Ok cost agency + visa fees + assessment for me alone was about 27k MYR. Bear in kind I chose to engage them in September 2013, pre-GST I told them to take their time, and I didn't start document processing until 2014 (IELTS, VETASSESS etc etc).

You can speak to Audrey, she's really nice and she remembers her clients well. I mentioned my friend's name, not knowing if she would remember, but she did, and asked how him & his wife were etc.

Like some of the sifus here have mentioned, it is definitely cheaper to DIY, if you are willing to read up extensively. I didn't have the time as I was working full-time & doing my postgrad as well. Whatever time I had left was spent sleeping & on assignments. I had to save every bonus, every extra income for the agent's fees. But it was worth it for me, as my visa came through quicker than I expected.

Check the website for rough figures. It's I think $3.6k for the primary applicant, $1.8k for spouse and $900 per child, not including exams, assessments etc. Assuming you're doing it alone, the fees alone will already be close to RM14-15k not including agent fees.

I did mine some years back, but due to career and financial reasons I probably won't be going anytime soon. In short just make the decision to apply, and be flexible with what comes in the future whether or not you decide to move.

i think someone posted a link few pages back, most of the medical jobs are flagged for removal from the SOL for 2017

From personal experience & actual feedback - varies according to profession. Only 1% managed to secure a job prior to migrating (not official stats but based on cases shared by Malaysians in AU generally). 6 to 12 months is pretty usual for most migrants with some managed to secure in less than that specified timeframe. From personal experience - banking/finance/accounting roles seems to be quicker than most eg. 1 to 3 months.

Well it took about a year I reckon? I got the EOI very quickly; within 10 days of the invite, and then visa took about 55 days after the invite was accepted.

I'm still in Malaysia at the moment. I've no plans to move until at least 2018/2019 as I have commitments here for now and the job market everywhere isn't great. I work under the education sector so it's completely different from most here, and as such I have to complete a few research pieces before I can move, as I feel I have more opportunity since my current employer supports research (with grants/ travel allowance etc).

I did apply for 2 jobs but both weren't successful. I wasn't that keen for the 2, but I did try nevertheless as I wanted to gauge what the market was.

Well, no... 60 point is the minimum for many professions, you get invited sooner to apply for the visa to if u have more than 60 points

Check with an agent first on your eligibility if you are unsure, first consultancy is usually foc

Yes I do have to maintain a minimum number of days to maintain the PR, I have some time to think about this but the trajectory is leading away from the PR at this point. Again my situation is completely different from most other people, my point is that you need to be prepared for changes, sometimes drastic changes.

Good luck.

Took a year coz I told them to take their time as it would enable me to save money to make my payments, ha ha. It's actually easier when you're applying FROM Malaysia as opposed to being in Aus and doing it there.

Good to hear you've made contact; hope they'll be able to advise you on what your visa options are and I hope they're positive.

I can't remember but it was actually around 12,500 approx for the agent's fee.

I remember more or less, that it was a first payment of 5k, then smaller payments, every time they handled something for you.

wow don't even bother with them please.

That's very scary and downright dodgy.

The way GMS did it was fair; pay only when we start or finish something. Usually within 7 days of the date of the invoice.

They did make an exception with my last payment as i was awaiting for my cheque to clear and it took some time. Since I'd been very prompt with all my payments, they let me extend by a couple of days.

Yup, all the companies u have worked for with the relevant skills you are applying

That includes payslips and bank statements also, provide as much info as u can so that they won't question the validity of the facts u have submitted

There were unverified cases where DIBP will contact the previous employer to verify employment history (less so for multinationals but applicable in privately-owned companies). Couldn't recall the exact employemenr reference letter format but there might be a requirement to include contact details of HR or the equivalent/relavant department or person.

1) Yes if you can prove that you have substantial ties or investments in Australia or worst case you'll get a annually renewable RRV (i/o 5yrs). Not sure if a statement from employer would assist in that scenario though.

2) It boils down to whether are you an Australian tax resident. Tax rate will be based on your tax bracket.

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Internat...-tax-residency/

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Internat...loyment-income/

You should check the gov websites, like this:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/emplo...g-workers/pmsol

Not aware of the site you mentioned. It could be a migration agent or a scam, you gotta do your due diligence.

The list does contain mechanical engineer on the priority list, which I assume would mean they're still taking people in as long as they can score enough points.
As a few other have mentioned above, some occupations like accountants require up to 90 points. Randomly searching through migration agent sites show that you may require up to 80 points to qualify.

If there are a lot of applicants for the occupation - things may be slower, IMO. I received feedback after about 8-9 months when I applied about 6 years ago.
I did IELTS and scored about 7.5 if I recall correctly. You have to be excellent with English to score 8 and above.
Maybe someone with more recent experience will be able to provide better input.

https://iscah.com/news-page/

Read through this site, pretty accurate information.

Honestly it took me a few years to get to the 'happy/content' stage. I reckon my experience is similar to many other Msian migrants - renting a room with wife while jobless for 6 months was pretty stressful. Got my PR as a software engineer but couldn't even land a programming job for a junior role, much less something akin to my 5-6 years programming experience.

Found a job helping a tradie out with heavy lifting & computer work. Then found a data-entry job in a factory while helping out in the production lines.
Applied for an IT role when there was an opening and got it - now doing end-user support and projects (testing, training, docs, troubleshooting, etc).
Decent career progress, but probably stuck now and will need to branch out to specialise in project management or go back into programming.
Pretty content with my job but it's at a boring stage as I don't get to learn new things within the role besides new unsolvable problems with the software.

Overall I'm much happier as my work is very manageable and work hours no longer the 10-12 hours daily I used to put in as a programmer in Msia. Other than missing the food, friends and family back home - I do not regret my decision. Plenty of issues here too though, but I can live with em.

This is a new category, so nobody knows what "priority processing" means.

Standard processing has ballooned out to 1 full year now under Covid. Presumably under pmsol, it will be faster.