Expression of Interest: EOI

What is EOI:

From 1 July 2012, all intending migrants interested in the points based skilled migration or business investment and innovation visa programs will be required to submit an EOI and receive an invitation in order to lodge a visa application.

An EOI is not a visa application, it is an indication that you would like to be considered for a skilled visa.

You will be asked to provide a range of information in your EOI depending on the visa(s) you want to be considered for, such as:

• basic personal information
• nominated occupation
• work experience
• study and education
• level of English skills
• details of a Skills Assessment, related to your nominated occupation
• business and investment experience.

For more details on what questions and information you will need to supply in your EOI, you should refer to the webpage for the visa(s) you are interested in. 

Points Test

For the points based skilled migration and business innovation and investment visa programs , you will be ranked according to the appropriate points test. You will be able to submit an EOI even if you do not meet the pass mark; however, you will not be invited to apply for a visa. For information about how to calculate the points test, you should refer to the points test tab on the webpage for the visa you are interested in.

It is important to remember that meeting the points test pass mark does not guarantee you an invitation to apply for a visa.

If you select the subclass 190 or 489 visa(s) you will receive the appropriate points for nomination or sponsorship. For example if you select the 190 visa subclass you will receive 5 points which will be added to your points score. Your points score based on your claims in your EOI will then be displayed before you submit your EOI.

Nominated Occupation

If you are submitting an EOI for a visa that requires you to list a nominated occupation you should establish if your occupation is a skill that Australia needs. You can do this by checking the Skilled Occupation Lists. You must provide details of a Skills Assessment relating to your nominated occupation in your EOI.

What you need to do before submitting your EOI

While you don’t need to submit documents supporting your claims when you submit your EOI, you must have a range of information prepared.
For example, for an independent skilled visa you must have:

• completed a skills assessment and/or a job ready program
• taken an English-language test to prove you meet the English language requirement.

For details on what information you need to provide on your EOI, you should refer to the webpages for the visa(s) you are expressing interest in. 

Submitting an EOI

If you have researched your visa options and prepared the information required, you are ready to submit an EOI. All EOIs must be completed online using SkillSelect. You start your EOI by selecting the “submit an EOI” button on this website.

There is no fee to submit an EOI in SkillSelect.When you complete your EOI the system will give you a points score and results based on your claims.

Your result and points score, along with your time and date of effect becomes your ranking for some visas.  The time and date of effect of your EOI, is the date and time you submitted your EOI or the latest date and time you updated your EOI causing your eligibility or points score to change. Rankings are processed automatically by SkillSelect with no involvement of the department’s staff.

To submit a complete EOI you must meet all the threshold criteria for the relevant visa subclass yo uexpress interest in. If you do not meet the threshold criteria, you will have to deselect the visa before you can submit a complete EOI.

Once you have completed your EOI, it is stored in SkillSelect and is valid for two years.
If you have not completed your EOI it will be stored for two years, but you will not be eligible to receive an invitation.

After submitting an EOI

After you submit your completed EOI, you will receive notification from SkillSelect.

You can access your EOI and update your information at any time. You may wish to do this if you have gained new work experience, gained a higher qualification, improved your English language ability and/or changed your family composition. If you provide updated information which changes your points score or your ability to make a complete EOI, SkillSelect will update your ranking and ability to be considered for an invitation automatically.

It is your responsibility to access your EOI and update your details if your circumstances change. You will not be able to update your EOI after you have received an invitation. Your invitation to lodge a visa application is based only on the information presented in your EOI.

Your invitation to lodge a visa application is based on only on the information presented in your EOI. If you lodge a visa application and your points score is less than claimed in your EOI and invitation letter, your visa will be refused even if you are able to pass the points test or meet other threshold criteria. You will not receive a refund of any visa application charge if your visa application is refused.

If you receive an invitation and your points have decreased or your personal information is not accurate, you do not have to proceed to make an application. You should correct the information in your EOI and wait to receive another invitation.

Suspending, withdrawing or removing an EOI

Suspending an EOI

If you are unable to access your EOI for a length of time, then you can choose to suspend your EOI. While this will not extend the validity of your EOI it will stop you receiving invitations or contacts that you cannot act on, and will avoid your EOI being removed while you are, for example, on holiday and receive two invitations during that time.

If you receive an invitation, your EOI will be suspended automatically so your EOI cannot be considered for any subsequent invitation rounds or be available to employers to search for and contact you. Your EOI will remain suspended until such a time that you lodge a visa application and that application is finally determined or 60 days ceases and you do not lodge a valid visa application.  During this time you can view your EOI and your correspondence, but cannot update your answers on your EOI or select different visa types. 

Withdrawing an EOI

You can withdraw your EOI at any time by accessing your SkillSelect account and selecting the option “Withdraw EOI”. If you withdraw your EOI it will be permanently removed from SkillSelect. 

Removing an EOI

If you receive two invitations and you do not lodge a visa application in response to either of these invitations, your EOI will be removed from SkillSelect.

Your EOI will be removed automatically if it expires. Submitted EOIs expire after two years.  EOIs that are begun, but are never submitted as a complete EOI will also be removed automatically two years after they are commenced.

If you do not comply with the terms and conditions of SkillSelect, your EOI can be removed by the department at any time. You will be asked to read and agree to the terms and conditions when you register for a SkillSelect account. 

If you have a decision on a substantive visa application

If you are granted, refused or withdraw a permanent visa or a 489 or 188 provisional visa application, your EOI will be removed from SkillSelect.

If you are granted, refused or withdraw a temporary visa application, your EOI will remain in SkillSelect for future selection unless it is withdrawn, expires, or is removed.

Invitation and selection process 

Depending on what type of visa(s) you want to be considered for, you may receive an invitation to lodge a visa application, or an Australian employer may contact you to discuss a job opportunity. 

Occupation ceilings

An occupation ceiling may be applied to invitations issued under the points based skilled migration program. This means there will be a limit on how many EOIs are selected for skilled migration from an occupation group. This ensures that the skilled migration program is not dominated by a small number of occupations.

When this limit is reached, no further invitations for that particular occupation group will be issued for that program year. Invitations would then be issued to other EOIs who have nominated available occupations even if they are lower ranking. For the state and territory nominated visas, a state or territory will not be able to nominate you if your nominated occupation has reached its occupation ceiling.

You can view the occupation ceilings on the Reports page. 

Independent and family sponsored visas

Invitations will be issued automatically to people with the highest ranking EOIs, subject to occupation ceilings and to those whose points score exceed the current pass mark.

The points test pass mark is the minimum number of points required to receive an invitation. Not all EOIs that meet the points test pass mark will receive an invitation.

The department’s staff will not choose who will receive an invitation. Invitations will be issued regularly, such as every month. 

State and territory nominated visas

State or territory governments can select skilled workers who they want to nominate. State and territory governments may do their own assessment of people before they nominate them. If you are nominated by a state or territory and you have indicated that you meet the points test pass mark, you will then receive an invitation, subject to occupation ceilings.

When you submit an EOI for one of these visas, you will be asked to choose which state or territory you wish to live and work in. You can select one state or territory, or any state or territory. You will also be asked to indicate if you are prepared to live and work in a non-metropolitan area. If you choose only one state or territory then that state or territory government will be able to view your EOI. If you select any state or territory, then all state or territory governments will be able to view your EOI.

For more information about what the state or territory government's assessment criteria, refer to the state or territory government websites:

• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• New South Wales
• Queensland
• Northern Territory
• Australian Capital Territory 

Business innovation and investment visas

State or territory governments will locate and select skilled business people that they want to nominate. State and territory governments may assess people before they nominate them. If you are nominated by a state or territory and you have indicated that you meet the points test, you will automatically receive an invitation.

On a limited basis, nominating state or territory governments may award additional points towards the innovation points test where they have determined that your proposed business is of exceptional economic benefit to that state or territory.

When you submit an EOI for one of these visas, you will be asked to select which state or territory you wish to live and work in. You can choose one state or territory, or any state or territory. If you select only one state or territory, then that state or territory will be able to view your EOI. If you select any state or territory, then all state or territory governments will be able to view your EOI.

For more information about what the state or territory governments will assess you on before nominating you, refer to the state or territory government websites:

• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• New South Wales
• Queensland
• Northern Territory
• Australian Capital Territory 

Employer sponsored visas 

Employers can search for and contact skilled workers that they want to discuss job opportunities with. If you are contacted by an employer in SkillSelect, you can choose to respond to them to discuss employment and visa opportunities. You will not receive an invitation to apply for an employer sponsored visa.

When you submit an EOI for one of these visas, you will be asked which state or territory you are interested in living and working. You will also be asked to indicate if you are prepared to live and work in a non-metropolitan area. You will be able to select one or more state or territories, or any state or territory. Employers will be able to view your EOI and will be able to narrow their searches to specifically focus on skilled workers in their area. SkillSelect protects your personal information such as your name, date of birth and other characteristics that could personally identify you. This information will not be made available to employers.

If you have already received sponsorship from an employer, you do not need to submit an EOI in SkillSelect. 

If you receive an invitation

If you are invited to apply for a visa, you will receive an invitation from SkillSelect. You will then have 60 days to make a valid visa application online, before the invitation expires. Applications received outside this timeframe will be invalid.

The invitation will contain instructions on how you can lodge your visa application.
As the online visa application system uses information from your EOI, you do not need to re-enter information you already provided on your EOI.

You must provide evidence of your claims with your visa application. Health and character will be assessed and requested during the visa application stage.

Be aware: If you do not make a valid visa application after receiving two invitations, your EOI will be removed from SkillSelect.

If you are not invited or selected

More people want to migrate to Australia than there are places available. This means not everyone who submits an EOI will receive an invitation to apply for a visa.

Your EOI will stay in SkillSelect for two years from the date you submit it. At any time during the validity of your EOI, you may update your details to reflect any additional qualifications or experience you may have obtained. This may increase your likelihood of being invited or an employer contacting you.

You may receive notifications from SkillSelect notifying you of visa programs changes, that your EOI is expiring, or other information that you may find useful. You will not be notified of the progress of your EOI or be able to obtain updates on the likelihood of receiving an invitation.

After each invitation round for the points based skilled migration visas, the department will publish on the Reports page the lowest scoring points test mark that allowed an EOI to be invited for each relevant subclass. This will give you an indication of your potential for receiving an invitation in future rounds.

An EOI is not a visa application. You cannot access merits review by the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) if you do not receive an invitation to apply. If you want to express concerns to the department about the invitation process, you can provide feedback online - Global Feedback Unit.

Visa programs in SkillSelect

From 1 July 2012, if you are interested in the following visas, you will need to submit an EOI and receive an invitation before you can apply for a visa:

• Subclass 189 Skilled – Independent (Permanent)
• Subclass 190 Skilled – Nominated (Permanent)
• Subclass 489 Skilled – Regional Nominated or Sponsored (Provisional)
• Subclass 132 Business Talent (Permanent)
• Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)

You can also express interest in the following visa programs on your EOI to be contacted by an employer.

• Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
• Subclass 187 – Regional Sponsored Scheme (RSMS)
• Subclass 457 – Temporary Business (Long Stay)

You can express interest in a range of skilled migration visas in one EOI.

What happens to visa subclass 175,176 and 885,886?

As you can see from the listed visa programs in skill select, 175/176 and 885/886 are no longer listed in the program.

The department will not accept any new applications for the above four classes as they have been closed.

Changes to Australian Migration Program 2009

In December 2008, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced a range of changes in response to the global economic crisis to ensure the 2008-09 skilled migration program was better targeted and more responsive to industry needs. These changes came into effect on 1 January 2009.

The measures were introduced to ensure that the skilled stream of the migration program is driven by the needs of industry and targets skills in critical need across a number of sectors, particularly those skills in shortage and which contribute to the health of the economy.

These changes included priority processing with preference to:

• employer-sponsored permanent migration applications, where skilled migrants are sponsored to go into jobs unable to be filled locally.
• applicants nominated by state and territory governments, who were also given greater scope to meet critical skill shortages in their jurisdiction; and
• applicants who had nominated an occupation identified as in critical shortage.
  

Since then, the global economic situation has continued to deteriorate, and this has significantly weakened Australia’s economic situation, including an increase in unemployment. The migration program is one of the tools the Government can use to assist industry with skills shortages, and, as such, is continually reviewed and assessed for its relevance and outcomes in light of the economic and social needs of Australia. The program is modified as these needs change. The Minister has announced additional measures to further assist in the management of the economy through targeting occupations in critical shortage. These include measures to manage the range of skills and number of people entering Australia with work rights.

This will be achieved through managing the migration program down to a lower level than originally planned, and tighter targeting of program outcomes through the removal of certain trade occupations from the CSL. The new ceiling for the 2008-09 skills stream of the migration program is 115 000 places.

This combination of measures is a balanced response to the changes in global economic circumstances and the corresponding effects in Australia. These changes in strategy in no way diminish the significance of our immigration system as a tool for supporting Australia’s future economic and social development.

These measures allow skilled migrants who are sponsored by an employer for a specific job in Australia, are sponsored by a State or Territory government, or have skills in critical need to be given priority for the remainder of 2008-09 program year within the lower program ceiling.

It is important to note that even in times of economic downturn, migrants can contribute at least as much to our labour force and economy as they take from it, as they bring substantial human and financial capital. The degree to which migrants add to our economy is closely linked to their skills and abilities. Also, Australia may need a strong supply of overseas skilled workers in different economic circumstances and migration is still an effective means of securing a labour force as a balance to our ageing population. These measures will preserve the selection of high-skilled migrants but reduce the emphasis on migrants and temporary entrants who compete with Australians in the job market where skills are not in critical demand.

The Critical Skills List (CSL)

The CSL only applies to people who are seeking to migrate under the skilled migration program and who are not sponsored by an employer or nominated by a state or territory government. The following outlines key information about this CSL:

• it includes mainly information technology professionals, engineers and medical professionals
• the CSL is a smaller list of occupations developed in consultation with state and territory governments
• applications from people nominating the occupation of Accountant will receive processing priority only if they have completed the Skilled Migration Internship Program – Accounting (SMIPA); and/or they have demonstrated that they have proficient English language skills under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS 7) in the past two (2) years
• this list will be subject to ongoing review to ensure that it remains responsive to skill demands.

Greater scope to meet critical skill shortages in state/territory jurisdictions

This change will provide state and territory governments with greater scope to meet critical skill shortages in their jurisdiction. Under previous arrangements, state and territory governments could nominate applicants against a restricted range of occupations, in areas where they considered a skills shortage existed in their jurisdiction:

• states and territories have been provided with an expanded baseline list of occupations which will be reviewed regularly.
• in addition, state and territory governments have been offered a quota of 500 places in 2008-09 to nominate skilled migrants in occupations beyond their existing lists of eligible occupations.

Migration Agent Registration Number: 0964018

The Age rule. Points for 29 years and 3 months old

Just wanted to make a clarification regarding the points system for age.

Previously I had misinformed some of my blog readers that you can only be awarded 25 points once you reach the age of 29 years. However, the information I gave is incorrect.

You can still get 30 points for age even if you are 29 years and 3 months old OR 29 years and 11 months old. However, once you become 29 years and 365 days old, you become 30 years old and then you will get 25 points for age instead of 30 points.

I hope this valuable information helps every one.

Migration Agent Registration Number: 0964018

ASCO Codes and their meaning

This post is for all those who are interested in applying for migration to Australia. The post explains how the Australian standard Classification of Occupations work and how a prospective migrant can use the ASCO codes to determine his/her suitability for a particular trade.

Ok first of all what exactly is ASCO and ASCO codes?

To be able to apply for immigration to Australia, you need to have some sort of skills which are required in Australia. The list of all such skills which are in demand in Australia are listed on a Skilled Occupation List, SOL which can be accessed by visiting the URL

If you open the SOL, you will see that there are dozens of professions listed in the SOL. All the professions listed on the SOL are in demand in Australia. Against each profession there is an ASCO code assigned.

The ASCO code of the profession defines the profession and it is the definition of the ASCO which matters while determining the skills of a person. For example I was once contacted by a person who was a high school teacher of Biology. He wanted to apply for immigration by nominating the profession of Biologist. Now according to him he was a biologist but according to the ASCO classification he is a high school teacher and not a biologist.

Similarly in another incident, a pharmacist applied for immigration by nominating the profession of Pharmaceutical sales representative. The person was not aware that according to the ASCO classification, he is a pharmacist and not a Pharmaceutical sales representative.

Hence, it is of utmost importance that before you apply for immigration and nominate a profession, you should be 100% sure that you are nominating the correct profession. Other wise your application will be simply rejected on the basis that you do not have expertise in the nominated profession.


Now the question is how can a person check whether his expertise are in accordance with the classifications of the ASCO codes. While trying to figure out the answer, I finally found an online copy of the complete ASCO codes and the definition of each and every code.

The copy can be accessed at the following weblink

ASCO Codes

So if you are not sure whether your skills and work experience fall into a particular category then simply visit the URL above and check the classification.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Migration Agent Registration Number: 0964018

Trade Personnel: Migrating as a trade person

There are a lots of skilled trade persons in demand in Australia. Some of such trade persons are

1. Automotive Electrician
2. Cooks and Chefs
3. Blacksmith
4. Plumbers
5. Brick layers
6. Butcher
7. Carpenter
8. Electrician
9. Gardener
10. Hair Dresser

The list is exhaustive and can be checked by viewing the Skilled Occupation list at the following URL

www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121i.pdf


Migrating as a trade person is relatively easy as compared to a Professional or an Associate professional. There are many limitations on professionals which are not there on trade persons. For example, to immigrate as a trade person,

1. You only need to have a score of band 5 , vocational, in all modules to be eligible for an application for permanent residency where as in non-trade professions such as accountant, IT, engineering, you require a minimum score of band 6 in all modules of IELTS.
2. The minimum amount of study requirement is only high school where as in most non-trade professions the minimum amount of requirement is at least a bachelors degree.

The above mentioned two main advantages of applying for immigration as a trade person make it very easy for trade persons to apply for offshore immigration.

The greatest benefit in applying for immigration as a trades person is that there is great abundance of highly paid jobs for qualified trades personnel. I personally know a chef who gets paid an annual salary of $80,000 in one of Sydney's best restaurant.

So my advice to all those people who are not able to apply for immigration as professionals is that they should explore the option of applying for immigration as a trades person.

The usual process of skills assessment and the usual requirement of work experience of one year applies to trade personnel as well.

In most cases the assessing body for trades personnel is either VETASSES or TRA.

Junaid

Migration Agent Registration Number: 0964018

Australia updates Migration Occupations in Demand List

Australia has updated its Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL), adding twelve new specialties and removing one. The MODL is a list of occupations that the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) consider to have a shortage of skilled labor in Australia.

Immigration authorities grant bonus points to skilled migrants who have experience in an occupation listed on the MODL when applying for skilled immigration to Australia. The nation uses a points based system, much like the UK's Tier 1 skilled immigration system, which assesses applicants based upon factors such as age and past experience. Successful applicants may be eligible to immigrate to Australia under a permanent visa, even without a previous job offer from an Australian employer.

Twelve occupations were added to the MODL on 17 May 2008, including five Computing Professional specializations. Electronics Engineer, Optometrist and Dental Technician were also added to the list. In addition, three trade occupations were added: Binder and Finisher, Landscape Gardener, and Tree Surgeon.

The 'Computing Professional specializing in Sybase SQL Server' profession was removed from the MODL.

For a complete listing of occupations in demand in Australia, see our online MODL. Also, please note that the MODL is a separate list from the Skilled Occupation List (SOL).

People applying for skilled immigration to Australia under the General Skilled Migration program must show experience and/or qualifications in a job listed on the SOL to qualify for entry. However, if they can also nominate an occupation that is also listed on the MODL at the time the application is lodged or assessed by immigration authorities, they can gain bonus points for the 'occupation in demand/job offer' section of the General Skilled Migration points test.

To see if you have the qualifications that Australia is looking for, use our points calculator.

Junaid

Migration Agent Registration Number: 0964018

A-Z of Offshore Migration

UPDATE: Please visit the following post for latest on immigration procedures. 

http://study-n-australia.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/expression-of-interest-eoi.html

The information below might be incorrect or outdated

________________________________________________

In my previous posts, I have mainly discussed onshore migration visas. You can find related posts for onshore migration here, here and here.

Just to recap once again, following are the different categories for offshore migration visas.


Offshore immigration. If you are outside Australia
 Skilled – Independent (Migrant) visa (subclass 175)
A permanent visa for people with skills in demand in the Australian labour market. Applicants are not sponsored and must pass a points test.

Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) visa (subclass 176)
A permanent visa for people unable to meet the Skilled – Independent pass mark. Applicants must be either sponsored by an eligible relative living in Australia or nominated by a participating State or Territory government. Applicants must pass a points test lower than that for the Skilled – Independent visa.

Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 475)
A three (3) year provisional visa for people who can meet the lower pass mark for this visa. Applicants must be either sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated area of Australia or nominated by a participating state/territory government. After living for two (2) years and working for at least one (1) year in a Specified Regional Area, applicants can apply for a permanent visa.

Skilled – Recognised Graduate (Temporary) visa (subclass 476)

An 18 month temporary visa for graduates of recognised overseas educational institutions who have skills in demand in Australia. There is no points test for this visa.

There are some other offshore migration visa options but all of them come with strings attached. Which means there are conditions attached to them.

Obviously, every one would be interested in the visa subclass 175 which doesnt place any restrictions of any sort. You can live and work any where in Australia. The rest of the visas have their conditions like living in a particular area etc.

How to Apply for offshore migration

Step 1.

The first step in applying for an offshore migration visa subclass 175 is to chose a profession which is listed on the Skilled Occupation List, SOL, or the Most on Demand List, MODL.

If your profession is not listed on the SOL/MODL then you cannot apply for skilled migration. There might be other ways but this post only deals with skilled migration.

Also, you must satsify some basic criterias for being able to apply for offshore skilled migration. For example, you should be under 45 years of age AND you must have post-secondary (such as university or trade) qualifications (in a small number of occupations substantial relevant work experience may be acceptable) and your skills must have been assessed by the relevant Australian assessing authority as suitable for your nominated occupation.

Check what the is current pass mark for your visa sub class 175. And see that provided you get a positive skills

Step 2.

The second step is to make sure that you have, in the past 24 months before you lodge the application, at least have 12 months of experience in the profession you have selected on the SOL/MODL.

Please note that this is only the immigration departments work experience requirement. You might need more work experience depending upon who your assessing body is.

For example for IT professionals the work experience requirement set by the Australian Computer Society, ACS, is 4 years, whereas the work experience requirement set by Engineers Australia for engineers is zero years. Yes, engineers Australia require an engineer to write a competency demonstration report. If you write a good report perfectly, you get a positive skills assessment. If you write an unsatisfactory report, you get a negative skills assessment. So basically you can get yourself assessed from engineers Australia right after your undergrad degree and then work for one year and then apply for immigration.

So in order to get a positive skills assessment from ACS, an IT professional must have 4 years of work experience. If you do not have 4 years of work experience, ACS will not give you a positive skills assessment. Which means the Immigration department will not be able to consider you for immigration as the ACS doesn't consider you a qualified IT professional.

Step 3

Get yourself assessed by your assessing body. The name of each assessing body is listed next to the profession on the SOL/MODL.

Different assessing bodies have different criterias for giving overseas applicants a positive skills assessment.

For example, an IT professional, must have studied in a degree which has 75% of core computer science subjects AND also have 4 years of paid professional experience in the IT industry.

For engineers, the Australian Engineering council requires writing of a Competency demonstration report, CDR, by the candidate as well as 3 years of professional experience.

Most assessing bodies consider undergraduate degrees PLUS work experience as the criteria for giving a positive skills assessment to a candidate.

The process of getting a positive skills assessment takes any where between 8 to 12 weeks.

Step 4

Appear in the IELTS exam. You must be at least at the "competent" level in the IELTS exam to be eligible to apply for occupations other than trade occupations. You should have a high enough level of English that would enable you to score at least a "6" on all four components of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination. However, if your nominated occupations is a trade occupation, a score of "5" (vocational) will suffice.

From Sept 1, 2007, any one getting 7 and above in all bands of IELTS is awarded bonus points and an applicant can gain 25 points if he/she scores 7 or above in all bands of IELTS in either academic or general version of the test.

Step 5

After having acheived a positive skills assessment and a score in IELTS exam, you should lodge an application with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, DIAC.

While applying online, you will realize how many points you are scoring. It is better to calculate your points beforehand using the points calculator which you can access at the following link.

Points calculator

If you are falling short of points, it would be advisable to contact a lawyer.

It is better to lodge the application online as that speeds up the process.

The online process is pretty straight forward. Once the application is lodged online, you might be asked to send original documents by post.

The process takes between 10 to 16 months.

Bonus Points

You can gain bonus points for getting 7 and above in all bands of IELTS, for having a spouse whose profession is also on the SOL/MODL. Note that to claim points for spouse skills, the spouse will also have to proove his/her skills by getting a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing body.Junaid

Migration Agent Registration Number: 0964018