Note No.: 32/24
The Australian Embassy presents its compliments to the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Federated States of Micronesia and has the honour to refer to FSM Diplomatic Note DFA/LSR-064-24 dated 13 February 2024 confirming the participation of the Federated States of Micronesia in the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV). The PEV has been designed to deepen people links and encourage greater cultural, business, and educational exchange.
In this regard, the Australian Embassy has the honour to advise that visa allocations for the first program year have been settled and reflect those offered by Australian Ministers in their correspondence with the Hon Foreign Secret ary Lorin Roberts (Diplomatic Notes 143/24, 73/22, 3/23, 87/23 and 112/23 refers). Allocations will be reviewed annually to ensure the program is delivering on shared needs and interests.
The Australian Embassy further advises that relevant Australian legislative and administrative arrangements are almost finalised, and Australia is now in a position to progress implementation of the program. The PEV ballot is expected to open in early June 2024 to be announced by Australian Ministers.
An information and education campaign will commence in each participating country to inform applicants about the visa and ensure realistic expectations about the PEV process, settlement support services and life in Australia.
The Australian Embassy has the furthri honour to inform that a PEV Support Service is being established in the Pacific region employing locally engaged staff to provide information and education to prospective applicants, assist applicants to connect with employers and prepare for life in Australia. In the coming weeks, the Support Service will issue a communications campaign to raise the profile of the PEV and ensure that people have accurate and reliable information available.
The Australian Embassy is available to provide further information should that be helpful.
The Australian Embassy avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Federated States of Micronesia, the assurances of its highest consideration.
POHNPEI
7 April 2024
Australian Government
Pacific Engagement Visa
What is the Pacific Engagement Visa
The Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa is a new permanent residence visa for participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste citizens to deepen connections between Australia and the region.
The Australian Government will make available up to 3,000 Pacific Engagement Visas each year to eligible Pacific island and Timor-Leste nationals, and their partners and children, through a ballot process. Those randomly selected in the ballot process will be invited by the Australian Government to apply for a visa.
Countries participating in the Pacific Engagement Visa program in 2024
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Nauru
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Obtaining a Pacific Engagement Visa
Obtaining a Pacific Engagement Visa is a 2-step process:
1. Individuals must first register in the Pacific Engagement Visa ballot.
2. Registered participants randomly selected from the ballot are then invited to apply for the visa. Applicants must demonstrate they meet all relevant criteria before being granted a visa, including having a formal, ongoing job offer.
The Pacific Engagement Visa ballot
The ballot gives everyone an equal chance of being able to apply for a Pacific Engagement Visa. A ballot is a fair and transparent process and ensures access for people of any skill level, occupation and gender.
To be eligible to register in the online ballot, you will need to meet the requirements. You must:
• be aged between 18 and 45 years when the ballot opens for registrations
• hold a valid passport for a participating country
• be born in, or have a parent born, in an eligible country
• pay a registration fee (AU$25).
If you are not selected in the ballot process, you may be able to enter the ballot the next year. A registration fee must be paid with each registration.
For more information on how to register for the ballot please visit the website of the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs at www.immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.
The Pacific Engagement Visa application
If you are randomly selected from the ballot, you will be invited to apply for a Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa. Applicants will need to demonstrate that they meet all relevant criteria before being granted a visa. You must:
• be randomly selected through the PEV ballot
• have a formal job offer in Australia
• meet other visa requirements, such as English language, character and health checks
• hold a valid visa if applying from inside Australia
• pay a visa application charge for each applicant.
Support to find a job and settle in Australia
The Australian Government has established a free information and support service for each participating country to help you:
• understand the Pacific Engagement Visa process and requirements
• find a job in Australia so you can meet the employment requirement for the visa
• prepare for life in Australia.
To find out more about the PEV Support Service, please see the PEV Facebook page @pacificengagementvisa
Can I bring my family?
If you wish to include your partner and legally dependant children in your visa application, you must include them in your ballot registration. If you are randomly selected in the ballot process, your partner and dependants will be included in the invitation to apply for a visa.
How is the Pacific Engagement Visa different to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme?
The Pacific Engagement Visa is a permanent residence visa for citizens of Pacific countries and Timor-Leste. It is not a labour mobility program.
By comparison, the PALM scheme is a temporary migration program that will continue to help meet workforce shortages in rural and regional Australia, support the economic development of Pacific countries and Timor-Leste, and build skills for when workers return home.
Eligible PALM scheme workers in Australia on valid temporary visas will be able to register for the Pacific Engagement Visa ballot when registrations open.
OFFICIAL
SENATOR THE HON PENNY WONG
LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
THE HON PAT CONROY MP
MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE PACIFIC
MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
THE HON ANDREW GILES MP
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
MEDIA RELEASE
KEY MILESTONE FOR Pacific EngagEment Visa PROGRAM
Pacific Island and Timor-Leste nationals will be able to register for Australia’s new Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) program from 3 June 2024, providing new opportunities for Pacific and Timorese nationals to live, work and study in Australia.
The program will enable up to 3,000 citizens of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste to migrate to Australia as permanent residents each year.
This will grow Australia’s diaspora, deepen cultural connections, boost business, and educational ties between Australia and participating countries and support economic development in the Pacific.
Countries participating in the first year of the program include Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, with discussions ongoing with other partners in the region.
The PEV program will use an online ballot to select participants, who can then apply for the visa, providing an equitable, streamlined and transparent system.
Applicants must secure a formal ongoing job offer in Australia and meet health and character requirements, before being granted a visa.
The PEV responds directly to Pacific requests for greater regional mobility, delivering education, skills and economic and development dividends for the region, and linking us more closely together.
Pacific and Timorese nationals participating in the program will have access to a range of supports, including migrant settlement services, English language programs, public schools and healthcare, and financial supports to encourage participation in study and training.
For further information visit Pacific Engagement Visa program.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong:
“The Albanese Government is delivering on our commitment to deepen our connections with the Pacific and Timor-Leste with the commencement of the Pacific Engagement Visa.
“Australia has listened to the calls of Pacific leaders and responded, as we play our part for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pacific.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:
“The Pacific Engagement Visa demonstrates the high value Australia places on its relationship with the Pacific and Timor-Leste.”
“The program will grow Pacific and Timor-Leste diasporas in Australia, strengthening linkages between our people and encouraging greater cultural, business, economic and educational exchange with Pacific countries.”
“The program has transformative potential, making Australia’s world-class education and training system more accessible for new residents under the Pacific Engagement Visa.”
“Through these impacts, and by boosting remittance flows to Pacific countries, the program will also support economic development and welfare in the Pacific.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Andrew Giles MP:
“The Pacific Engagement Visa program is an opportunity to address the underrepresentation of Pacific island and Timorese nationals in Australia’s permanent migration program, with less than 1 per cent of permanent migrants currently coming from the region.”
“The program is in keeping with the Government’s Migration Strategy which identifies deepening Australia’s people-to-people links with the Indo-Pacific as one of eight key actions to reform the migration system.”