Professional development visa

The professional development visa (PDV) is a temporary residence visa intended for groups of professionals, managers and government officials from overseas who are seeking to enhance their professional/managerial skills by taking part in tailored development programs designed by an Australian sponsoring organisation.

The PDV enables the visa holder to enter and remain in Australia for up to a maximum period of 12 months.

There are two key stages to applying for a professional development visa:

• sponsorship approval for the education provider; and
• visa application.

An approved sponsorship must be in place before valid visa applications can be lodged. Sponsorship applications and visa applications cannot be lodged simultaneously.

All sponsorships and visa applications must be lodged at the Hobart Professional Development Visa Processing Centre (Hobart PDVPC) in Australia. It is not possible to lodge either Professional Development Sponsorships or visa applications at the Australian Visa Application Centres.

Comprehensive information and forms are available from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website.
See:  Sponsoring Someone to Australia

Last updated 28 October 2008