Australia 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