The key takeaways from this year's immigration planning from the Government of Australia are:

The Australian Government is committed to supporting migrants to settle in regional areas.

and

Most locations of Australia outside major cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are classified as designated regional areas for migration purposes.

So, whether you think about migrating to Australia as a student or as a skilled professional, your life will be incredibly more comfortable if you choose to start in a designated regional area.

There are incredible cities classified as “Regional”, such as Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast.

Perth, Western Australia

I've personally lived in Perth for three years. It's a super organised and developed city, with beaches and nature all around. More about the city on another post soon.

So, if you are serious about considering Australia as your next home, here are your main options for immigration in 2020:

1- Migrating as a skilled professional:

• Professionals from anywhere in the world can apply via a points-system and become permanent residents in Australia.

• You need to score at least 60 points (65 is the current minimum recommendation) in things such as age, English level, etc. Check your points here.

• Alternatively, you can convince a company to sponsor your visa. I've done this twice before becoming a permanent resident.

2- Migrating as an international student:

• Australia is a top-rated destination for students who would like to become permanent residents later.

• Students can work 20 hours per week while they study (40 hrs on off-time) and they can take their partners and dependents with them right away.

• If you study in a regional area, you get extra points to apply for a skilled professional visa.

3- Migrating as an entrepreneur:

• There are two main options for entrepreneurs:

• 1) A visa for startup founders who have an offer for funding capital from one of the approved agencies in Australia;

• 2) A pilot visa for South Australia where startup founders need their idea evaluated and approved, plus it needs to be in a STEM-related field (e.g. digital, biomedical, agtech).

4- Other options

• There are still options for people with family in Australia, for investors and for distinguished talent (If you are one of the best in your field in the world).

If you have any questions or comments about the above, I'm more than happy to give some feedback based on my own experience migrating here.

Cheers,

Beto

Happy 2020, everyone!

I will start sending out immigration-related emails next week. Feel free to check the last ones from 2019 here.

I also want to ask you for a favour. To help me better plan for the year ahead, would you answer this 4-question survey?

Thanks so much! And as always, please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or comments about your immigration goals this year; I'm happy to help.

See you next week!

Cheers,

Beto

In most countries, if you can get a job offer in certain occupations, you will automatically get a temporary work visa. Most of the times, this visa can later be extended to a permanent one.

So your challenge is to find these companies. I will list below some startups that are willing to sponsor your visa to help you get started.

When I was in my early twenties, I sent hundreds of e-mails to Australian companies, while living in Maranhão (Brazil), one of the least developed places in the world. I only needed one “yes”, so I kept trying until I finally got it.

After working in Australia for three years, I went back to Brazil. I had a sponsorship visa, so I lost it once I quit my Australian job to go back to Maranhão.

After several years, I decided It was time to move back to Australia. I started e-mailing companies and did it again, I got a job, and a visa sponsorship and the interviews were all online.

The best advice I can give is: Be unique, proactive and persistent.

For me, here are some things that worked:

• Sharp online presence (Linkedin and personal website).

• Being casual (No “Dear sir”, just regular emails like talking to a friend).

• Not just applying via job ads. Emailing companies directly.

• Side-Projects.

• Using Up-and-coming hiring platforms (as of 2019: Angel List, Stack Overflow, Slack groups, Facebook groups…)

The secret is to keep iterating and improving all the points above with every “NO” you receive. Be optimist! Again, you only need one “YES”.

Netherlands

Flexport is hiring software engineers in Amsterdam (we can get you a visa)

https://storyteq.com/

https://www.paazl.com/

https://dekoeko.com/

https://www.secfi.com/

https://storyofams.com/

United Kingdom

https://www.alphafx.co.uk/

https://www.gravitysketch.com/

https://globedx.com/

https://gudog.com/

https://beamery.com/

https://www.portify.co/

https://www.compucorp.co.uk/

http://www.optellum.com/

Canada

https://pleiadesrobotics.com/

https://www.veryfi.com/

http://www.streamlabs.com/

http://www.hostfully.com/

http://www.houseofdreammaker.com/

https://www.goloansnap.com/

http://www.perimetre.co/

https://zenreach.com/

https://deliverr.com/

https://circleci.com/

https://www.dialpad.com/

Australia

https://www.dialpad.com/

https://www.glamcorner.com.au/

https://www.squiz.net/

https://www.upwire.com/

https://www.veryfi.com/

https://www.airservice.com/

http://www.tyro.com/

United States

https://www.wallethub.com/

http://www.spotnana.com/

https://welkinhealth.com/

https://mercury.co/

https://tipalti.com/

http://imo.im/

I keep hearing more and more about Adelaide. I have friends who moved there, and my sister is considering leaving Brazil to make it happen too. Also, there is news everywhere about how open they currently are for more immigration.

Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia. It's a beautiful and diverse place with a population of ~1.4 million. You look to the east you see the hills (with lots of famous wineries). To the west, over 50km of coastline. And a vibrant and modern city in between.

It continually ranks as one of the top ten most liveable cities in the world. As the Government of South Australia says:

Our relaxed yet prosperous and affordable lifestyle, ease of travel, low population density, safety, and abundance of cultural and leisure activities, makes South Australia one of the great boutique regions of the world.

If you like what you see, the timing is perfect. The state of South Australia is opening many doors for foreign professionals and students who are committed to living there.

Candidates who would like to live and work in South Australia are awarded extra points on top of the ones from federal immigration programs. There are also more occupations in the lists of demand, and the process should happen faster and with fewer complications.

But even if your occupation is not on the list or you don't have work experience, there's still a way to make it happen.

You can choose a new field to study if you wish to start over. You have options from one-year courses to full university programs. There are special conditions to allow students graduating and working in South Australia to get permanent residency.

To make things even more attractive, the state also offers a “Skilled Arrival Service” with:

• Discounted accommodation on arrival;

• Settlement support services (including meet-and-greet at the airport and New Arrivals Dinner);

• Free practical workshops, group coaching and spotlight sessions to help you succeed in the job market;

• Access to information, resources and referrals;

• Skills recognition pathways, including recognition of your overseas qualifications and trade skills for employment purposes.

It's a lifetime and exciting opportunity, no doubts about that. Here's a list of resources in case you are now picturing spending your weekend researching about migrating to South Australia:

1. Benefits of state nomination;

2. Requirements;

3. Lists of occupations;

4. International students and special conditions;

5. Why study and migrate to South Australia;

6. Living in South Australia;

7. Scholarships for international students;

p.s. if you're interested in joining our private mastermind group, you can request to join here.

p.s.2 if you would like to support me and the project, the best way is by sharing these posts.

Thank you so much!

@Beto

I can still remember when I first thought about moving to Australia. I was 14, living in Brazil, and I read a magazine from a study abroad agency talking about the attractive Australian lifestyle.

It only took me two minutes to decide what I wanted for my life. I read as many stories as I could from people who had moved there. I was fascinated by their quality of life and the country in general.

I tried everything from that point on to find my way to live and work there.

I grew up in one of the poorest states of Brazil but was very lucky to have a stable life with a fantastic family and parents who worked hard to provide for my sisters and me.

I could never understand the level of corruption, the ridiculous wealth inequality and the always rising number of violent deaths and robberies around us.

I was young and dreaming of one day, working and surfing in Australia.

After a year reading everything I could about immigration, I had a plan. But don't get me wrong, I knew it would take years and years, I was just a kid, but a pretty determined one.

Fast-forward to when I was 21, and I was catching my first waves in Australian waters…

That's me in Margaret River - Western Australia (2008).

Well, as I said, I had a long-term plan but ended up getting lucky on the process.

You see, the plan was:

1. Be serious about learning English;

2. Get a Bachelor's Degree in IT;

3. Get 3–5 years of work experience in Brazil;

4. Take an IELTS course to get the score required at the time;

5. Apply for the points-based immigration system;

6. Move to Australia.

When I was just getting started with step 3, something crazy happened. It was a regular Tuesday morning in the office, and I got a call from a very strange number “00000000…”.

The call went like this:

Hello, is this Beto?

me: sim… Sorry, Yes!

(20 seconds of heavy Australian accent)

me: Would you mind saying that again a bit slower?

Sure, mate! We got your email. It was pretty bold and we would love to run a test project with you. If things go well, we are happy to sponsor your visa and pay all your relocation costs to come to Perth.

I was a bit in shock. After hanging-up I wasn't sure if that was all true or just a scam.

The thing is, during my university years, I got the habit of contacting companies in Australia, way before I was ready. I even tried to apply for several positions.

Most companies never replied. When they did, it was most likely to be negative. But still, these few replies were super helpful in getting me ready to apply for the right companies.

I knew I could receive a thousand “NOs”. I only needed one “YES”.

So that was it, one of my hundreds of emails worked and I will share more details about my strategy in another post.

I accepted the test project and worked on it nights and weekends. They paid me for those hours and welcomed me to the company and Australia, so my dream came real a few years early.

Announcement:

We have launched our Private Facebook Group, and it's currently open for the first 500 members. The idea is to have it as a private space where we can all discuss options for migrating around the world and help each other out. See you there.