Sydney Immigration Lawyers | NSW Visas, State Nomination & Reviews

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Australian immigration legal services for clients in Sydney and New South Wales, by video consultation — no need to travel to Melbourne.

Chua Tan Associates has handled Australian immigration law matters since 1990, and two of our lawyers are Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law with the Law Institute of Victoria. Immigration law is federal law: from our Melbourne office we act for Sydney clients by video conference on every kind of visa application, refusal review and judicial review, with documents lodged electronically. We work in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Malay and English.

Sydney immigration at a glance (as at October 2026)

• Subclass 190 nomination: Investment NSW issues invitations throughout the year directly from SkillSelect EOIs, with no separate state registration of interest. Check the NSW Government website for the current year's settings.
• Sydney is not a regional area: Sydney is a major city and cannot be used for 491/494 visas. Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Wollongong and the Illawarra are Category 2 "cities and major regional centres"; most of the rest of NSW, including most of the Central Coast, is Category 3 regional.
• DAMA: NSW's only current DAMA is the Orana labour agreement (around Dubbo), which does not cover Sydney.
• Visa refusals: Refusal and cancellation decisions can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Review deadlines are very short, so contact us as soon as you receive a refusal letter.

Visas we handle for Sydney clients

• Skilled migration: Subclass 189 skilled independent, 190 state-nominated and 491 regional visas, and the subsequent 191 permanent visa.
• Employer sponsorship: Subclass 482 Skills in Demand, 186 Employer Nomination Scheme and 494 regional employer-sponsored visas, and DAMA labour agreements where available.
• Family visas: Partner visas (820/801 and 309/100), parent visas, child visas and other family visas.
• Business and investment: Follow-on applications and compliance for existing 188/888 visa holders.
• Refusals and cancellations: Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) reviews, judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, and requests for ministerial intervention.

Why choose us

• Complex matters are handled personally by Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law, not general migration agents.
• Fees are charged in stages, with transparent pricing.
• We work with the firm's family law, criminal, estates and notary teams on matters that cross practice areas.

State nomination settings change often. This page is general information only and is not legal advice; please check the latest announcements on the state government and Department of Home Affairs websites.