the freedom to change jobs, at the price of staying regional and of a visa that leads nowhere on its own; a graduate with an employer willing to sponsor moves to the 482, which costs more, ties them to the sponsor and the occupation, but runs up to four years anywhere and leads to the 186 after two.
- Self-sponsorship through your own company vs Sponsorship by an employer — There is no self-sponsorship visa; a person who owns a company has that company sponsor them as any employer would, and the Department reads the nomination for whether the business is real, the position is genuine and the salary can be paid from the business rather than from the applicant’s own savings.
- 500 Student vs 482 Skills in Demand — For a person who already has a listed occupation, the experience and an employer willing to sponsor, the 482 is the direct route: full-time work at a threshold salary from the start and the 186 after two years.
- 189 Skilled Independent vs 186 Employer Nomination — Both are permanent on grant; what differs is who has to want you.
- 600 Tourist stream vs 600 Sponsored Family stream — Same visa, two streams.
- 400 Short Stay Specialist vs 408 Temporary Activity — The 400 is for highly specialised, short-term work, up to three months in the ordinary case and six in strong business circumstances, supported by an Australian business with no sponsorship.
- IELTS vs TOEFL iBT — Both are accepted by the Department at every English level, at the scores it publishes for each, and the choice is familiarity and availability: IELTS is the test most assessing authorities, registration boards and state nominators name first, with a face-to-face speaking interview and paper or computer delivery; TOEFL iBT is fully computer-based with recorded speaking, is strong for applicants used to American academic English, and was re-accepted for Australian visas after a gap, with scores set afresh by the Department.
- 482 Skills in Demand vs 189 Skilled Independent — A migrant with an employer offering a 482 and a points score that might earn a 189 invitation is choosing between a visa now and a better visa later.
- 804 Aged Parent (onshore) vs 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) — Both keep a parent in Australia for years without permanent residence arriving soon, and they do it differently.
- 103 Parent (non-contributory) vs 143 Contributory Parent — The same permanent parent visa at two prices and two speeds.
- 417 Working Holiday vs 500 Student — For a young person from a 417 country who wants a year in Australia, the working holiday visa is cheaper, faster and freer: any job, any employer, up to six months with each, study for up to four months, and a second and third year on specified work.
- 651 eVisitor vs 600 Visitor — An EU or other eVisitor-eligible passport holder with nothing to declare uses the eVisitor: free, online, granted in minutes, three months per visit over twelve months.
- 491 state-nominated vs 491 family-sponsored — Same visa, same 15 points, same five provisional years in regional Australia and the same 191 at the end; the difference is who opens the door and how many doors there are.
- 190 Skilled Nominated vs 494 Regional Employer Sponsored — For a skilled worker who is already in regional Australia, the 190 is permanent on grant, needs a state nomination and a points score that clears the state’s bar, and leaves the holder free of any employer; the 494 is provisional for five years, needs a regional employer’s nomination and a salary at the threshold, ties the holder to that employer and the region, and reaches permanent residence through the 191 after three years at the required income.
- 485 Temporary Graduate vs 491 Skilled Work Regional — A graduate who already has the points, the skills assessment and a state willing to nominate can go straight to the 491 and start the three regional years toward permanent residence; most graduates do not, and use the 485 first: unrestricted work for eighteen months to several years by stream, with no points, no nomination and no occupation list, during which the skills assessment, the experience and the English score are built up and the 491 or another visa is applied for from the 485.
- 300 Prospective Marriage vs 309/100 Partner (offshore) — A couple abroad who intend to marry can marry first and lodge the offshore partner visa, or lodge the prospective marriage visa, come to Australia on it, marry here and then lodge the onshore partner visa at the reduced charge.
- Staying on the 444 Special Category visa vs Applying for Australian citizenship — A New Zealand citizen living in Australia on the Special Category visa, granted on arrival, can stay on it indefinitely with work and Medicare, and since 1 July 2023 can apply directly for Australian citizenship after four years of residence without first holding a permanent visa.
- DAMA (regional agreement) vs Company-specific labour agreement — Both let an employer sponsor outside the standard rules in the labour agreement stream, with concessions on occupation, salary, English or age; the difference is who negotiated them and how long the door takes to open.
- Merits review at the Tribunal vs Judicial review in the court — They answer different questions.
- 491 Skilled Work Regional vs 482 Skills in Demand — The 491 is a points-tested provisional visa with a state or family nomination, five years in regional Australia for any employer, and the 191 after three years at the required income; the 482 is an employer’s visa, up to four years anywhere in the nominated occupation for that sponsor, with the 186 after two.
- 186 Employer Nomination vs 494 Regional Employer Sponsored — An employer able to nominate for permanent residence directly uses the 186: the worker is permanent on grant, free of the employer thereafter, and the business carries one nomination and one levy.
- 190 Skilled Nominated vs 186 Employer Nomination — Both are permanent on grant at the same charge; one needs a state, the other an employer.
- 858 National Innovation vs 189 Skilled Independent — The 189 is the general points-tested permanent visa for a listed occupation, won on points in an invitation round.
- Request a waiver of condition 8503 vs Leave and apply from outside Australia — Condition 8503 on a visitor or other temporary visa stops most onshore applications, and the holder who now wants a partner, parent or other visa has two routes.
- Lodging the 482 in Australia vs Lodging the 482 from outside Australia — A worker already in Australia on a visa that allows a further application lodges onshore and receives a bridging visa that carries the earlier visa’s conditions, which lets them stay while the nomination and visa are decided and start with the sponsor once the nomination is approved, with a Bridging Visa B needed for any travel.
- Ministerial intervention vs Judicial review — After a loss at the Tribunal, these are the two doors left and they are nothing alike.
- 600 Business Visitor stream vs 400 Short Stay Specialist — The business visitor stream of the Visitor visa, and the ETA or eVisitor for eligible passports, cover a business visit: meetings, conferences, negotiations, site inspections, exploring opportunities, with no work and no selling to the public, for up to three months at a time.
- 804 Aged Parent vs 864 Contributory Aged Parent — Both are lodged in Australia by a parent of Age Pension age and both give the parent a bridging visa, commonly with work rights, for the wait; the difference is the price and the length of the wait.
- 417 Working Holiday vs 482 Skills in Demand — The working holiday visa is a year of any work for any employer, with a six-month limit per employer unless permission is granted; the 482 is a sponsored position in a listed occupation at the threshold salary for up to four years with the 186 after two.
- Accredited sponsor vs Standard Business Sponsor — Every sponsor is a Standard Business Sponsor; accreditation is a status on top of it for established sponsors with a clean record, a largely Australian workforce and a history of sponsoring, and the benefits Home Affairs states are no police certificates from countries other than Australia where the sponsor gives a written reference, and the sponsor’s own website counts as a labour market testing advertisement.
- 482 Core Skills stream vs 482 Specialist Skills stream — The streams are decided by salary and occupation.
- 482 Labour Agreement stream vs 482 Core Skills stream — The Core Skills stream is the standard 482: a listed occupation, the threshold salary, labour market testing unless exempt, and an approved Standard Business Sponsor nominating directly.
- Visit, then apply for the 820 onshore vs Apply for the 309 from outside Australia — A couple who want to be together while the partner visa is decided often plan a visitor visa and an onshore 820, which gives a bridging visa with work rights and the years of waiting together in Australia.
- Second regional 485 vs 491 Skilled Work Regional — A regional graduate at the end of a first 485 who has the points, a skills assessment and a state nomination goes to the 491 and starts the three years toward the 191; one who does not yet have them takes the second 485, one or two more years of unrestricted regional work at a low charge, and builds the points and the assessment on it, lodging the 491 from the second 485.
- DAMA employer sponsorship vs 491 state nomination — A worker in a regional area with a willing employer and a role on the region’s agreement list can be sponsored under the Designated Area Migration Agreement, with concessions on occupation, salary, English and sometimes age, tied to the employer and the region; a worker with the points and an occupation the state wants can be nominated for the 491 in their own right, free of any employer, with the 191 after three years at the required income.
- Withdrawing the application vs Letting it be refused — An application that is going to be refused can be withdrawn by written notice before the decision, and a withdrawn application is treated as never refused: no section 48 bar follows from it, no refusal appears on the record, and no review is needed.
- A further Visitor visa from inside Australia vs Leave and apply again from outside — A visitor who wants more time can apply for a further Visitor visa from inside Australia, if the current visa carries no condition 8503, with a bridging visa while it is decided, at the higher onshore charge and with the Department reading the whole stay for genuineness; or leave, which resets nothing but satisfies the visa, and apply again from outside at the lower charge and with a cleaner genuine-visitor case.
- 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship vs Partner visa (820/801 or 309/100) — The partner of a New Zealand citizen in Australia is sponsored for a partner visa only if the New Zealander is an eligible New Zealand citizen, an Australian citizen or a permanent resident; the partner of a New Zealander on the ordinary Special Category visa uses the 461 instead, a five-year temporary visa with work rights that can be renewed and that leads to nothing permanent on its own.
- Included as a student’s dependant vs Your own visa — A partner included on a student’s visa holds the same visa with condition 8104, forty-eight hours of work a fortnight while the student’s course is in session for most courses, no study beyond three months without their own visa, and a stay that ends with the student’s; since October 2026 they must be included when the student applies, because a partner cannot be added after grant.
- 462 Work and Holiday vs 482 Skills in Demand — The Work and Holiday visa is a year of any work for any employer for passport holders of the 462 countries, with the six-month limit per employer unless permission is granted; the 482 is a sponsored position in a listed occupation at the threshold salary for up to four years with the 186 after two.
- 407 Training vs 408 Temporary Activity — Both are temporary visas sponsored by an Australian organisation approved as a temporary activities sponsor, and neither leads anywhere permanent; what differs is the activity.
- Applying for the Student visa inside Australia vs Applying from outside Australia — Since 2 October 2026 most temporary visa holders in Australia cannot lodge a Student visa onshore and must apply from outside the country and be outside it when the visa is granted; the exemptions are narrow and centre on current Student visa holders as primary applicants, Student Guardian holders and a short list the Department publishes.
- Registering the relationship vs Waiting out the 12 months — A de facto couple applying for a partner visa must show twelve months of the relationship before lodgement unless the relationship is registered under a state or territory law, which the Regulations accept in place of the twelve months.
- 407 Training vs 485 Temporary Graduate — A graduate of an Australian course who meets the 485 criteria takes the 485: unrestricted work for any employer for eighteen months to several years by stream, no sponsor, no training plan, and time to build the next application.
- Health criterion 4005 (no waiver) vs Health criterion 4007 (waiver available) — Every visa applies one of two health criteria, and the number decides whether a failed health requirement can be rescued.
- Provisional skills assessment vs Full skills assessment — A provisional skills assessment is the documentary check an assessing authority issues to a recent Australian graduate for the 485 Temporary Graduate visa, confirming the qualification matches the occupation; for trades it is Trades Recognition Australia’s provisional assessment, the first step of the Job Ready Program, and it is not accepted for a permanent or state-nominated visa.
- 482 first, then the 186 transition stream vs 186 Direct Entry from the start — An employer who wants a worker permanently can nominate the 186 Direct Entry stream at once, which needs a skills assessment, three years of relevant experience, the worker under 45 unless exempt, and months of processing before the worker can start; or nominate the 482 first, which needs no skills assessment for most occupations, no three years, no age limit, and is granted in a fraction of the time, with the 186 transition stream after two years in the position.
- 101 Child (offshore) vs 802 Child (onshore) — The same permanent child visa, for a dependent child of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, lodged in two places.
- Included on a 482 as a dependant vs Your own visa — A partner included on a 482 holds the same visa as a secondary applicant with full work rights for any employer, study without limit, and a stay that ends with the primary holder’s, and can be added after the grant as a subsequent entrant.
- 190 nomination as an onshore applicant vs 190 nomination as an offshore applicant — The visa is the same; the state’s door is not.
- Travel on a Bridging Visa B vs Leave and return on a visitor visa — A person on a Bridging Visa A with an application pending who must travel applies for a Bridging Visa B before leaving, which keeps the bridging visa alive, lets them return within the travel period and resume it, and costs $575; leaving without one ends the Bridging Visa A on departure.
- 836 Carer (onshore) vs 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) — They run in opposite directions.
- Enrol in a further course vs Take the 485 Temporary Graduate visa — A graduate who meets the 485 criteria takes the 485 and uses its years to work, build experience and the skills assessment, and apply for the next visa; it can be lodged once, onshore, and a further course can follow it only from outside Australia now that onshore student applications are closed for most.
- IELTS One Skill Retake vs A full resit — A candidate who missed the required score in one component of IELTS can retake that component alone within 60 days of the original test and receive a new result that combines the retaken component with the original three, at a lower fee and with the three good scores kept.
- Recognition of prior learning vs Enrolling in the course — A tradesperson or worker with years of genuine, evidenced experience and no Australian qualification can have a registered training organisation assess that experience against the units of the qualification and issue it through recognition of prior learning, in weeks to months, for a fraction of the cost of the course, with gap training where a unit is missing; a person without the experience, or whose experience cannot be evidenced, studies the course.
- Studying on a visitor visa vs A Student visa — A visitor visa, an ETA or an eVisitor allows study of up to three months, which covers a short English course, a professional development program or a taster, with no enrolment requirement for the visa and no work; a course longer than three months, or one that leads to a qualification the person needs, requires a Student visa with its confirmation of enrolment, the Genuine Student requirement, funds, health cover and the 48-hour work limit, and since October 2026 it is applied for from outside Australia by most.
- 485 Post-Vocational Education Work stream vs 485 Post-Higher Education Work stream — The stream is set by the qualification.
- Applying as a married couple vs Applying as a de facto couple — The partner visa is the same visa, at the same charge, with the same two stages and the same test of a genuine and continuing relationship; the difference is the threshold.
- Bridging Visa A vs Bridging Visa E — A Bridging Visa A is granted to a person who lodges a valid onshore application while holding a substantive visa, and it carries that visa’s conditions, usually with work rights, with a Bridging Visa B available for travel.
- Engineers Australia: accredited qualification pathway vs Engineers Australia: Competency Demonstration Report — An engineer whose degree is accredited under the Washington, Sydney or Dublin Accords, or recognised by Engineers Australia, is assessed on the qualification, with the transcript and the degree, quickly; an engineer whose degree is not accredited writes a Competency Demonstration Report, three career episodes, a summary statement and a continuing professional development list, demonstrating the competencies the occupation requires, and is assessed on it over months.
- ANMAC skills assessment vs AHPRA registration — They are two approvals from two bodies for two purposes, and an overseas nurse needs both.
- Lodge the expression of interest first vs Get the skills assessment first — An expression of interest in SkillSelect can be lodged before the skills assessment and the English test are in hand, because it is a claim rather than an application; but the points claimed must be true on the day of the invitation, and the 189, 190 and 491 require a suitable skills assessment and the English result to have existed at the time of invitation.
- Cancellation under section 116 vs Cancellation under section 501 — Section 116 is the general cancellation power: a visa can be cancelled where the holder has breached a condition, no longer meets the criteria, gave incorrect information, is a risk to health or safety, or on the other grounds listed, after a notice of intention to consider cancellation with a period to respond, and the decision is reviewable at the Tribunal for an onshore holder.
- A visa refusal vs A visa cancellation — A refusal is a decision not to grant a visa that was applied for; a cancellation is a decision to take away a visa that was held.
- PIC 4013 (after a cancellation) vs PIC 4014 (after an unlawful departure) — Both are three-year exclusions that most temporary visas apply and permanent visas do not; what differs is what started them.
- Condition 8503 vs Condition 8534 — Both say no further stay: the holder cannot apply for most other visas while in Australia.
- A packaged course vs A single course — A student who intends to do two courses in sequence, a diploma into a bachelor, an English course into a degree, applies for one Student visa covering the package, with a confirmation of enrolment for each course and the visa granted to the end of the last; a student who enrols in one course gets a visa for that course and applies again for the next.
- Competent English vs Proficient and superior English — Competent English, 6 in each IELTS component or the equivalent on the other tests, is the threshold for most skilled visas and earns no points; proficient English, 7 in each component, earns 10 points on the skilled points test; superior English, 8 in each component, earns 20.
- Condition 8104 (the student’s partner) vs Condition 8105 (the student) — Both cap work at 48 hours a fortnight; they cap different people and in different periods.
- Health examinations before lodging vs Health examinations after the request — For the visas the My Health Declarations service lists, an applicant can complete the health examinations before lodging and attach the HAP ID to the application, which removes the examinations from the processing time and suits a visa decided within months.
- Form 1023: notification of incorrect answers vs Form 1022: notification of changes in circumstances — Two forms for two different facts.
- Form 956: appointing a migration agent vs Form 956A: appointing an authorised recipient — Form 956 appoints a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person to give immigration assistance and to act for the applicant with the Department, and it tells the Department who is advising; Form 956A appoints an authorised recipient, a person who receives the Department’s correspondence on the applicant’s behalf without being an agent, which is useful for a relative, an employer contact or a friend with a reliable address.
- The application in your own ImmiAccount vs The application in the agent’s account — A registered agent lodges from the agent’s own ImmiAccount, which is built for agents and keeps the applications of all their clients in one place; the applicant then creates their own account and imports the application with the TRN and the passport details, so that both can see the correspondence and the applicant keeps access when the engagement ends.
- Lodge the nomination and the visa together vs Lodge the visa after the nomination is approved — The nomination and the visa are separate applications that can be lodged on the same day, linked by the nomination’s reference, and lodging them together saves weeks because the Department processes them in parallel and the visa is granted as soon as the nomination is approved.
- Lodge now and upload later vs Lodge complete — A valid application needs the form, the charge and the identity; most documents can be uploaded after lodgement and the Department will ask for what is missing, so an applicant whose visa is about to expire lodges now to secure the bridging visa and completes the file afterwards.
- Tribunal review with a hearing vs Tribunal review on the papers — For most migration reviews the Administrative Review Tribunal holds a hearing, where the applicant gives evidence, answers the member’s questions and can be represented, and the hearing is where a thin file is rescued or a strong one confirmed.
- Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement vs Standard 482 nomination — A direct care worker, a personal care assistant, a nursing support worker or an aged or disabled carer, is not on the standard occupation list and cannot be nominated for an ordinary 482; an approved aged care provider that has signed the memorandum of understanding with the relevant union and entered the industry labour agreement can nominate those roles in the labour agreement stream, with concessions on English and salary set by the agreement and a permanent pathway through the 186 labour agreement stream after two years.
- PIC 4020 (refusal for false information) vs Section 109 (cancellation for incorrect information) — Both punish untruth; they act on different things.
- Include the family member vs Declare them as non-migrating — Every member of the family unit is declared on a permanent visa application whether or not they migrate, and most permanent visas require the non-migrating members to meet the health requirement too unless it would be unreasonable to ask; so leaving a spouse or a child off the application does not take them out of the health question, it takes them out of the visa.
- Engaging the worker as a contractor vs Employing the worker — The 482 nomination requires the worker to be employed by the sponsor or an associated entity in the nominated position, on terms no less favourable than an Australian employee’s, and a contractor arrangement, an ABN, an invoice, a labour-hire intermediary, fails that requirement for all but the few occupations the instrument exempts, and fails the sponsorship obligations afterwards.
- Sponsor a worker from overseas vs Hire a 485 holder already here — A 485 holder is already in Australia with unrestricted work rights, can start on Monday with no sponsorship, and can be nominated for a 482 later from inside the country, with the bridging visa keeping them working while it is decided; the employer carries no cost until it chooses to sponsor and can judge the person first.
- Overseas Student Health Cover vs Overseas Visitor Health Cover — Overseas Student Health Cover is the product the student visa requires under condition 8501, sold by the insurers the Department approves for students, for the length of the visa and covering the family on a family policy; Overseas Visitor Health Cover is the product every other temporary visa with the condition uses, the 482, the 485, the 407, the 870 and the rest, sold by more insurers at more levels.
- Reciprocal Medicare vs Overseas Visitor Health Cover — A temporary visa holder from one of the eleven reciprocal health care agreement countries can enrol in Medicare for medically necessary treatment, which covers the public hospital and the doctor for what cannot wait, and not elective treatment, dental, ambulance in most states or private hospital.
- Claim the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment vs Leave the superannuation in the fund — A temporary visa holder who leaves Australia and whose visa has ended or been cancelled can claim the superannuation as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment, taxed at 35 per cent for most and 65 per cent for working holiday makers, within six months of departure before the fund sends it to the Tax Office as unclaimed; or leave it in the fund, where it grows untaxed on the way out until preservation age and is paid as retirement income, which is the better arithmetic for anyone who may return, become a permanent resident or simply wait.
- Keeping your citizenship as a dual citizen vs Renouncing it on becoming Australian — Australia permits dual citizenship, so the question is decided by the other country.
- Change your name before the visa vs Change your name after the visa — The visa is linked to the name and number on the passport at grant, and every document in the application is read against that name.
- Renew the passport before lodging vs Renew the passport after the visa is granted — A visa can be applied for and granted on a passport that will expire, and the visa then needs to be linked to the new passport, so a passport that expires soon is renewed before lodging where time allows, so that the application, the grant and the travel all sit on one document; a passport with years left is renewed when it expires and the Department is told through the account, with the visa re-linked within days in the ordinary case.
- Nominate for 2 years vs Nominate for 4 years — The employer chooses the period of the 482 nomination, up to four years in the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams, and the visa is granted for the period nominated.
- ACS qualification-based assessment vs ACS recognition of prior learning — The Australian Computer Society assesses an ICT professional on their qualification where they have one: a bachelor or higher with an ICT major closely related to the occupation needs two years of relevant experience in the last ten, an ICT minor or a less related major needs more, and the Society deducts the years it treats as the applicant becoming skilled.
- VETASSESS full skills assessment vs VETASSESS points test advice — The full skills assessment is the outcome the visa needs: VETASSESS assesses the qualification against the occupation and, for most of its occupations, at least a year of relevant post-qualification employment, and issues the positive outcome the Department requires at invitation.
- TRA Pathway 1 (no Australian qualification) vs TRA Pathway 2 (an Australian qualification) — Trades Recognition Australia’s offshore and employer-sponsored programs run two pathways set by the applicant’s qualification.
- Add the newborn to the pending application vs A separate application for the child — A child born in Australia to a parent who holds a visa is taken to hold that visa from birth, and a child born while the parent’s application is pending is added to it by notifying the Department with the birth certificate, which for most visas brings the child into the application without a further charge and without restarting it; a child born outside Australia is added the same way where the visa allows members of the family unit to be added before decision.
- Experience before the qualification vs Experience after the qualification — The points test counts skilled employment in the nominated or a closely related occupation at the required skill level in the last ten years, and whether a period counts is decided first by the assessing authority, which sets the date from which the applicant is treated as skilled: most authorities count employment only after the qualification was completed, and some, including the Australian Computer Society, deduct further years before the count begins.
- Apply for citizenship before a long trip vs Travel first, apply after — The residence requirement is read at the date of application: four years of lawful residence, the last twelve months as a permanent resident, with no more than twelve months outside Australia in the four years and ninety days in the final year.
- Apply for the Resident Return visa before leaving vs Apply from overseas — A permanent resident whose five-year travel facility is about to expire, or has expired, can apply for the Resident Return visa from inside Australia before leaving or from outside after; the criteria are the same, two of the last five years in Australia as a permanent resident for the five-year grant, or substantial ties for the shorter one.
- Nominate one state in the EOI vs Select any state — The expression of interest asks which state or territory the applicant wants to be nominated by, and selecting any makes the EOI visible to every state program that reads SkillSelect, which widens the field.
- Points for a skilled partner vs Points for a partner with competent English, or for being single — The points test gives ten points to an applicant whose partner is included and has a skills assessment in a listed occupation, competent English and is under 45; five points where the partner is included and has competent English only; and ten points where the applicant has no partner, or the partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
- NAATI Credentialed Community Language test vs Superior English — Both add points on top of the English the visa requires.
- Professional year vs Study in regional Australia — Both earn five points and both are planned before the course ends.
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