The Department of Immigration in Australia has changed its processing priorities from the 23 September 2009. As per the new guidelines, all applications that are decision pending as subject to the below processing;
1. Applications from persons who are employer sponsored under the ENS and the RSMS.
2. Applications from persons who are nominated by a State/Territory government and have nominated an occupation on the Critical Skills List (CSL).
3.Applications from persons who are sponsored by family and whose occupation is listed on the CSL.
4.Applications from persons who are neither nominated nor sponsored but who have nominated an occupation on the CSL.
5.Applications from persons who are nominated by a State/Territory government and have not nominated an occupation on the CSL.
6. (i) Applications from persons whose occupations are listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List; and
(ii) Applications from persons who are sponsored by family and have not nominated an occupation on the CSL.
7.All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.
The processing priorities have changed due to the needs of the current Australian economy. The Department of Immigration has notified that applications that do not nominate an occupation in the Critical Skills List (CSL), will face unprecedented delays. From Sri Lanka, three main occupations can be highlighted in the CSL list. They are ICT occupations of specializations such as JAVA, C, Network Security, ERP systems, Data warehousing, Linux, .Net technologies, J2EE, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SIEBEL, Solaris and Unix; Accounting/ Finance and Engineering. The processing time for applicants who are professionals for the above areas can be short as 12 months. In addition, this processing can be expedited further by obtaining a State Nomination.
Applying for a State Nomination has its pros and cons. While this assists to fast track the process, this can limit your choice of city to one. Lately, obtaining state nomination has become difficult due to the large amount of applications received. Any applicant, who is interested in obtaining a nomination must visit the website of the specific state and confirm if their skills are needed in that particular state. It is important to know that the state specific requirements are different from the Federal requirements. Often the case is the states set a very high standard by increasing the IELTS marks, work experience requirement and raising other standards such as encouraging migrants with sound financial backgrounds.
If you are keen on obtaining a nomination, it is best to act as promptly as you can. Should you require advice on how to obtain a state nomination, please contact us, or even drop by to the office to see us in person.
Question: Mr. Amal Mahanama of Werahera
I have obtained a skills assessment for my occupation. However, I could not score the required IELTS marks. I have done IELTS three times and my score is overall band 6. Do I have any option here.
Answer
Currently, across the board, all applicants must score a minimum of 6 in each band. On 1 July 2009, technical occupations are also required to score the same as professionals. This has put a lot of strain of particularly the technical applicants. Mr. Mahanama has not stated his profession, although I can say very little can be done in this situation. Overall 6 is called the " Consessional English" in migration terms.
You can apply for a designated area temporary visa with this score if you have blood relative in Australia. If you are independent, you are left to seek a state/ territory nomination to support your application. However, currently there is only one state that will consider sponsoring applicants who have "Consessional English'. You may seek a nomination from the Northern Territory, if your occupation is a technical one. If your occupation is in the professional category, you will need to score 6 in each component.
Question: T. W. C Kannangara of Colombo 3
I am a civil engineer with only 10 months of work experience. Can I migrate to Australia
Answer: The answer is yes in short. However, please note at the time of lodging your visa application with the department of Immigration, you must have 12 months of work experience. You will start the process with the skills assessment, by writing a comprehensive report called the CDR.
You will qualify to migrate as an Engineer, if you have a bachelors degree from a recognized university. While writing the report, you must sit for an IELTS test and score 6 in each band.
Current processing time for your skills assessment is about 3 months. By the time you write the report, obtain the IELTS result and receive the assessment, one of your work experience segment will be completed.
Start the process now. Currently, your occupation in the third level of priority. If you seek a state/ territory nomination, you could receive first level of priority.
Question: Ms. L.Y. Pararasasegaram
I am 54 years old and possess the following qualifications Fellow Member of the ICASL, CMA, Australia, MBA, USQ Australia. Currently I am serving as Finance Manager in a Leading Blue Chip company and I have worked in this company for thirty years.
Please let me know my eligibility to apply for migration to Australia.
Answer: Ms. Pararasasegaram is over 45 years, she will not qualify for a visa under the skilled migration programme. |
E-mail