Skilled Independent Visa Application

Applying to migrate to Australia under the General Skilled Migration subclass is assessed under a points based system whereby basic criteria must be met and additional points can be awarded in certain areas.

General Skilled Migration to Australia offers applicants the opportunity to migrate to Australia on the basis of their skills, work experience, english ability and educational background.

Points are awarded on various criteria including age, occupation, english, work experience.

The current pass mark required to lodge an application for permanent residency under the General Skilled Migration category is 120 points.

Duration: This visa entitles people immigrating to Australia to gain permanent residency status. After a four year period, providing relevant criteria have been met, Australian citizenship may be applied for.

Eligibility Criteria

Age: Applicants must be under 45 years of age.

English Language: All applicants must have sufficient english language ability to work in Australia. From September 1, applicants can also undertake a new english test (IELTS) to gain and extra 10 points if an overall score of 7 is achieved.

Skills & Qualifications (the main applicant)

Must meet the qualifications and/or work experience requirements under the relevant skills assessment body in their occupation.
Must nominate a skilled occupation that appears on the most recent version of the Skilled Occupations List.
Must have been in recent paid employment for at least 20 hours per week in any of the

Skilled Occupations List.

The following factors will provide additional support to an Australian Skilled Independent Visa application to gain the required points:

Family: General Skilled Migration applicants who have close relatives in Australia may be able to use these as "sponsors" in order to gain the necessary points test passmark in order to lodge an application.

High Demand Occupation (MODL)/Job Offer: An Australia Skilled Migration Visa applicant will receive additional points if their skills are listed as high demand. Additional points are awarded for a job offer in these high demand areas.

Australian Study: General Skilled Migration applicants who have undertaken successful study within Australia may be able to use these qualifications to support their application.

Spouse: The qualifications/work experience and close relatives of a spouse may be of support to a marginal Australian Skilled Independent Visa application.

Health & Character: Australia has strict health and character requirements that must be met before any permanent visa of more than 12 months will be granted. Applicants intending to apply under the Skilled Independent Migration category will be required to:

Undergo a medical examination and chest X-ray undertaken by one of a panel of doctors selected by the Australian authorities, and;
Obtain a police clearance certificates for all countries in which you have lived for more than 12 months in the last 10 years.

Processing Times: The current processing time for General Skilled Independent Migration Visa is 9-12 months from the start of the application process. A WorkOz consultant will be able to advise you of the latest processing times.

Complete your Free Skilled Visa Online Assessment here