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Young
professionals, tradespeople and other skilled migrants with good
English ability are an asset to Australia
Skilled migration is
one way
of improving the Australian workforce and developing new areas of
expertise. It
is also a way for employers to find skilled people for a specific
vacancies.
An outline of the
main visa categories is set out below.
General Skilled - Points Tested
If you do not have
an occupation which is on the current
list of skilled occupations you cannot apply in
this category. You will need to obtain evidence of your
occupation by undergoing a “skills assessment” by an independent
assessing
body. Without a successful skills assessment your application will not
succeed.
You must also have at least vocational
English.
This means that you must obtain a score of at least 5 in each of the
categories of the IELTS
english test.
This category of visa involves a points
test . The current pass mark for an independent application is 120
and for a
sponsored one is 110. Points are
awarded for:
- age (the younger you are the more
points),
but in any case you must be under 45 at the time of application;
- recent work experience;
- having an occupation in
demand (more if you have a firm job offer)
- recent qualifications from an
Australian
university or institution or recent Australian work experience;
- having lived in
a regional area of Australia;
- having an
Australian relative (parent, sibling or aunt or uncle) who is prepared
to sponsor
you. Please note that cousins are not suitable as sponsors.
There
are also a number of bonus point categories:
- if you
are able to make an investment of $100,000 for a period of two years;
- if you have recent work
experience in Australia; or
- if you
have skills in a community language. Unfortunately
being a native speaker of a
community language does not satisfy this requirement. You must
either have
completed a degree taught wholly in the language or be accredited as a
translator or interpreter by NAATI.
There are some FAQ
about general skilled migration on the DIMIA website.
Skilled Independent Regional (SIR) Visas
If you can only score 110 points and you're prepared to
live in a regional area (defined as all of Australia except for Brisbane, Sydney
and environs, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth) then this visa may be for
you. You will need to secure state sponsorship as a first step. The
visa will be provisional for 2 years. At that the end of that time
provided you have lived in a regional area for 2 years and have been
employed for 1 year then you will be eligible for permanent residence.
Click here to find out more details of the SIR Visa.
Graduate Skilled
Recent graduates from
Australian
universities and colleges (who have either obtained a PhD or a course
which is related to a
60 point occupation) are exempt from the recent work experience
requirement. They must still pass the points test to be eligible for a
permanent visa.
Click
here to learn more about the options for skilled
graduates.
State
& Territory Sponsorship
Currently the governments
of Tasmania,
Victoria and South Australia are actively involved in the sponsorship
of
migrants with specific skills which are in demand in those states.
These states
each have their own "mini version" of the skilled occupation list. The
advantage
of state sponsorship is that applicants only need to score the lower
pool mark rather than the pass mark.
Employer Nominations
Australian employers
are able to recruit skilled people from overseas
when they
have been unable to find a suitable Australian to fill the position.
Click on the following link for information about the various
categories of sponsored
employee visas . There is also a list of FAQ
available.
Distinguished Talent
Applicants
for this visa must be nominated by an Australian organization or
person and is only for people who have a record of exceptional
achievement in
their occupation, field of endeavour or in the arts or sport. Follow
this link for more information on the distinguished
talent visa.
Temporary
Working Visas
There are many other
categories of visa which allow temporary
entry
into
Australia. Many of these will allow for work rights. In particular, you
many be able to secure sponsorship from an Australian business to
work in Australia for four years. This is known as a long
stay business
visa.
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