Are you a qualified General Practitioner (GP) wishing to work in Sydney or anywhere in Australia? Or are you currently liaising with a medical practice or hospital that would like to employ you as an overseas-trained GP? If you require assistance with a Doctor Visa to Sydney, Australia, Interstaff can help!
Doctor visas are available to doctors and qualified health professionals to migrate to Sydney. In fact, Australia has a Visas for GP’s initiative in place to encourage doctors to come to Australia through its skilled migration program. Doctors may particularly be needed in rural, remote, and regional areas of Australia, where labour shortages are more severe.
Fortunately, several occupations required by the medical industry have been recognised by the Government as critical to the supply of essential goods and services during the current pandemic. It may therefore be possible to access priority government visa and nomination processing so your business can more quickly access the skills it needs. Here’s what you should know.
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Skilled Migration to Australia as a GP | Doctor Visa Sydney
Thankfully for many medical practitioner businesses and hospitals, after almost two years of requiring workers to be granted Critical Work Travel Exemptions to enter the country, participating States and Territories in Australia re-opened their international borders to fully-vaccinated eligible skilled visa holders from December 2021. International testing and quarantine requirements may also apply depending on the State or Territory of arrival. These relaxed restrictions mean employers are no longer limited to engaging overseas migrants that can meet a Critical Work Travel Exemption and they can once again more easily engage skilled migrants for their work needs.
In addition to these relaxed restrictions, the Visas for GP’s initiative supports employers to sponsor overseas doctors to work in Australia through the existing employer-sponsored visas in the skilled migration program. These include the:
- Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) 482 Visa
- Regional 494 Visa
- Permanent Residence 186 Visa
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Permanent Residence 187 Visa
The initiative is designed to encourage overseas trained doctors to work in areas needing primary healthcare medical practitioners. Employers with an approved sponsorship arrangement may be able to engage an overseas trained doctor under a temporary or permanent residence work visa. There are two parts to the process – a Nomination application and a Visa application.
As part of the Visas for GP’s initiative, employers (including hospitals) will need to obtain a Health Workforce Certificate (HWC) or a Health Workforce Exemption Certificate (HWEC) from a Rural Workforce Agency (RFA) to nominate a position to be filled by an overseas doctor. During a consultation, our migration agent can assess your circumstances and discuss how we can assist with the nomination and visa applications. Hospital-based employees may be able to access streamlined processing of these certificates.
The certificates provide evidence of the genuine need to fill a primary healthcare position at a given location in Australia by an overseas doctor and should be provided as part of the Nomination application. The requirement for an HWC or HWEC applies to doctors migrating to Australia under one of the below occupation classifications:
- General Practitioner (ANZCSO 253111)
- Resident Medical Officer (ANZSCO 253112)
- Medical Practitioners not elsewhere classified (ANZSCO 253999)
*Page last updated: 4 January 2022 – you may wish to contact Interstaff’s Registered Migration Agents so that your circumstances can be assessed with the most up-to-date migration requirements.
Other visa options for doctors to migrate to Australia and how we can help
Doctors are an in-demand occupation, particularly in regional areas of Australia, including Sydney, and as the nation begins to navigate its way out of the pandemic, GP’s will play a key role in supporting Australia’s post-pandemic recovery. Doctors seeking to migrate to Australia may wish to seek professional migration advice on all of the visa options available to them. Our migration agents can assess your eligibility for independent skilled visas as well as employer-sponsored visas. We begin by reviewing a copy of your resume detailing your skills, experience, and qualifications and then advise on the options available to you to migrate.
During a consultation, our migration agent will provide advice on any visa requirements and conditions that you may need to be aware of so that you can make a more informed decision. After the consultation, you can choose to engage our services to manage your sponsorship, nomination and visa applications on your behalf and provide ongoing advice.
If you would like to understand your visa options and discuss your circumstances, or if you are a medical practice or hospital requiring overseas-trained doctors, simply get in touch with Interstaff’s Registered Migration Agents to discuss your Doctor Visa Sydney options. You can also phone us on 02 7200 2567 (Sydney Office), 1800 449 858 (Free Call Within Australia) or +61 8 9221 3388 (International) for more information.
Source:
Interstaff’s Registered Migration Agents
Visas for GP’s