GENERAL SKILLED VISA

Australia's Skilled Migration program seeks to encourage young, motivated and highly skilled people to Australia with the anticipation that all successful applicants will contribute to strengthening and widening Australia's skilled workforce and in turn contribute to the Australian economy.

Important NOTICE: As of the 1st of September 2007 the Department of Immigration has implemented changes to the General Skilled Migration Scheme. These changes may affect your ability to apply for migration to Australia. Please contact us for a free assessment to find out how these changes may apply to you.

Basic Requirements

• AGE - You must be under 45 years at the time of making the application;
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE ABILITY – You must have sufficient ability in the English language for working and living in Australia. It must be established that you have:
  • Vocational English (a score of 5 in each component of the IELTS test) for trade based occupations
  • Competent English (a score of 6 in each component of the IELTS test) for professionals

You can also be awarded additional points for obtaining a proficient level of English if you can score 7 in each component of the IELTS test.

It is important to note that a General IELTS test is satisfactory (the academic test is not required).

• SKILLS - You must be qualified in a trade or a profession that is recognized as a skilled occupation in Australia and have that trade or profession successfully assessed with the relevant Australian assessing authority.

As a general rule, formal qualifications and/or training now have to be established. Exceptions to this rule apply to any applicant whose country of residence is:

• The United Kingdom, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and The Philippines AND
• Seek a skills assessment in the following trades: General Electrician, General Plumber, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Mechanic, Motor Mechanic, Carpenter and joiner, Carpenter, Joiner, Electrical Powerline Tradesperson, Cable Jointer, OR Bricklayer.

Extensive work experience alone for the above potential candidates without formal qualifications or formal training can be acceptable provided the applicant can demonstrate sound and competent knowledge within their nominated occupation, both in theory and practical.

For migration purposes and depending on the demand of your occupation in Australia, you may be awarded 40, 50 or 60 points

**WORK EXPERIENCE - If your occupation is assessed as a 60, 50 or 40 point occupation, you must have at least 12 months of recent work experience (recent meaning in the past 24 months) relating to your formal trade or professional qualification.

**SPECIAL WORK EXPERIENCE WAIVER - In most circumstances, you do not need to meet the work experience requirement if you have received an Australian formal qualification in a skilled occupation as the result of completing at least 2-years of full time study in Australia less than 6 months before lodging your visa application.

If you feel that you may fulfil the above basic requirements please keep reading and proceed to our Free Online Assessment Form.

Other Contributing Factors that may assist with your application

Along with the Basic Requirements, other factors that may contribute to the success of your application include:

• If you have a relative (parent, brother, sister, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, first cousin or grandparent) who is an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident and is willing to sponsor you.
• If you have 3 or more years of recent (recent meaning in the past 4 years) work experience in your nominated occupation.
• If you have had 1 year work experience in Australia in the past 4 years which is closely related to your nominated occupation or you have had 1 Professional Year in Australia closely related to nominated occupation (work experience cannot be counted if you have not had the appropriate visa which has allowed you to work in Australia).
• If your occupation is of high demand in Australia. Please note that you must have at least 1 year work experience in the past four years in order to claim an occupation in demand.

Occupations in high demand in Australia include:

Managers and Administrators

Child Care Coordinator

Professionals

• Accountant
• Anaesthetist
• Architect
• Chemical Engineer
• Civil Engineer
• Computing Professional - specialising in C++/C#/C
• Computing Professional - specialising in CISSP
• Computing Professional - specialising in Java
• Computing Professional - specialising in J2EE
• Computing Professional - specialising in Network Security
• Computing Professional - specialising in Oracle
• Computing Professional - specialising in PeopleSoft
• Computing Professional - specialising in SAP
• Computing Professional - specialising in SIEBEL
• Computing Professional - specialising in Sybase SQL Server
• Dental Specialist
• Dentist
• Dermatologist
• Electrical Engineer
• Emergency Medicine Specialist
• External Auditor
• General Medical Practitioner
• Hospital Pharmacist
• Mechanical Engineer
• Medical Diagnostic Radiographer
• Mining Engineer (excluding petroleum)
• Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
• Occupational Therapist
• Ophthalmologist
• Paediatrician
• Pathologist
• Petroleum Engineer
• Physiotherapist
• Podiatrist
• Psychiatrist
• Quantity Surveyor
• Radiologist
• Registered Mental Health Nurse
• Registered Midwife
• Registered Nurse
• Retail Pharmacist
• Specialist Medical Practitioners (not elsewhere classified)
• Specialist Physician
• Speech Pathologist
• Sonographer
• Surgeon
• Surveyor

Associate Professionals

• Chef (excluding Commis Chef)

Trades Persons

• Automotive Electrician
• Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics)
• Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical)
• Baker
• Boat Builder and Repairer
• Bricklayer
• Cabinetmaker
• Carpenter
• Carpenter and Joiner
• Cook
• Drainer
• Electrical Powerline Tradesperson
• Electrician (Special Class)
• Electronic Equipment Tradesperson
• Fibrous Plasterer
• Fitter
• Floor Finisher
• Furniture Finisher
• Furniture Upholsterer
• Gasfitter
• General Electrician
• General Plumber
• Hairdresser
• Joiner
• Lift Mechanic
• Locksmith
• Mechanical Services and Air-conditioning Plumber
• Metal Fabricator (Boilermaker)
• Metal Machinist (First Class)
• Motor Mechanic
• Optical Mechanic
• Painter and Decorator
• Panel Beater
• Pastry Cook
• Pressure Welder
• Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Mechanic
• Roof Plumber
• Roof Slater and Tiler
• Solid Plasterer
• Sheetmetal Worker (First Class)
• Stonemason
• Toolmaker
• Vehicle Body Maker
• Vehicle Painter
• Wall and Floor Tiler
• Welder (First Class)

• If you have obtained high level Australian qualification(s) while studying in Australia. For example; abachelors degree INCLUDING masters/Honours degree and/or a PhD.
• If you studied and obtain your Australian qualification in a regional or low population growth Metropolitan area of Australia.
• If your spouse has formal qualifications/work experience, passes the English requirements and is under the age of 45.
• If you have been nominated by an Australian State of Territory.
• If you have a relative living in a designated area of Australia (only available to provisional applicants)
• If you have a *professional level of language skills in another language other than English. (*Professional meaning that you are the holder of a degree that was conducted in a designated language or you are a level 3 professional translator or interpreter)

If any of these contributing factors are applicable to you please mention them when filling out the Free Online Assessment Form