Get ready for the first Pacific Engagement Visa opening on 3 June 2024.
What are the details?
The PEV or the Pacific Engagement Visa Subclass 192 will allow 3000 people to become Australian Permanent Residents each year.Â
This will include the main visa applicant along with secondary applicants like spouse or de facto partner and eligible family members which can be legally dependent children.Â
There will be a visa pre-application ballot process for nationals of participating Pacific island countries and Timor Leste.Â
If you are eligible as a national of participating Pacific Island countries or Timor Leste you can enter the ballot for random selection to apply for the PEV visa.Â
The PEV is different to the PALM scheme. The PEV is a Permanent Visa that allows the holder to live and work anywhere in Australia.Â
How can I apply for a PEV?
To be granted a PEV you need to meet a number of eligibility criteria.
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- Be drawn from the ballot
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- Have a passport from a participating country and have been born (or a parent born) in that country.Â
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- If you’re in Australia you need to have a valid visa.Â
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- Be between the age of 18-45
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- Meet English language requirements
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- Meet health requirements
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- Meet character requirementsÂ
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- Meet Public Interest Criteria
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- The primary visa applicant or their spouse or de facto partner will need to have a written offer of ongoing employment in Australia.Â
What are the steps?
Step 1: Enter the ballot
Entering the ballot will cost $25.
Step2: Apply for the Visa
If you get randomly drawn from the ballot, apply for the visa and pay the application fee of $325 for the main applicant and $80 for each included family member.
Step 3: Start your life in Australia
If your visa is granted, you are an Australian Permanent Resident.
How do find out more?
All the details for the PEV are not yet available at the time of writing in March 2024. Updates to this article were made on 3 May 2024.Â
Further information can be found through the following links:
When the PEV Ballot opens on 3 June 2024, applications can be made online through IMMI.Â
Keep in mind that this is general information. Always seek advice from a Registered Migration Agent or lawyer for assistance and advice that relates to your specific circumstances when applying for an Australian visa.Â
FAQs
The following countries will be eligible to enter the first PEV ballot in 2024:
Federated States of Micronesia 
Fiji 
Nauru 
Palau 
Papua New Guinea 
Solomon Islands 
Timor Leste 
Tonga 
Tuvalu 
Vanuatu (to be confirmed)
Eligible countries whose citizens could be eligible for future PEV ballots include Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Pacific countries whose citizens don’t have access permanent migration rights to New Zealand, France or the US are being prioritised.
Eligible PEV countries are based on negotiations between Pacific Island Governments and the Australian Government.
If you are in Australia and you enter the ballot for the Pacific Engagement Visa and you are drawn from the ballot to apply, you will need to hold a valid visa or a Bridging A, B or C to be eligible for the visa.
If you are in Australia holding a Bridging D or E or if you are in Australia without a visa you won’t be able to apply.
Either the visa applicant or their spouse or de facto partner who is a secondary applicant will need to have an offer of ongoing employment in Australia to be granted the Pacific Engagement Visa.
Click here for information about how to find work in Australia.
The Australian government are working on a service that will match applicants with job offers. Details of this aren’t available yet.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, join our PEV Facebook Group and join our PEV WhatsApp group through the link in the description for PEV updates as they are available.
The government charge to enter the PEV ballot will be about $25AUD.
The Home Affairs PEV visa application fee for the main applicant will be $325AUD.
Family members included in the application will be $80AUD each (e.g. spouse or de facto partner or children).
Other costs could include police check application fees, health test and biometric fees.
Migration Agents or lawyers will also charge fees to assist with preparing and lodging applications,
You can be in Australia or outside of Australia when you apply for the PEV.
The English requirements have not been released yet.
We will provide more information when it is available.
The first PEV ballot is opening on 3 June 2024.
The visa applicant can apply for any job. There are no restrictions on the jobs you can hold or where you can work.
The Pacific Engagement Visa is a Permanent Residency Visa.
It allows the visa holder to live permanently in Australia and then apply for Citizenship once you meet Citizenship eligibility requirements.
There are no restrictions on where you can live in Australia or what job you can hold.
