Australian Immigration Services in Melbourne

If you are trying to work out whether you qualify for a skilled visa, how to move from a student visa into a graduate work pathway, or what the points test means for your circumstances, that is exactly what we do at Auslife Migration Consultants. We are a Melbourne-based immigration practice helping students, skilled workers, employers and families navigate the Australian visa system, from the first enquiry through to visa decision.

We’ve been doing this since 2007, when Auslife started in Kuala Lumpur with a simple goal: give people honest, straightforward migration advice instead of a sales pitch. A year later, in 2008, we opened our Melbourne office so we’d have people on the ground in Australia, not just advisors working from overseas. Since then, we’ve guided over 2,160 families and individuals through their migration journey and we still run both offices today, in Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne.

Our practice is led by an Australian Immigration Lawyer who is also a qualified solicitor in Malaysia. This means the advice you receive is supported by legal training and practical experience in Australian immigration matters, not simply form-filling. Our team speaks English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil and Indonesian, so clients can discuss important and often personal immigration matters in the language they are most comfortable using.

Skilled Migration Visas: Your Pathway to Permanent Residence

Skilled migration is Australia’s points-tested system for professionals in listed occupations nurses, engineers, IT professionals, accountants, and tradespeople, among others to gain permanent or provisional residency without needing an employer sponsor. The three main pathways are Subclass 189, 190, and 491, and which one fits you depends on your occupation, points score, and whether a state is willing to nominate you.

A successful skilled migration strategy starts with identifying the correct occupation, skills-assessing authority and visa pathway. Eligibility can depend on the applicable occupation instrument, the requirements of the relevant assessing authority, and the nomination criteria of a state or territory. We check these matters before recommending a pathway, because using the wrong occupation or relying on outdated state criteria can affect the entire strategy.

Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa

This permanent visa does not require state nomination, employer sponsorship or family sponsorship. Applicants need a valid skills assessment, competent English, at least 65 points and an invitation to apply. Meeting 65 points does not guarantee an invitation, as invitation outcomes depend on occupation demand, available places and the points profile of competing applicants.

Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa

A state or territory government nominates you and the nomination adds 5 points to your points score. Each jurisdiction sets its own eligibility and selection criteria, which can change during a program year. Nomination may also carry expectations about living and working in the nominating state or territory.

Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa

The Subclass 491 is a five-year provisional visa requiring nomination by a state or territory government, or sponsorship by an eligible relative in a designated regional area. It adds 15 points to the points test. Eligible holders may later apply for the Subclass 191 permanent visa after meeting the applicable regional residence and visa requirements. The Subclass 191 pathway no longer depends on meeting a prescribed minimum income threshold, although applicants may need to provide Australian taxation notices of assessment for relevant income years.

Student to Work to PR: How We Support Each Stage

Most of our student clients don’t come to us for a single visa they want to understand the whole pathway from enrolment to permanent residency before they commit to a course. That’s a different conversation, and it changes what course, provider, and location we’d point them toward.

Student Visa Support (Subclass 500)

We assist with Student visa applications, including the Genuine Student requirement, financial capacity evidence, health requirements and course-provider documentation. We also discuss the limitations of migration planning before enrolment: completing a course does not itself guarantee a graduate visa, skills assessment, state nomination or permanent residence. Any future pathway depends on the rules and occupation demand in place at the relevant time.

Post-Study & Work Visas (Subclass 485, Employer Sponsorship)

Once you’ve finished your qualification, the Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485) gives you time to gain skilled work experience in Australia how long depends on your qualification level and where you studied (regional study attracts an extended stay period). From there, most of our clients aim for either employer sponsorship (Subclass 482/186) or building enough points and experience for a skilled independent or nominated visa.

Why Work With an Immigration Lawyer in Melbourne Instead of Applying Alone?

Many visa applicants are legally permitted to prepare and lodge their own applications. The difficulty is not access to the forms; it is correctly identifying the law, criteria and evidence that apply to the particular case. A misunderstanding about an occupation, points claim, visa condition or document requirement can lead to delay, an invalid application or refusal. Processing times also change frequently, so we use the Department’s current processing-time guide rather than publishing a fixed timeframe.

Where an Immigration Lawyer can add value:

• Occupation and points assessment — confirming your occupation matches the correct skilled list and calculating a realistic, not best-case, points score
• Skills assessment coordination — liaising with the right assessing authority for your occupation (VETASSESS, ACS, Engineers Australia, and others each have different evidence requirements)
• State nomination strategy — knowing which state’s criteria you actually meet this quarter, since these shift with little public notice
• Document compliance — catching the small formatting and translation issues that trigger a Request for Information and quietly add months to your timeline

Our Process What Happens After You Contact Us

1. Free initial eligibility check — a conversation, in person at our Melbourne office, at our Kuala Lumpur office, or via video call, to understand your occupation, qualifications, and goals, and give you an honest read on where you stand.
2. Formal assessment and points calculation — we review your evidence (qualifications, work history, English test results) and give you a written points breakdown, not a verbal guess.
3. Skills assessment and documentation — we coordinate your skills assessment application and prepare supporting evidence in the format the relevant assessing body expects.
4. Expression of Interest / visa lodgement — once eligibility is confirmed, we prepare and lodge your application, keeping you updated at each stage rather than going quiet until there’s a decision.
5. Post-lodgement support — responding to any Department requests for further information, and advising on next steps once a decision is made.

Why Families Choose Auslife

• Since 2007 operating continuously for close to two decades, with our Melbourne office open since 2008
• 2,160+ families and individuals guided through their migration journey to Australia
• Led by an Australian Immigration Lawyer who is also a qualified solicitor in Malaysia, providing legal insight as well as practical application support
• Two offices, one team Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, so you have local support whether you’re applying from overseas or already in Australia
• Multilingual support in English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, and Indonesian

We do not guarantee visa outcomes. No ethical immigration professional can promise that a visa will be granted. What we provide is a realistic assessment, honest advice where a case is not yet ready, and careful preparation where there is a viable pathway.

Book Your Free Eligibility Assessment

If you’re not sure which visa applies to you, that’s completely normal most people aren’t when they first reach out. Book a free eligibility check with our Melbourne team and we’ll walk you through your realistic options before you spend a dollar on an application.