the 189 and 190 are open visas, no need job offers....

non pro-rata professions can get called for processing with 80 points....pro-rata professions varies, but you are looking at 90 of higher...so yes, it has become much harder...partly because of the high points from english people now gets with the pearson test....my niece just got 190 with 80 points in non pro-rata...but processing time ballooned out to a full year now....

the business visa works for business people already running an ongoing something....showing the millions needed is not difficult through several "padding" financial tricks....but for professionals, it doesn't work...

you get in with 60 points in the early 2010s....goes up to 70 points by mid 2010s....and now at least 80 points...almost impossible for new graduates unless you get the extra 5 points from 190 and 5 from oz qualifications, 5 from regional study....

or make sure you get the full 20 points from ielts 9.0 (all bands) or equivalent....

I got an email recently from imigration.com.au to say that mechanical engineers has been added to the priority migration list and I have been seeing so many ads to say that Australia is looking Doctors, Nurses and Engineers.

I wanted to check with the kind folk here...
a) how true is this news ?
b) is immigration.com.au a scam site ? is it worth it paying for an eligibility assessment ?
c) if your skill is in the migration priority list, how much faster does your application get process compared to regular application ?
d) I see there a few english test accepted for aussie visas, (IELTS, TOEFL, Pearsons, OET and Cambridge C1) which one of these are the easiest to get the highest points ?

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.

Thanks very much for that PMSOL website.

Yes I have been seeing the numbers being very high indeed.

Are you happy with you decision thus far, were you able to find a good career there ?

wow there are 5 EOIs with 100 points ! jesusss

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.

Hello my friend, you have actually done very well. Being first generation migrants are the hardest and when i look around the second-generation migrants (kids of my friends), their lives are a lot easier. Grandpa/grandma to mind the grandchildren and always pama to help around when work needs to be done around the house. In my generation as a first generation migrant, if you had children basically you are on your own and it is not easy!! Now at nearly 60, i can see a lot more things that we as first generation migrants went through compared to when i was younger and a lot more idealistic. Most of my retiree friends help their children financially (buy their first property) and most of us are still very thrifty because we have gone through a lot as first-generation migrants. A lot of my retiree friends are npw minding grandkids a few days a week as childcare is so bloody expensive in Aust!!

I find life in KL as a retiree a lot better than life in Sydney - food is everywhere!! Only disturbing thing is the Covid situation in Msia. Things are so much cheaper in KL compared to Sydney - even utility bills here are half what i pay in Sydney. Sydney is so crazily expensive!! What do you expect when minimum wage is A$20/hr?

Keep in touch.

Thanks for taking the time to pen this down my friend. I really appreciate it. Yes, i do hear this as the norm for msian expats, i've been hearing this since ive been thinking about this back in 2016. well done in not giving up and doing that it takes, i know its not as easy as you have made it sound. I am sure your older self and kids will thank you = )

Was wondering if anyone here had experience of getting their PR's when their occupation was in the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) ? and how much of a 'boost' you get in your application times or standards compared to the regular Skills Occupation List ?

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/emplo...g-workers/pmsol

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.

The easiest way to migrate is to graduate onshore in a profession where jobs are plenty. No break in between, graduate, start job, get adequate points, apply for PR, go up the "Australian experience" ladder.

Within my circle of family and friends who went on this pathway, are those in healthcare (doctors, nurses, optometrist, podiatrist etc), childcare, niche IT (eg cybersecurity).

Those doing generic courses like finance, Commerce, even IT and engineering etc, face considerable problems getting relevant jobs (ie based on your qualification, to be eligible for work experience points) and had to either retrain, or use other pathways (eg employer sponsored, partner etc).

Those applying from outside faces even more problems. Especially the lack of "Australian experience" which seems so vital for employers.

This post has been edited by limeuu: Jul 30 2021, 12:51 PM

i didnt realise this was a new list. thanks for your feedback.

This limeuu is very up-to-date with migration matters

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Aug 1 2021, 05:56 AM

Fellow Australian residents,

I was hoping to get some answers to my circumstances here.

Background: I have spent more than 10 years working in SG. As an investment banker my job is of high intensity and requires to be very client oriented - essentially on demand. No complain and job scope was great. Love the momentum, drive, grit, tenacity, the job demands, and ironically the accompanying politics. SG provides the ideal backdrop for me with its merit-based performance evaluation. That all changed with the arrival of our baby many months ago. My circumstances have been compounded by the travel restrictions. I think you parents should understand. Doing research on the internet of raising a kid in SG - is stressful to summarize it. I have the resources to put into this competition, but last I checked, at every progressive milestone, I was literally doing something else, which was fun, with my childhood back in Msia in the 80s and 90s. Concern, I am looking at options.

Question: In my mid 30s, I am looking at opportunities in Aus. Border is closed etc etc, but plan is for the next 2-3 years to move to Aus. I can apply for transfer via my employer (granted vacancy is available) or seek a residency in Aus on my own (not familiar and maybe hiring an immigration consultant would help?)My sibling is Australian if that helps with the profiling. Please could you share your experience on the best path? I am also not discounting moving back to Msia if Aus is impossible for my profile.

Hiring an immigration consultant might be the best bet to know your eligibility and chances.

Of course, if you can transfer via employer - that would be good as well as that essentially gets you the same/similar job in Australia.

From what I read in this forum, most have difficulty looking for a same/similar role as before.

A few basic points to note.

1) In Australia, the job is separate from the Visa, as in, you can get different visas which enables you in different ways and not necessarily tied to a job.

2) A independent migrations visa (189/190) is the best, as it allows you to move without a job. (Getting a job is a different matter). It's points based, and very high points are need. Go check how many points you can get.

3) If it's tied to a job, then your visa is employer sponsored and tied (now usually TSS Visa subclass 482), and limited to 2 or 4 years. No long term security. But many will use that as a stepping stone, and apply for independent visas while in Australia.

In all cases, your chances depends on if your profession is in a "skill shortage" list of some kind (it's confusing as different visas use different lists!). Such claimed profession needs both qualification verification and professional accreditation. Ie you need both the required qualification, and need registration with the appropriate professional bodies. And they have professional bodies for almost everything! Plumbers and bricklayers included.

https://www.tssimmigration.com.au/migration-news/blog/CSOL

Banker is not there. Financial "something" is.

Thanks. What’s your take on onshore vs offshore immigration consultant?

Thanks. The point based system is clear. Each criteria is accredited by relevant agency. Wouldn’t this take a long time? I am an engineering graduate but have not spent a single day in engineering. Took up professional finance paper and that’s it. For 189, how do the authorities evaluate subjectivities as such? Any platform to make our cases?

Work experience points must be relevant to claimed qualification. So you will not get any work experience points applying as an engineer. If applying under finance, your finance qualification needs to be accredited by the relevant professional body.

Like I said, they have professional bodies for almost everything, so you will need any claimed professional qualification(s) assessed to be "equivalent" and "acceptable", especially non-Australian ones.

The 189 process starts with submitting an EOI, with your claimed points. How soon you get called for processing depends on how many points you have, and whether the claimed profession is a "pro-rata" or not. Pro-rata means too many applicants more than the allocated numbers, so the points needed to get called is higher.

This site used to give up to date information, but lately, not so many updates, due to Covid slowing down processing.
https://iscah.com/news-page/

Wait time to get invites can thus range from "immediate" (when points are high enough) to 2 years (validity of EOI). That's roughly 100/85 points for pro-rata, and 90/80 points for non-prorata. Below these points, EOIs usually will expire before invite. You can submit another EOI after, but realistically, if you don't at least 80 points, the chance is practically zero.

This post has been edited by limeuu: Aug 15 2021, 08:12 PM