Australian Immigration - General Skills Migration Program

August 11, 2008 by Mira

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source: Flickr author: jεƒ saƒı

If you possess the work skills Australia requires to fill vacancies in their labor force then the GSM Program is for you.

If you wish to live, work and play in Australia but are not sponsored by an employer then GSM is the way to go. GSM stands for General Skilled Migration. It is an excellent program and a very successful one.

If your skills match those on Australia’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL) and you have a good command of English, then you have more chance of success.

Prerequisites for Australia’s GSM Program:

There are various prerequisites for applying the program. They are:

Age: you must be over 18 years of age and below 45 years of age.
Language: you must be able to speak English well. This is the main prerequisite for anyone applying for this program.
Skill-set: you must possess skills in the areas of shortage with qualifications and recent experience in the field in which you are applying.

The qualifications and experience needed for an occupation can be cross checked in the Australia’s Skilled Occupation List - SOL for short.

Recent Changes

Significant changes were made to the GSM program in September 2007. These include:

a greater proficiency in English will be required, with 25 points going to those who score well in the testing system
a greater emphasis is now put on skills experience, with bonus points only being awarded if you have 12 months experience in your nominated occupation
there will be a new temporary work visa for graduates to enable them to increase their work experience
the GSM visa structure was simplified, instead of 15 subclasses there are now only 9: 5 for Onshore applications and 4 for Offshore applications. This should make it easier to identify which visa subclass will work best for you

GSM Categories:

There are two basic categories for those applying through the GSM program: Onshore for those already on Australian territory with current visas, and Offshore for those applying from abroad.

There are four sub-catgories in each: sponsored, independent, Regional sponsored (provisional) and graduate, with the Onshore having the additional category of a permanent Regional sponsored visa.

Applicants can be sponsored by an Australian relation or an Australian state or territory government. Independent applications are from those with the right skills and experience required. A graduate visa is for those from recognised foreign universities whose skills are required by Australia. In each case there are certain requirements that must be met and you should check each carefully.

The evaluation of applications for Australia’s General Skilled Migration Program is generally done using a points based system. To qualify, you must score the appropriate level of points set by the system. If you score a little less than required, your application may, in some cases, be placed in a reserve pool and may be considered at some future point.