Opportunities in Oz for highly skilled migrants
There has never been a better time to look to Australia with the fantastic opportunities on offer for highly skilled migrants.
Increases in the number of skilled migration places available and huge investments within the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to speed up the processing of certain visa classes are set to clear the way for Australia to get the right people they need to come to Australia – highly skilled migrants.
With so many recent and upcoming changes, it can be difficult to know which visa option best suits the needs of you and your family.
The General Skilled Pathway has been a popular way for overseas skilled migrants to achieve permanent residency in Australia. Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration, revealed that the net migration intake will increase to 185,000 places for the next financial year 2011-2012. Of these places, over 125,000 will be reserved for skilled migrants including 16,000 for “regional areas”. The increase is aimed to help meet the expected demand for skilled migrants right across Australia given the strong employment growth. The drive is on to encourage highly skilled migrants of all types to go to where the work is – this includes construction trades of all types (carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians etc), metal trade workers (welders, metal fabricators, fitters), engineers, project managers, site managers, and architects to name a few.
This has a knock on effect on demand for highly skilled migrants in other sectors too. The federal budget has earmarked A$4.3 billion investment for regional projects in healthcare, roads and schools in an attempt to encourage regional migration, thereby creating new towns across the country. This is resulting in a high demand for chefs, teachers, nurses, accountants, IT professionals and other professionals which are required to cater for the infrastructural needs of workers in these new towns.
Unemployment in Australia is at historically low levels and with large new mining projects set to kick off in QLD and WA, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit highly skilled workers from the local labour market.
It is clear that getting the right people with the right skills is of fundamental importance to Australia’s immigration policy. A new model for selecting skilled migrants will be introduced in July 2012. Under the new model, the government will be able to select the best candidates and alter the skill composition as required.
Visa Options
Naturally DIAC want to encourage people to go to where the work is and there are different visas with work rights and conditions attached to them.
For those aged 18 – 30 years old there is the 1 year working holiday visa which will enable you to get out to Australia very quickly. The purpose of this visa is primarily to holiday in Australia and any work carried out should be incidental. However, you can work for an employer for up to 6 months and the employer may be willing to sponsor you to remain working in the company.
If you do have a job offer, the temporary Sponsorship (457) visa will allow you to work for an employer for up to 4 years. The processing timeframe averages between 1 – 2 months but DIAC have invested heavily in staff and are aiming to get this timeframe down to approximately two weeks. While it is a temporary visa, there is the possibility of obtaining permanent residency through different pathways.
The government is set to fast-track permanent residency for 457 visa holders who have spent two years in regional Australia and where their employer will continue to sponsor them for a further two years under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (119/856) visa. This will make it easier for 457 visa holders to remain in the region where they have been living and working.
Alternatively the Employer Nomination Scheme (121/857) visa is a route to gain permanent residency if you have an eligible job offer from an Australian employer. The employer must hold the position open for you for three years but there are no limitations on where the employer should be based.
For those lucky enough to have an eligible job offer, DIAC has given top priority to the processing of the Employer Nomination Scheme visa and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme permanent residency visas. In addition, 16,000 places have been specifically allocated to the RSMS visa scheme for the next financial year – something never done by DIAC previously.
General Skilled Migration program is the most relevant programme for migrants that are outside of Australia and looking to apply for permanent residency. There is no job offer required for these visas – the Independent Skilled (175) visa and the State Skilled (176) visa. Most focus is on the State Sponsored Migration (176) visa because of the undetermined timeframe of the 175 visa class.
The State Sponsored Migration visa requires you to live and work in a nominated state for two years – thereafter you are free to live and work anywhere across Australia for life. Once granted you and your family are permanent residents of Australia. This is a points-based visa. You attain points for certain attributes including age, English language ability, and work experience qualifications. The points test is set to change come 1st July 2011.
New Points Test
DIAC are implementing a new points test on 1st July 2011 which will apply to the General Skilled Migration program (including the Skilled Independent (175) visa and Skilled Sponsored (176) visa). This will tighten the eligibility requirements so that DIAC get a higher calibre of skilled migrants. The full table can be viewed on the Visafirst.com website.
Under the new system, you must have an eligible occupation to apply but points are no longer attributed to your occupation. Hence all occupations are given equal importance under the new system.
The English language requirements will be tightened. Under the new points system, you must sit an English test and score 7 points in each subject to obtain points for your English language ability. For those with English as their first language including people from the UK, this should be an easy requirement to meet.
While you still need to have a minimum of 12 months work experience within the last 24 months, you now obtain points for having 3/5 years work experience and the more work experience you have, the more points you obtain. Those with at least 1/2 years Australian work experience can obtain points. The more work experience they have, the higher the points achieved.
Another change in the points system is that points are now being awarded for your qualification. Those with a recognised offshore trade apprenticeship, AQF Cert III/IV, or diploma are now able to obtain 10 points for their qualification. Those with a degree or masters qualification can score 15 points while those with a PhD can score 20 points. These points were not available previously.
The new points system also sees the cut-off age limit being increased from 45 to 50 years of age. While you don’t score points from the age of 45 to 49, you are now still entitled to apply for the visa. Again this is welcome news for those that would previously have been deemed to be too old for the General Skilled Migration programme.
It is important to clearly understand your visa options and get advice from a registered migration agent.
Contact Declan Clune of Visafirst.com now for a free assessment to find out all your visa options and what you need to do to meet the visa requirements.
About the editor
Declan Clune is a registered migration agent for Visafirst.com
Tel +44 207 6599186
Free phone 0808 2389911
E-mail dclune@visafirst.com
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