On 14 May 2024, the Australian Government announced planning levels for the 2024–25 permanent Migration Program (Migration Program) to be set at a total of 185,000 places and Filipinos can now take advantage and apply potentially for most of these placement numbers, as explained below.
The permanent Migration Program will help fill skills shortages in priority sectors and prioritise visa processing for regional Australia and the Philippines, with its large pool of highly skilled professionals and the thousands of relationships developing with Australians, can benefit from these permanent visa applications.
The 2024–25 Migration Program also recognises the strong contribution all migrants especially Filipinos, make to social cohesion.
It focuses on strengthening family and community bonds in Australia and provides great opportunities for career advancement and closer economic ties between both countries.
A well-targeted, skills focussed Permanent Migration Program helps boost participation rates and the size of the labour force and Filipinos are known and welcomed to apply and migrate permanently to Australia from the Philippines.
The 2024–25 permanent Migration Program has the following composition that directly benefit Filipinos looking for the best migration opportunities for Australia.
- SkillSelect stream (67,200 places, approximately 71 per cent of the program) – This stream has been designed to improve the productive capacity of the Australian economy and fill skill shortages in the labour market, particularly those in regional Australia. Filipinos can fill a vast majority of these invitations and RESPALL Migration Australia has been assisting Filipino professional fulfill their dreams of migrating to Australia from the Philippines since 1999.
- Partner/Child stream (43,500 places, approximately 28 per cent of the program) – This stream is predominantly made up of Partner visas, enabling Australians to reunite with Filipino family members from the Philippines and provide them with pathways to citizenship. Of this stream:
- 40,500 Partner visas are estimated for 2024–25 for planning purposes, noting this category is demand driven.
- 3,000 Child visas are estimated for 2024–25 for planning purposes, noting this category is demand driven.
| Migration Program planning levels for SkillSelect ONLY | |||
| Visa Stream | Visa Category | 2023–24 Planning levels | 2024–25 Planning levels |
| Skill | Skilled Independent | 30,375 | 16,900 |
| Regional | 32,300 | 33,000 | |
| State/Territory Nominated | 30,400 | 33,000 | |
| SkillSelect ONLY Total | 137,100 | 67,690 | |
| Family ONLY | Partner1 | 40,500 | 40,500 |
| Child1 | 3,000 | 3,000 | |
| Family Total | 43,500 | 43,500 | |
State/Territory Nominated visa category
The Australia Government has increased the planning level for the State/Territory Nominated category to 33,000 visas, and the planning level for the regional category to 33,000 visas for the 2024–25 Migration Program.
Together these categories, which both contain visas nominated by state and territory governments, account for 36 per cent of the overall planning level and 50 per cent of the SkillSelect stream.
Increasing the planning levels for the State and Territory Nominated and Regional categories will allow jurisdictions to attract skilled migrants from countries like the Philippines to meet their specific economic and labour force challenges. Increases to the Regional category planning level will also support key commitments in the Migration Strategy to support regional Australia, in addition to priority visa processing opening for Filipinos.
Skilled Independent visa category
In the 2024–25 Migration Program, the Government has allocated 16,900 places for Skilled Independent visas. This is a decrease compared to the 2023–24 program allocation of 30,375 places, but still well above the COVID-era planning levels of 7,500 and 6,500 places in 2020–21 and 2021–22 respectively. Filipino professionals are encouraged to apply for any visa category, as a successful application can well launch a prosperous and expansive career in Australia.
Family stream
The Government has maintained the size of the family stream. Family migration is an important element of Australia’s migration system. It allows Australian citizens and permanent residents to reunite with their Filipino family members and contribute to stronger social cohesion outcomes.
The Partner visa category is the largest component within the family stream. From 2022–23, the Partner program moved to a demand driven model which:
- recognises the social, economic and demographic benefits of family reunification and the Partner visa program in particular
- provides the flexibility to adjust the program in line with expected demand and help to reduce the Partner visa pipeline and processing times for many applicants.
The Child visa program allows Australian residents to sponsor their Filipino dependent child or an orphaned relative. The Child program is demand-driven and remains set at 3,000 places for planning purposes only. The Australian Government prioritises the reunification of Filipino children with an Australian parent or family sponsor. This ensures Australia uphold our international obligations to consider the best interest of a child as a primary consideration.
For more accurate information regarding permanent SkillSelect and or Partner visa applications from the Philippines to Australia, Register on our website and upload information to commence a FREE initial assessment if you’re a) developing relationship or b) your plans and aspiration in pursuing an exciting and financial rewarding career in Australia.
Thank you.
