Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia announces changes to the Australian immigration programs when ever they feel it is necessary. They had introduced a new immigration online application called SkillSelect. The program was rolled on the 1st of July 2012. The application will help the department to take visa decision quickly and efficiently.
Before July 2012, Australian immigration used to have six skilled migrant Australian visa subclasses:
1.Visa Applications in Australia
subclass 885 (skilled independent)
subclass 886 (skilled nominated/sponsored)
subclass 487 (skilled regional sponsored)
2. Visa Applications outside Australia
subclass 175 (skilled independent)
subclass 176 (skilled nominated/sponsored)
subclass 475 (skilled regional sponsored)
To reduce the time taken and cumbersome, the Australian Department of Migration has merged these six and introduced 3 subclasses, starting from the 1st July 2012.
The new skilled visa subclasses are listed below:
subclass 189 (skilled independent) (will replace subclasses 885 and 175)
subclass 190 (skilled nominated) (will replace subclasses 886 and 176)
subclass 489 (skilled regional) (will replace subclasses 487 and 475)
SkillSelect is an online application and has been specifically designed to motivate state sponsorship and employer sponsorship. This will help Australia to fill the current skills shortages, Australia is experiencing. There has been a significant change in the manner that visa applicants will apply for the Australian skilled independent, skilled sponsored and skilled regional sponsored visas.
The applicant has to first fill and submit an expression of interest (EOI). The EOI is a proof to demonstrate that your details have been successfully submitted in the central database and can be seen by employers of Australia. You are now eligibility for Australian skilled worker visa.
The information given by the foreign national who is intending to come to Australia is thoroughly reviewed. Department verifies and reviews the information provided by the visa applicant. Any false or misleading information will result in cancel of application, visa refusal or potential ban from the system.
SkillSelect will ensure that the skilled migration program is beneficial for Australian economic needs. It should support the Australian Government and help them manage the application for skilled migration. This would reduce the visa processing time significantly.
SkillSelect will also help in addressing regional skill shortages of various parts of Australia. SkillSelect is an online application which allows willing migrants to migrate to Australia and live and work in any part of Australia. Employers will also benefit by filling up the required position in time and as per the set guidelines.
Australian visa applicants should take advice and documentation help from an experienced and well known Australian immigration consultancy. This will take their visa approval chance much higher.