There are nearly 6,000 pharmacy businesses across Australia with a market size of $25B, according to IBISworld’s Pharmacies in Australia industry statistics. This makes Australia a lucrative destination for Pharmacists who intend to work or live here.
This article provides an overview of the possible visa options for Pharmacists considering moving to Australia.
Here are the visa options for Pharmacists based on their objectives:
Work
To be eligible to work in Australia as a Pharmacist, your nominated occupation should be on the Department of Home Affairs’ skilled occupation list. There are three types of Pharmacists under the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL). These are:
- Hospital Pharmacist
- Industrial Pharmacist
- Retail Pharmacist
You should have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy with one year of internship. You should have at least two years of full-time work experience as a Pharmacist within the last five years, counting from when you reached the required qualification to be eligible for the Temporary Skilled Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa.
You should have your qualification assessed by the Australian Pharmacy Council to determine if you qualify for provisional registration as a Pharmacist from the Pharmacy Board of Australia. Graduates and licenced Pharmacists from the Philippines go through the Knowledge Stream Skills Assessment with the Australian Pharmacy Council.
Once you get your skills assessment and provisional registration, you may be eligible to work in Australia under the TSS 482 visa or the Internship (subclass 407) visa if you can satisfy all the criteria for any of these visas. Note that these visas require you to have an employer/internship host willing to sponsor you. It is also important to note that you cannot work unsupervised with only a provisional registration. You will need a general registration to work without supervision.
Migrate
There is also a variety of Permanent Residency (PR) visas for Pharmacists under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) stream and under the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional(SESR) (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa.
The PR GSM visas stream is points-tested. You should have at least 65 migration points (calculated based on age, education level, English language level, work experience duration, and others). Since all the Pharmacists roles are on the STSOL, you should get a state sponsorship before you can be eligible to apply for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa or the Skilled Regional Provisional (subclass 491) visa.
You should have an employer willing to sponsor you to be eligible for the SESR 494 visa, and you should live and work in a designated regional area.
When applying for any of these visas, you are required to provide your skills assessment from the Australian Pharmacy Council.
Study
If you are interested in gaining an Australian qualification in Pharmacy, then you may be eligible to apply for a student visa. For student visa applications, you should be able to demonstrate that you are a genuine temporary entrant, which means that you do not intend to live in Australia permanently and explain the value of this course in your future.
Registering as a Pharmacist in Australia for international students who completed their qualifications here is easier than for those who studied overseas.
To get more information on registering as a Pharmacist in Australia and to get more details on the visa criteria as discussed above, watch this video on the link below:
It is suggested that you seek advice from a Registered Migration Agent or an Immigration Lawyer should you decide to check your eligibility on your visa options as a Pharmacist or a future Pharmacist.
