Pacific Engagement (Subclass 192) Visa ballot now open
As previously reported, the Australian Government recently introduced the new Pacific Engagement (Subclass 192) Visa program which will provide up to 3,000 Pacific Island and Timor-Leste nationals with permanent residence every year, pending their registration and selection in a ballot. The randomised selection of participants has led to the Pacific Engagement (Subclass 192) Visa being referred to as a “lottery visa”, which is a rather apt name considering limited allocations of places to each participating country.
By way of update, the highly anticipated Pacific Engagement (Subclass 192) Visa ballot has now opened for registration on 3 June 2024. According to the official announcement on the relevant Australian Government Facebook page, the ballot will close on 1 August 2024, although the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) Country Ballot Status table on the Department of Home Affairs’ website indicates that registration closes on 2 August 2024.
UPDATE (February 2025): The ballot registration period for the Pacific Engagement Visa is still closed for all participating countries.
Persons in and outside of Australia who meet the eligibility criteria can register, and interested persons are encouraged to monitor the PEV Country Ballot Status table to ensure that they register within the opening period in case there any such changes to the opening and closing dates corresponding with their country.
The Pacific Engagement Visa ballot opened for registrations on 3 June 2024, providing eligible citizens from the Pacific and Timor-Leste to live, work and study in Australia as permanent residents.
The following passport holders and citizens may be eligible to register in the Pacific Engagement Visa ballot, pending their satisfaction of the other eligibility criteria.
This is an excerpt of the Australian Government’s announcement of the eligibility criteria to participate in the Pacific Engagement Visa ballot.
NOTE: Further requirements apply to actual visa application for participants who are selected to apply for the Pacific Engagement (Subclass 192) Visa, as outlined in our linked guide.
There is a registration fee of AUD$25 payable at the time of registration via the ImmiAccount.
There has not been any announcement as to when the results of this ballot will be released and they will presumably be available from or after 2 August 2024.
Persons from the following countries interested in registering in the ballot should first familiarise themselves with the eligibility requirements prior to doing so, particularly since there is a registration fee of AUD$25.00 payable at the time of registration:
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Nauru
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
As outlined in our previous blog post about the Pacific Engagement Visa Program, persons who meet all of the requirements will be eligible for registration in the ballot:
aged from 18 to 45 years of age at the commencement of the ballot registration open period for the relevant country
hold a valid passport issued by one of the participating countries
be born in, or have a parent who was born in, an eligible country
Australia*
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
Palau
Papua New Guinea
New Zealand*
Republic of Marshall Islands
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Tuvalu
NOTE: Vanuatu is left out of the Department of Home Affairs’ relevant webpage (see below) but this may be a clerical error
not be a citizen of New Zealand
not already be registered in the same PEV ballot
pay a $25 registration fee
hold a substantive visa, Bridging visa A, Bridging visa B or Bridging visa C if applying in Australia
*Some eligible citizens may have been born outside of their country of citizenship to access alternative medical facilities and Australia and New Zealand have therefore been included in the list to recognise this.
Registrations for the ballot are to be submitted through the ImmiAccount as per the instructions on the Department’s website. Participants who intend to include their spouse/partner and/or children in their visa application must indicate this in their ballot registration as they will not be able to include them after submitting the ballot registration.
Persons who are not eligible for the Pacific Engagement Visa Program may otherwise explore their eligibility for the grant of a Temporary Work (International Relations) (Subclass 403) visa under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, and can check out our free guide on the PALM scheme for more information about this.
Should you wish to discuss your eligibility for the Pacific Engagement (Subclass 192) Visa, please email info@inclusivemigration.com.au or submit an enquiry through the contact form on our website.
