Name: D.G. Rajaratnam
Question: I am a 30-year old holding a BSc in IT, postgraduate Diploma in IT and an MSc in IT. What are my possibilities of migrating to Australia?
Answer: Mr. Rajaratnam's qualifications are sufficient. We only take his Degree as the basic qualification. In some applicants, we find the MSc. without a basic degree. In this event, the MSc can be considered as the basic degree. However Mr. Rajaratnam has not mentioned his work experience. An IT professional having a degree level qualification, must have work experience of at least four years. This experience can be a combination of pre and post qualification. It is mandatory that all applicants have 12 months post qualified work experience. Let's think in this occasion that the applicant possesses 4 years of IT experience.
 |
There are numerous IT specializations one can be assessed for. In the Australian Computer Society guidelines, there is a kit of comprehensive information that contains all occupations and their descriptors. You must go through the duty list for each occupation and nominate your occupation. If you have a specialization in C, java, CISSP, Data Warehousing, J2EE, Linux, .Net Technologies, Network Security, PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP SIEBLE, Solaris, Unix, you will nominate your occupation as 2231-79 (nec). If you have been working in one of the above specializations for more than 12 months in the immediate past, you will be able to claim an extra 15 points. Having an IT specialization will open up a world of possibilities.
The main advantage is that a specialized IT occupation is considered to be in the Critical Skills List (CSL). Nowadays, occupations in the CSL take the least time to process. On occasions where a state government nomination is obtainable, CSL occupations can be processed in less than 6 months. This direction was introduced in September this year.
If you do not have any of the specializations, there are many other options too. Migration to Australia is based upon a point tested scheme. If you are sponsored by a blood relative or a state government, you are required to score only 100 points for your attributes. When applying as an independent applicant, one must score at least 120 points. For Mr. Rajaratnam's benefit, I shall explain how he will score the required points. Given the fact he has turned 30 years, points for age is 25, IT occupations are given 60 points, meeting the ACS requirements mean he will score 10 points for having more than three years work experience.
It is mandatory that all applicants sit for an IELTS test and score 6 in each component in the General test, which will give him 15 points. At this stage, his total score stands at 110 and he qualifies for an Australian sponsored visa. I am not aware if he has a blood relative to sponsor, but I am confident we can obtain a state government nomination for his skills. If he has one of the above specializations, he will score a further 15 points, which makes his total 125, qualifying him for an Independent visa.
Name: R. Sutharshan
Question: I have lodged my visa application with the Department of Immigration in January 2008. I am an Accountant by profession. I have still not heard about the status of the application. As it has taken so much time, does this mean the visa will not come through?
Answer: As the question itself is very common, the situation is common too. Do not be afraid that your application is refused. There are applications lodged in year 2007 where processing is not complete. If you are an Accountant although it is in MODL, this can take a very long time, if you have not obtained CSL recognition. What this means is, if you score 7 in each band, and your occupation is an Accountant, you will receive priority processing. No communication from the Department of Immigration means, your IELTS score stands at a minimum of 6 in each band. To expedite the process, you could re-sit for an IELTS test and try scoring 7 in each band. If you need to further prioritize the process, after obtaining 7 in each component, a state government nomination becomes a reality. If re-sitting for an IELTS test is not an option, I am afraid the processing time cannot be predicted.
Name: Nilmini Kulatunga
Question: I am a 28 year old holding an Arts degree from the University of Kelaniya. I am employed in an NGO, primarily focusing on assisting farmers to enhance their crops. I worked for this organization for two and a half years. Can I migrate?
Answer: Nilmini is in a very lucky position as the Agricultural Advisory profession has once again come into the attention of the South Australian government. Agricultural profession was once in very much demand; however, these occupations were taken off the nomination list from most state governments and applicants had the only option of seeking a nomination through the government of Northern Territory. With the recent changes to the nomination list, the government of South Australia has brought in the occupation back. What this means is, if you are in an Agricultural advisory or scientist occupations, you have the opportunity to migrate.
Believing her experience is post qualification, although her Degree is in Arts, there are no problems in obtaining comparable skills assessment for agricultural profession. However, specialist science related occupations may raise the question as to how duties are executed without the relevant knowledge. But Agricultural advisory will have no issues of this nature. Nilmini's skills must be assessed initially and then proceed to a government nomination.
As mentioned in one of my previous articles, anyone trying to obtain government nomination must put time and effort for the application. Also, IELTS becomes mandatory. Nilmini will have sufficient points to qualify for a government sponsored visa for which the pass mark is 100. This is how it works: age 30 points, occupation 50 points, IELTS (general 6 in each band) 15 points. This will total to 95 points and she is awarded 10 points for the government nomination. Therefore her total stands at 105 points. I wish her all the best. |
E-mail