It is no secret that there is a revamp of the General Skills Migration (GSM) to Australia in mid of this year. This has caused calamity in the Australian migration industry and the magnitude of the repercussions from the 8 February changes are yet to be identified.
The Migration Occupations In demand List (MODL) was revoked on the 8 February and the Minister for Immigration decided to cap the unprocessed applications lodged prior to September 2007, returning almost 20000 applications.
These are the sudden changes we experienced. There are few more changes proposed, which we could affect thousands of applications yet to be lodged.
New Skills Occupations List (SOL)
Current Skills Occupations List (SOL) will take a new look and the new SOL will be announced on the 30 of April. This will give applicants some preparation time. When looking at Skills Australia report, one could get a picture of the proposed SOL or the Future Skills List (FSL). Clearly, there are occupations that are not on this list, which has counted for a large amount of skills migrants from the subcontinent.
The question is, do we really have time to complete the initial stage of the migration and lodge a valid visa application before the changes come into effect. In the process of migration, one must complete few significant steps before being eligible to lodge the visa.
It is mandatory all applicants assess their skills and sit for an IELTS test and score the required marks to receive the pass mark. Generally the skills assessment is taken approximately three months to come through. If we take it as IELTS could be completed while awaiting skills assessment results, we will meet the mid-year deadline. However, it is as not as simple one would think. As MODL was abolished, over 70 percent of the applicants will now have to seek the state/ territory sponsored migration option.
Taking this factor into account, most of the applicants, now must go through a three stage process, opposed to an earlier two stage process. Obtaining a government nomination, can take anywhere between 2 to 5 months. Logically thinking, if an applicant must go through the state/ territory nomination process, meeting the deadline becomes impossible. Therefore, there will be a considerable amount of applicants that will miss the boat in the event the new SOL does not have their occupation. Only hope these applicants may have is to rely on the state/ territory government to sponsor them and through a nomination make a visa application.
Currently, it is a mandatory requirement that the nominated occupation to be on the SOL. However, the changes have been proposed for the State/Territory governments to have more power in selecting their migrations. It is expected the legislations to be amended in this respect.
Points system review
Another major change proposed is looking into a new point system. We have received some indication that awarding more points to highly skilled migrants considered in all aspects. For example, an applicant having a contributing Master degree or a PhD may obtain more points in the proposed systems. Similarly, demonstrating outstanding English language skills will be another contributing factor.
It is also considered awarding more points for applicants with extensive work experience. Certain other factors such as age, spouse skills and blood relative sponsorship will be closely looked at when deciding the new points scheme. We are yet to know the new pass mark for visas under GSM programme.
State Migration Plan and new priority processing
Australian government has identified that the migration plan in existence is less effective in addressing the critical skills shortage issue that the country is facing. In the near future, the State Government will have more powers to choose their own migrants.
A State Migration Plan will be established, where states will identify the real need of skills. Currently, under the Skilled Sponsored permanent and temporary schemes, the state governments are able to sponsor migrants, although Federal system cannot be over-ruled by the State system.
However, in the proposed new State Migration Plan, the states are given certain powers to sponsor migrants even though the occupations may not be on the SOL the federal government has proposed. We are yet to know the legislative instruments that will allow us to advice clients. Critical Skills List (CSL) processing will come to an end with the new changes taking place and a new priority processing is likely to come into place with the changes.
What does the future hold
Looking at the proposed changes, we are compelled to come to the conclusion that the policy of accepting skilled people to Australia will be based upon State/ Territory specific requirements. The number of the independent migrants will become a minority, while States will start sponsoring people with high and extensive skills to address the skills shortage. Currently, in state sponsored migration system, the applicants are obliged to live and work in the sponsored state for two years honoring sponsorship obligations.
States in Australia will compete to attract migrants, and this competition can lead to obtaining a Permanent Resident visa relatively easier. However, in the proposed system, it can be difficult if more migrants are state sponsored to treat the Australian PR visa an insurance policy that is sometimes abused. I believe the new system will be a positive one for both the potential migrants and Australia, as it will be targeted towards the highly skilled and the processing stream lined. |
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