Extra points for skilled migrants from November 2019
Migrants seeking to apply for Australia’s Independent skilled visas could claim extra points from 16 November 2019, when the Government’s revised points system commences.
Details of the revised points allocations were released under the Migration Amendment (New Regional Skilled Visas) Regulations 2019, following the Government’s review of Australia’s Regional Skilled Visas.
Australia’s points-tested visas require migrants to be skilled and qualified in an occupation on a relevant Skilled Occupation List to receive an invitation to apply. Points are accumulated based on the applicant’s ability to meet skills, age, experience and English language requirements, amongst other criteria.
Changes to the Points Test
The new points test will award more points to applicants who:
Have a spouse or de-facto partner who meets the skills requirements (10 points);
Are nominated by a State or Territory Government agency to live and work in regional Australia (15 points);
Are sponsored by a family member that lives in regional Australia (15 points);
Have a specialist education qualification (10 points).
New Points Test Categories
The Amendment also introduced new categories for points allocations, which means applicants may also receive extra points for:
Applying with a dependent spouse or de-facto partner who has competent English and is not an Australian permanent resident or citizen (5 points);
Applying independently without a spouse or de-facto partner or with an Australian citizen or permanent resident partner (10 points);
New Points Test Rankings
Under the changes, the Government advised it will also prioritise the way it issues invitations for points-tested visas in the below order:
Primary applicants (with or without a skilled spouse or de-facto partner).
Primary applicants with a spouse or de-facto partner with competent English, but who do not meet age and skills requirements for skilled partner points.
Primary applicants with a partner who is ineligible for either competent English or skilled partner points. These applicants will be ranked below other applicants with the same number of points.
Immigracious | Migration Agent Perth
The new points test will particularly benefit migrants wanting to work in regional areas as 15 points will become available for this. It will also benefit singles and those with a skilled partner.
However, to receive an invitation by the Government, migrants will still need to compete with others lodging an Expression of Interest for their occupation. It is therefore important to claim the maximum number of points available to you.
The process to correctly claim points can be complex and migrants must also be able to validate claimed points with substantial levels of supporting evidence. Immigracious can assist with identifying how you may be able to maximise your points. Simply contact us on 08 6263 4406 or hello@immigracious.com.au
Source:
Immigracious’ Registered Migration Agents
Migration Institute of Australia
SBS News
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