Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent residency visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent residency visa may remain in Australia indefinitely.
A five-year initial visa, which corresponds to the underlying migration program, is granted alongside the permanent residency. Until the initial visa expires, the visa holder may leave and re-enter Australia freely. A notable feature of the permanent residency visa is that, even after the initial visa expires, the holder is entitled to stay in Australia indefinitely without breaching immigration regulations
Permanent residency may be revoked at the discretion of the responsible Minister, for example in cases of criminal misconduct.
Permanent residents enjoy many of the rights and privileges of citizens, including access to free or subsidized legal and health services.
They do not have the right to vote in federal or state/territory elections, unless they were registered to vote prior to 1984, but may vote in some local government elections.
The Skilled Nominated visa is a permanent resident visa, only granted to applicants who are nominated by a state or territory government.
The state governments have assessed their own labor market needs and formed lists of occupations in demand. In addition to receiving state nomination, the successful applicant must be under 45 years of age, score at least 65 points and have an occupation on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL). State nomination adds an additional five points to an applicant’s score, which could make the difference in meeting the 65-point threshold.
This visa is specifically aimed at engineering graduates, under the age of 31, who wish to gain up to 18 months of skilled work experience in Australia.
Permanent residents are not entitled to an Australian passport.
Most permanent residents are eligible to become citizens after a waiting period. When the waiting period is complete, the process of taking the citizenship test and attending the ceremony will add an additional three to twelve months.