Australian Immigration - General Skills Migration Program

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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.

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

Viza Skilled

“Emigrarea cu drept de lucru se face prin intermediul vizei „Skilled Migration”, adresata celor care sunt calificati intr-o profesie. In Australia nu se emite „Permis de munca”, precum in SUA sau in alte tari. Pentru Australia, totul este inclus in sistemul de acordare a vizei. Viza „Skilled Migration” permite celor care o acceseaza sa lucreze si sa locuiasca in Australia atat timp cat doresc.
          Pentru obtinerea vizei, aplicantii trebuie sa fi absolvit o institutie de invatamant superior sau o scoala de meserii. Angajatorii cauta acum forta de munca inalt calificata. Calificarea obtinuta in urma absolvirii acestei institutii sau scoli trebuie sa se numere printre profesiile recunoscute de catre Consiliul Australian de Evaluare. Angajatorii cauta acum forta de munca inalt calificata. De asemenea, o conditie necesara este experienta de munca, experienta care poate fi si in alt domeniu decat profilul candidatului. Profesia trebuie, in mod obligatoriu, sa fie inscrisa in Nomenclatorul Profesiilor (Skilled Occupations List SOL). Cele mai cautate profesii, in momentul de fata sunt: ingineri, specialisti in computere, farmacisti, radiologi, medici, psihologi, piloti, psihoterapeuti,traducatori, lacatusi, strungari, mecanici auto, electricieni etc.
          Conditiile pentru acest tip de viza sunt: cunoasterea limbii engleze la nivel avansat, varsta maxima de 45 de ani, experienta de minim 12 luni din ultimele 18 luni dinaintea aplicarii.
          Imigrantii nu sunt selectati pe criterii de rasa, sex sau apartenenta la o anumita cultura. In schimb, sunt foarte importante calificarea, starea sanatatii si situatia financiara.
          Departamentul Australian pentru Imigrari si Afaceri Multiculturale (DIMIA) nu acorda vize pentru cei care nu sunt calificati intr-o profesie, deoarece s-a constatat ca acestia nu pot tine pasul cu schimbarile standardelor pietei fortei de munca.
          Cei care doresc sa aplice pentru o viza in Australia o pot face in mod independent, fara a apela la o institutie de consultanta specializata, insa, in conditiile unei legislatii modificate constant, acest gen de consultanta devine o necesitate. Exista doua tipuri de ajutor specializat: cel al unui avocat sau al unui agent de imigrare. Ambii trebuie sa fie insa acreditati de catre Departamentul Australian al Emigrarii. ”

articol initutulat „O tara atractiva pentru emigranti: Australia” Autor: Mihaela Bratu, munca.ro

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Position of Foreign Graduates in the Australia Job Market

Australia is no doubt a great place to work for career improvement.

Employers in the Australian job market use aggressive strategies to target candidates. Because of the prosperous job availability in Australia, for many overseas students, Australia remains a destination of choice.

Many organizations in Australia prefer to take foreign graduates termed as untapped talent pools, particularly those awaiting permanent residency.

Are Foreign graduates Succeful in the Australian Job Market?

But foreign graduates must be aware of the job market in Australia. This would help foreign graduates to equip and qualify themselves well and make their entry in the Australian job market easier.

Recently, research was conducted by professor of Monash University and his assistant on how successful foreign migrants graduating from Australian universities are in the job market. The research was done taking a wide period of 5 years from 2001 to 2006. The result of the report stated that only a very minimum number of qualified foreign graduates for work areas are successful in job market. The report gave a statistical analysis that Australia is occupied in majority by Chinese foreign graduates. The Chinese students mostly take Accounts as their major and among these successful Chinese Accounts graduates, only twenty two percent were successful in the Australian job market.

However, Australian accounting graduates very easily succeed with flying colors in the Australian job market.

The Key to an Australian Immigrants Success in the Australian Job Market

The main reason for this being, overseas students whose first language is not English are graduating from Australian universities. This makes them difficult to succeed in Australian job market for which English communication takes the highest priority.

To overcome this position of foreign graduates in Australian job market the first step was taken by IDP Education Australia. They introduce the plan of testing the English skill twice for foreign students. The English skill tests are done before students get enrolled for graduation in Australia and after their graduation is successfully completed. This would enable the students to know their position in English skill and improve them for getting higher success rate in job market starting from their first year of education. In fact, many Australian universities started insisting that foreign graduates should take remedial communication courses. This helps the foreign graduates to achieve professional standards before they could complete their studies and enter job market.

Proof That Good Jobs Are Available for Foreign Graduates

The number of permanent skilled migration granted to graduates is increasing in recent days which is solid proof to show that good jobs are available for foreign graduates in Australia.

The statistical report on the number of permanent skilled migration granted for foreign graduates in the period 2005-06 is 18,226 which numbered greater than the previous year. This proves that its a healthier environment for foreign graduates in the job market.

Many companies take different steps to boost their chances of attracting foreign graduates. Some steps taken by organizations in this direction are graduate recruitment campaigns, short-term project placements, careers fairs and so on. Having wide opportunities open, it is in the hands of foreign graduates to qualify themselves well for their best fit in the job market.

Thus, foreign graduates, if they take steps to improve their pipeline of talent, they are sure to get well placed in the glorious job market in Australia.

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

Thinking of Moving to Australia?

I have never been traveling around much. So people around me were shocked when they came to know that I am going to move to Australia. I think that moving to Australia is the best experience my family and I have had in our life. Australia has a high rate of immigrants and one of the main factors for this is its low population density.

There were lots of formalities and clearances during our process of moving to Australia. Luckily we sailed all this smoothly though with some time spending on each activity. We had our immigration cleared as part of rules that all persons arriving in Australia on board a vessel need to be immigration cleared. After our arrival to Australia, an officer scrutinized our Passport and Incoming Passenger Card after which we were directed to Customs officer for further clearance.

There is something known as skilled visa Read more

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Journey 3 - From UK Fireman to “Real Aussie”

Our journey started 4.5 years ago.

My partner and I have decided to leave the UK, I already had a sister living in Australia and have visited a few times, the beaches, the laid back life style, the weather and all the possibilities for outdoor activities – surfing, scuba diving etc were very tempting so we decided to make the move.

We were both firefighters in the UK and enjoyed our work but apparently this was not in demand in Australia so we had a problem with skilled migration.

We hired a migration agent and were advised that our best option is to study in Australia and we were told that if we structure our studies properly, we may be able to apply for Skilled Migration when we graduate and this will enable us to get our Australian permanent residence.

It was a long term plan but if nothing major changed in the law then we had a good chance. We decided to go for it and I decided to study to be a Pastry cook.

I’ve always enjoyed baking and thought the move to Australia would be a good time for a career change.

We started the process of getting all our documents together to get them ready for lodgement to Australia House in London but then the worst happened.

In the medical tests that we had to do for the student visa application, the doctors discovered a cyst in my chest. I then had to start a series of additional tests to discover the nature of the cyst and I was later told that the cyst needs to be removed for me to satisfy the health requirements for the visa.

My studies had to be deferred by 6 months, I was operated and was at home for 4 months, no fire fighting and no scuba diving…….

All this time I tried to keep my spirits high and I’ve done pretty well I think.

I recovered well and got the go ahead from the specialist.

Finally we were able to lodge the application which was approved pretty quickly and we arrived to Australia, settled down in the beautiful Sunshine Coast in QLD. Have I mentioned the great beaches ???

We sold our house in the UK and that gave us enough funds to buy a plot of land and build our home, we truly felt at home and were very settled.

My studies were lots of fun, for 2 years I studied all aspects of pastry and baking and I found work very easily working in a few local cafes and bakeries, getting enough work experience which after completing my Certificate III enabled me to apply for a skills assessment with the TRA and nominate the occupation of Pastry Cook. Once that was completed our migration agent lodged our permanent residence application through Skilled Migration and that was approved after 6 months.

We couldn’t believe it! We were Australian permanent residents at last!!!! We already felt very much at home here so that made us feel like real Aussies….

So yes, it was quite a long journey because of our specific circumstances and we had our share of trials and tribulations along the way mainly because of my health issue but looking backwards we are grateful for the decision we took.

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

Journey 2 - Next Top Chef in Australia

I love what I do, I’m a chef.

I haven’t always been a chef, I actually used to be an engineer but that was for a very brief period of time until I discovered cooking.

I decided to do an 8 months cooking course and turn my passion into my work. I studied everything I could including pastry and baking and chocolate making and while I was studying I started working in a few restaurants to gain as much experience as possible.

It’s not easy but it’s like an addiction – if you love it you can’t stop!

And so I was working for over 6-7 years as a cook in France and life was good and busy.

One day my best friends left for Australia…

That was very sad but it was their dream so I was happy for them that they had found the courage to follow their dream.

We were very involved in their process and knew about it a long time ago, once they got their permanent visa in Australia they were trying to convince us to come and join them. They immigrated to Sydney and it took them a while to settle down and feel at home there but after a few months they were very happy there. They both found good jobs and bought a house and wanted us to join them.

My wife and I were trying to have a baby so we felt we have to be near our families in France and can’t leave.

We’ve never been to Australia but they are our best friends and a bit after our baby was born we decided to try and make the move and immigrate to Australia and be near our friends.

We heard that life is much easier in Australia and my dream is to open a restaurant and chocolaterie in Sydney. I know French restaurants are very popular in Australia.

Australia for me represents the land of unlimited opportunities.

Something seems very primal there, more detached from the chaos of the rest of the world and that’s a good thing.

My friends recommended we use the same migration agent they used as they were very happy with their service so we ended up doing that.

As I’m a chef we had to go through Skilled Migration. First we had to get my skills assessed with the TRA, that’s the skills assessing body that assesses cooks and chefs in Australia.

I had to provide very detailed letters of reference about my work experience and had to prove my qualifications and it took me a few months to prepare the documents but eventually we completed this stage and I was assessed by the TRA as a Cook.

The next hurdle was the IELTS, I had to do an English test but studying English wasn’t easy, when you work full time and have a baby and the last time you used your English was when you were 18 then it becomes rusty you know…. So I had to take a private English teacher and study seriously. I did the IELTS and passed it the second time.

Our visa application was lodged 6 months ago and we’re eager to get our permanent residence and arrive to Australia as permanent residents.

No matter what the outcome is, I am happy that we had the courage to go all the way.

I’ve always believed that if we want something we should go for it so that we don’t regret later that we haven’t given it a try.

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

Journey 1 - Destination Australia

It all started 10 years ago…

This feeling of wanting a change in life, of wanting to do something different, experience the world and what it has to offer and not be stuck in a main stream life of work, mortgage, the mundane routine that so many of us go through…

So we decided to leave our very secure jobs and buy an around the world ticket with the final destination being Australia…….

Why Australia ?

We got the feeling that the people there are nice, life not as stressed as in other countries but above all there was this mystery that appealed to us, we really knew nothing about it and this “unknown” was very attractive.

We didn’t know if we wanted to immigrate to Australia, the word immigration can sound pretty daunting doesn’t it… we decided we wanted to spend some time in Australia and our first destination was Melbourne. An amazing city that was quite embracing from the very beginning so after 2 months we realized we have to find out how we can stay there.

Our dream was to become Australian permanent residents, we knew that would enable us to stay in Australia, live and work here and have a life without limitations because nothing is really possible on a tourist visa except traveling.

We felt we needed the grounding and the legal basis of living in this amazing country. Finding the right migration agent was quite a journey but we ended up choosing somebody who seemed reliable, professional and caring enough and we felt comfortable to work with. Skilled Migration seemed to be the best option for us as I was an accountant and accountants were on high demand (appeared on the MODL).

We first had to go through the skills assessment process so I had to get my skills assessed so that I could nominate the occupation of Accountant. At that stage we felt very stressed in time and going back home was not an option so we decided to apply for a skills assessment with all assessing bodies even though only one is enough so we applied to CPAA ,ICAA and Vetassess too (in case the first 2 are not successful).

We were very stressed in time as I wasn’t working and one of the basic requirements in Skilled Migration is to have recent work experience so in our case time was of high essence.

Luckily the first stage was completed successfully and all the skills assessments were positive and once that was completed our visa application was lodged.

It took about 10 months overall but our stress levels were pretty high, I remember I used to think that our determination and perseverance is being tested here…….

Getting the visa approved was one of the happiest days in our lives, it was too good to be true! We had to go overseas and get our visas evidenced in our passports at the Australian embassy in New Zealand and there was something magical about coming into Australia with a permanent visa in your passport and later with an Australian passport. We felt very proud!

Today, 8 years after our move and Australian citizens for a few years by now I can say that migrating to Australia was one of the best decisions we made in life that opened the door to many options. We took a leap of faith and it was definitely worth it!!!

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1