Skilled migrant visas face priority processing

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Created on Friday, 13 July 2012 13:09

Written by Editorial staff

Priority processing has been introduced for skilled migration visas in Australia, which should help streamline the finalisation process for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

The changes came into effect on July 1 and will see visas being considered in order of priority, as determined by minister for immigration and citizenship Chris Bowen.

The DIAC anticipates that the amended visa approval system will help to target skills that are in the highest demand across a variety of sectors.

Meanwhile, the changes are also expected to facilitate fluctuations in the economic climate and make sure that the needs of the Australian economy are met in terms of labour availability.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS), Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) and other points-based skilled migration visas will be affected by the reforms.

Individuals who are sponsored through the RSMS initiative will receive the highest priority, followed by those sponsored under the ENS program.

Workers nominated by a state or territory government are to receive the third-highest priority level, while those who have a nominated position on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) are ranked fourth.

All other applications are to be considered after these programs have been assessed.

Applications made through SkillSelect that are for visa subclasses 186, 187, 188, 189, 190 and 489 will be given the highest level of priority within each of their prospective processing groups.

SkillSelect was also launched on July 1 and gives potential workers the chance to put forward an Expression of Interest when they are considering moving to Australia.

Employers can then get in touch asking them to make an application for a specific job, or inviting them to apply for a related visa.

State and territory government also have the power to invite individuals to make applications.

Changes to the SOL were introduced on July 1, so applicants need to make sure their occupation is included on the list for this year.

Bricklayers, chemists, wall and floor tilers and audiologists have been removed from the 2011 document and have instead been replaced with optometrists, metallurgists, production managers in the mining sector and computer network and systems engineers.

The amended list is only applicable to new independent, unsponsored and family sponsored skilled migration applications made after July 1.

Anyone who filed their application prior to this date in relation to one of the now removed job titles will still have their paperwork processed with regard to the previous list.