Skill Select Requirements for Skilled Migrants

SKILL SELECT, PROCESS AND BENEFITS TO SKILLED MIGRANTS

Skill Select is an Australian Government on-line system for Skilled Workers and Business People who are interested in Migrating to Australia.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SKILL SELECT:

There is a two stage process involved in Skill Select which can be completed electronically:

Stage 1:

Skilled Migrants must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)

Stage 2:

The best migrants in the Expression of Interest Pool will be invited by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to apply for a Skilled Migration visa within 60 days

TYPES OF VISAS THAT ARE APPLIED FOR THROUGH SKILL SELECT:

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)

• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

• Skilled Sponsored (Provisional) (subclass 489)

You can also apply for the following visas but Skill Select is optional but we do highly recommend that you do a Skill Select.

• Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)

• Employer Nominated Scheme visa (subclass 186)

• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187)

Expression of Interest:  

An Expression of Interest (EOI) is required to be submitted under the Skill Select Stream.

If you are finding an employer to sponsor you can also use Skill Select to express interest.

Points Tested:

Skill Select is a points tested program and points are awarded based on your age, English language ability, qualifications, work experience, nomination/sponsorship (if applicable).

General Skilled Migration Points Criteria:

The current points criteria for General Skilled Migration is 60 points.

Nomination of Occupation :

You must nominate an occupation from the Skilled Occupations List (SOL).

Skilled Occupations List :

The current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is relevant for applicants for: independent points-based skilled migration who is not nominated by a state or territory government agency.

PROCESS FOR SKILL SELECT:

Firstly obtain a Skill Assessment for the Nominated Occupation you are choosing to do.  Then lodge an Expression of Interest, once an Expression of Interest has been lodged, depending on which visa you apply for, you may receive an invitation to lodge a visa application, or an Australian Employer may contact you in relation to sponsorship and employment.

If you receive an invitation you will have 60 days to lodge your visa application via the Skill Select Program.

There is no fee for Skill Select and once you have submitted your Expression of Interest it is stored in Skill Select for two years.

KEY ISSUES PROBLEMS  FOR SKILLED  MIGRANTS ARE:

After submitting your Expression of Interest:-

• Stage 2  is not guaranteed

• The EOI is only valid for two years, if after the two years you would have to reapply and another application would have to be lodged. Although there are no fees to submit an EOI there will be associated costs as outlined below.

• There are financial costs and no guarantee that you will be successful after lodging the EOI as you will still be required to completed a Skill Assessment and English Proficiency test prior to EOI Lodgement

• To stop the EOI Pool being dominated solely by certain occupations, quotas also apply each year for skilled occupations .  Once the quotas have been filled there are no more opportunities to apply for that year regardless of skill level and ranking. If you have achieved a high ranking under the current system this could be detrimental for applicants as they are also not subject to a ceiling.

• Due to the EOI not being a visa application, a Bridging visa will not be granted to migrants in Australia.

Benefits:

 

• To submit an Expression Of Interest is free!!

• The EOI is does not require a pass mark on the points test to submit an EOI. Although, you will not receive an invitation for points based visas unless you meet the pass mark.  The pass mark for your EOI can be built upon to achieve the desired pass mark for points based skilled migration or you can be considered by employers for employer sponsorship.

• Your profile in Skill Select can be updated at anytime, you can continually build on your EOI as you gain more experience.

• Employers are able to search for your details and make contact with you to discuss possible employment.  This can also increase your opportunity for sponsorship.

• You can select more than one visa subclass in the one EOI, this means greater possibilities for being considered for invitation or sponsorship.

• Based on the information you provide on your EOI, Skill Select will provide you with feedback giving you an indication of the visas for which you may meet the criteria.

• EOI’s and Visa applications can be submitted online, this saves you time and you are able to gain access to your Skill Select from anywhere in the world 24/7.

• Visa processing will be a lot quicker as the total number of invitations and applications are matched and controlled to the migration program, if you have been given an invitation to apply.

Where to start:

1. Log on to www.skillselect.gov.au

2. Search for which visas best suit you

3. Check what you need to prepared for these visas

4. Start collecting all your information and evidence

Benefits of the new system Expression Of Interest  for skilled  migrants are:

• Multiple EOI’s in a range of Skilled Migration Programs can applied for in the one EOI application

• Under the new system migrants can express interest in being sponsored by an employer, which potentially helps employer’s locate employees more effectively.

• Working and living in regional Australian areas is still possible for Migrants who  express an interest in working in Australia

• Whilst not guaranteeing employment, employers are more likely to have interest in successful candidates who are among the top of their migration peers.  As employers are constantly looking for the best candidates for employment.

• Migrants who otherwise would have been out ranked by migrants in dominating occupations now have a ceiling limit which is good news for migrants that are interested in a particular occupation that has not yet reached its ceiling.

• The Stage 1 period is for two years but unfortunately does not provide certainty. If you are successful in Stage 1 it does not mean that you will be successful in Stage 2.

• Migrants will now have greater opportunities with the new skilled visa subclasses being introduced.

• DIAC publishes the lowest test mark scoring points after Stage 1 for the independent and family sponsored visas, which results in progression to Stage 2. This will give migrants an indication of their potential to receive a Stage 2 invitation in future rounds.

• Potentially visa applications (Stage 2) may be processed quicker than previously although this is yet to be tested in practice

 

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection issues invitations monthly but sometimes it can be twice monthly.

The time between being invited and being granted a visa is around 3 – 6 months.  (this will depend on numerous factors).

Skill Select and Skilled migration visa are a very complex process. ONE derland Consulting has an extensive experience dealing with General Skilled Migration visas. To find out your eligibility and further information on Skill Select or General Skilled Migration, please contact our office on: (+61) 08 9477-5831 or email: [email protected].