Australia Immigration
Work Permits and VisasAustralia
Skilled Worker Visa
The Australian Immigration program offers places for skilled
workers intending to apply for an Australian Skilled Worker Visa.
Age, Qualifications, experience and other factors are considered.
The skill stream of Australia's migration program is intended for
people who are highly skilled, are under 45 and who will quickly
make a contribution to the Australian economy.
To make a valid
application, applicants or their spouses must be able to satisfy
these basic requirements. If you are not able to satisfy these
basic requirements, you should not continue with a skilled
migration application.
To apply for migration, you need to select an appropriate visa.
These are organised into the following categories:
- General skilled - for overseas applicants not currently in
Australia
- Overseas student - for overseas students currently studying
in Australia
Within these categories, there are the following types of
visas:
Applicants for the 136 Skilled -Independent Visa must meet the
following basic requirements:
- must have an occupation or skill on the list of approved
occupations for skilled migration,
- Must have recent and specific work experience
- must be under 45 years old at the time of their application,
- must have at least vocational English,
- must pass a points test.
The Skilled Independent visa is a permanent resident visa, with
the right to apply for citizenship after 2 years. You do not need
to be sponsored by an employer or any state or territory in order
to obtain this visa, however you do need to meet the above basic
requirements. The points pass mark for this particular visa is 120
and there are many other factors in addition to the above to take
into account in order to earn additional points, such as:
- Is your occupation on the Migration Occupation in Demand
List (MODL)?
- Do you speak one of Australia's community languages?
- Do you have Capital Investment?
If you do not meet the above requirements, you may like to
consider the following options under the Skilled categories:
Under the Skilled - State/Territory Nominated Independent visa, an
applicant who doesn't meet the pass mark of 120 can seek
sponsorship from a particular State or Territory for a permanent
resident visa.
The applicant must still meet the basic requirements and pass a
skills assessment before making an application to a participating
State for sponsorship, however this visa only requires that you
meet the "pool mark" of 70 points.
Please note that obtaining state sponsorship does not guarantee
the approval of your permanent resident visa, as the Department of
Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) will
make the final decision.
States that are currently actively supporting State/Territory
sponsorship are:
- South Australia
- Victoria
- Tasmania
- Queensland
- New South Wales
- Western Australia
- Northern Territory
Please also bear in mind that your occupation must be on the
Skilled Occupations List and the occupations list for the specific
state in which you apply to for nomination.
Under the Skilled - Skilled Independent Regional visa, an
applicant who doesn't meet the pass mark of 120 can seek
sponsorship from a particular regional area of Australia. This
visa is a temporary visa and is granted for a three year period,
with the right to apply for permanent residency after 2 years.
The applicant must still meet the basic requirements and pass a
skills assessment before making an application to a participating
State for sponsorship under the SIR category, however this visa
only requires that you meet the points pass mark of 110.
Please note that obtaining state sponsorship does not guarantee
the approval of your temporary resident visa, as the Department of
Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) will
make the final decision.
States that are currently actively supporting SIR sponsorship are:
- South Australia
- Victoria
- Tasmania
- Queensland
From 1 July 2005, an additional 10 Points will be granted by
DIMIA with State Government sponsorship (which means that
applicants who
achieve 100 or 105 points may qualify for the SIR visa
provided they receive State sponsorship).
Have you previously been told that you fall short of the pass
mark? Get in touch now for a further assessment under the new
points system for SIR visa applicants.
Should an applicant for the Skilled - Independent Visa lodge an
application, but not attain the pass mark (120 points) in the
points test, but meet the basic criteria and have a score in the
"pool mark", the applicant may apply for the skills matching visa.
The applicant will be required to complete the skills matching
section of the application form and will be required to seek
sponsorship from an Australian State or Territory Government
Agency.
Not points tested, but still subject to the basic requirements for
skills visas :-
- must have an occupation or skill on the list of approved
occupations for skilled migration
- must be under 45 years old at the time of their application
- must have at least vocational English
- the applicant is required to submit payment (skills matching
fee) thereafter his/her details are placed in the skills
matching database. An employer or a State or Territory
Government may then nominate the applicant for a visa
- eligible to sponsor this category of visa must be a parent,
a non-dependent child, or a brother or sister of the main
applicant
Australia Work Permit - Employer Nominated Visa
There are four categories for employer-sponsored migration to
Australia:
Australian employer categories:
The Employer
Nomination Scheme (ENS) has been developed for
Australian employers to recruit permanent, highly-skilled staff
from overseas or from people temporarily in Australia, when the
employers have been unable to fill a vacancy from within the
Australian labour market or through their own training programs.
The Regional
Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) is designed to
help employers in regional or low population growth areas of
Australia, who are unable to fill skilled vacancies from the
Australian labour market.
Labour Agreements
(LA) enable Australian employers to recruit (either permanently or
temporarily) a specified number of workers from overseas in
response to identified or emerging labour market (or skill)
shortages in the Australian labour market.
International
Organisations
Regional Headquarters Agreements (RHQ) provide streamlined
immigration arrangements to enable the transfer, either
permanently or temporarily, key executive and specialist personnel
of an organisation that Australia has identified as managing
functions that support an international operation.
The Employer Nomination Scheme information describes who is
eligible to sponsor, and to apply for, an Australia Work Permit
under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS).
It is a general guide only , but it will help you decide if this
category applies to you.
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