Moving to Australia – Part Four

A Recap on the Moving to Australia Series.

  1. In Part One you have the idea.
  2. In Part Two you decide on the basis of your application having looked at the various Visa options.
  3. In Part Three we looked at the paperwork and using a MARA approved Migration Agent.

Today we are going to agree the basis of your application with your migration agent. As I mentioned in Part Two, applications are generally based on a points system and I gave you a link to the government site where points are explained. It is a minefield, that’s why I suggested using a MARA registered migration agent in Part Three.

Calculate Your Points

But I am sure that many of you reading this just want some kind of quick idea about whether you are likely to qualify or not. To apply for and be granted a General Skilled Migration visa you will need to fulfil some basic requirements, and that means getting enough points.

To see how the points system works, visit this points calculator page.

But, as you will know from Part Two, there are at least 6 ways to move to Australia. I believe the above mentioned calculator is good for the Employer Sponsored Workers, Professionals and other Skilled Migrants, and Doctors and Nurses. But the Business People applications use a different point’s calculator available here.

Investor Retirement entry is totally differently, as is the Working Holiday Visa. Neither,  I’m pretty sure, work on points. Both are dependant on your financial clout. I have no idea how much money you need to qualify for an Investor Retirement but last I heard you need to prove you have a minimum $5,000 AUD available to you before you can come for a year on a Working Holiday Visa. You will not need a migration expert for a Working Holiday Visa.

Assuming your point’s total, if you did one, looks promising, it’s time to chat to your migration agent. Why? Two reasons. First, you want to know if they are prepared to represent you. Second, to formulate the basis for your application and in particular, what your skill is.

Skills Assessment

If you have a recognised skill with a recognised qualification, then the following probably doesn’t apply to you. But what if you have a skill that is possibly in demand here, but no recognised qualification?

You will need to be assessed by the relevant body. But which skill?

Here’s an example. Let’s say you work for a major finance company as a senior manager. Your job is to ensure that all your staff in your 200 strong department are up to speed on the company’s products. To do that, you give presentations to various groups within the department at regular intervals. Are you a trainer? Trainer is on the Skilled Occupation List. Your migration expert will help you decide that based on your experience and your job specification. Your expert may decide you should apply, instead, as a Finance Manager, also on the list.

Once the decision is made, that is not the end of it. The migration expert is only advising. The job of accepting your skill is down to the Australian authorities. Your job is to prepare your case, which involves getting references, copies of your job specification, detailing your work experiences (yes, you will need to write an essay) and explaining exactly what you do and how you do it.

More on that next week. Or read it now at Moving to Australia Part 5

Final note on the points system

It’s all well and good knowing whether you have enough points or not, but what do you do next? If you have enough points, you can apply for a visa, but which one?

If you don’t have enough points, does that mean you can’t possibly move to Australia? No it doesn’t! There are many ways to move here, it’s knowing how they all work, that’s the problem.

That’s where MARA registered migration agents earn their money.

I do now have a MARA registered migration agent working with me on this website, I’ve known him for a very long time now and I can tell you he is very good at his job.

If all this is a bit of a minefield to you, you might like to check out my Visa Assessment Service.

If you have enough points, my agent will let you know which options you have an recommend the best option for you. If you do not have enough points, he will recommend “pathways”, that’s things you can do to improve your points total so that you do qualify.

There are many ways to successfully move to Australia, my agent knows them all and as I say to so many people, if there is a way in for you, he will find it.

His service, of course, isn’t free, but it is worth every cent. Here’s the link again, you can read more about how it works on my Visa Assessment Service page.

For a full chronological list and brief description of all the posts in this series about how I moved to Australia, please visit my page How to Move to Australia.

Visa Assessment Service
{ 41 comments… add one }
  • GANESH May 7, 2017, 3:57 am |

    Hello Sir I’m Ganesh Chakor from India. I’m spray painter,car painter and blasting work but I don’t no this process so Sir how can I apply for Australia please reply me…?

  • SIMRANJEET SINGH June 27, 2015, 8:23 pm |

    I did Masters in Commerce, and 3 year work experience as a Assistant Professor at reputed private college in India. How can i apply for Australian PR, under skilled worker category?

  • duvi February 28, 2015, 9:08 pm |

    Dear Bob,

    I am thinking about moving to Australia. However, I have a question on the point assessment system.
    I have a Master in Electrical engineering and a PhD in Biomedical engineering. I was thinking in applying for the Biomed SOL. During my PhD, I had 5 years and one month experience. I was thus wondering whether the 5 year experience of PhD (which is considered in Belgium as professional experience too) could be considered for the skilled experience on top of the 20 pts for a PhD. Furthermore, the PhD should not be in the submitted SOL field to get the points, is that correct ?

    Best regards,

    Matthieu

    • BobinOz March 1, 2015, 9:55 pm |

      I am simply not able to answer these questions for you, only MARA registered migration agents are legally allowed to give this kind of advice. If you want an assessment of your situation, then you need to go through my Visa Assessment Service.

      Good luck, Bob

  • Rishi February 13, 2015, 10:30 pm |

    Hi,
    I am a registered pharmacist in india and i have a query regarding the process to be a registered pharmacist in australia.
    Is there any kind of exam for that?
    Is it possible for me to attend the exam in India or it is held in australia only?
    How many steps are there in exam and fees structure?

    Thanks

    • BobinOz February 16, 2015, 1:30 pm |

      I have no idea what the answers are to your questions, you should either ask a MARA registered migration agent or research it more in Google. Good luck, Bob

  • Purnima December 18, 2014, 7:30 am |

    Can one move with pharmacy tech occupation..?? Does that count as skilled occupation

  • Rajbir October 10, 2014, 7:23 pm |

    Dear bob,
    My name is rajbir.i am living in Australia from last five years on student visa. I have done b.sc nursing from my home country. Now I have cleared OET and applied for my nursing registration. Is there is any chance for me to apply PR on point system. Looking forward. Thanks.

    • BobinOz October 11, 2014, 12:28 am |

      There may be a chance, yes, but I couldn’t tell you what it is. That’s why I have my MARA agent conducting the Visa Assessment Service here on this website. If you want an accurate answer to that question, you need to get properly assessed.

  • Derek September 30, 2014, 1:19 pm |

    Hello everyone.
    First of all, I’d like to express my praise for the dedication to information on this website.
    I’m wondering if anyone here has used the points calculator recently. There is one section where you have to state how many years of experience you have gained WITHIN Australia. There is no option saying “0 years”. If you have never worked within Australia, and leave it blank, then, unfortunately, the points system will not give you an answer but rather tell you to fill in every single question.
    Does anyone know how to circumvent this technical problem?
    Many thanks,
    Derek

    • BobinOz October 1, 2014, 7:45 pm |

      I’m not sure which points calculator you are looking at Derek, but if you go to my page and look at my Points Calculator, it is not an interactive smarty-pants system at all, you can calculate your points with a pencil and a scrap of paper.

      That will certainly circumvent your technical problem 🙂

      Cheers, Bob

  • Rohan Ichaporia September 23, 2014, 4:02 pm |

    Hi Bob,

    You site has been really helpful. I am working as a digital marketing manager, but cannot figure out which skill set would i fall under.

    Any advise?

    Thanks.

    • BobinOz September 23, 2014, 7:19 pm |

      No, can’t help with that, going through the various skills lists is a skill in itself, it’s best done by a MARA registered migration agent. A good agent would be able to look at all of your skills and qualifications and experiences, and then choose an applicable occupation from the list, assuming there is one.

      This is certainly a big part of my Visa Assessment Service.

      Good luck, Bob

  • prince March 31, 2014, 1:01 am |

    me and my brother had applied for bachelor of accounting and master of mechanical engineering …..after completion of our course what will be the scope and salary or package in austrailia

    and second thing is both courses that i had applied for is in demand list can we get easily permanent residency in austrailia

    • BobinOz March 31, 2014, 2:53 pm |

      Both impossible questions to answer prince.

  • jessica zima October 20, 2013, 8:51 am |

    Hello bob,

    My boyfriend lives in perth and I live in the united states, yes I know the distance is hard but we are looking to allievate that soon by hopefully me moving to perth at some point. I am visiting in feb/march 2014 for a month and I work in the medical field as a nurse assistant, unforunately that job is not listed in the sol. So basically..what are my options? Just a working holiday visa :/??

    • BobinOz October 20, 2013, 10:04 pm |

      Yes, the WHV or Work and Holiday visa as it’s called for those from the USA is an option, but I really couldn’t tell you what other options you might have. My agent can though, see my Visa Assessment Service. Good luck, Bob

  • Laura stutt September 26, 2013, 3:17 am |

    I just wanted to say I have been gathering information from your site and the australian government site for months now and have found it very helpful indeed! We are very nearly in a position for my husband to start his skills assessment test with vetassess (he’s a plumber) Just gathering paperwork from previous employers and such like….

    We would love to end up in adelaide in the future so fingers crossed. I don’t know what the likelihood of it happening is? Would you like to take a guess 😉 ? We are in the 25-30 age group with obviously plumbing as his trade, we’ve got or will hopefully have 65 points once my hubby completes the ielts test… We have two young boys also 3&4.

    • BobinOz September 26, 2013, 6:22 pm |

      Hi Laura,

      Glad you have found my website helpful, I hope your application when you put it in goes well. The skills assessment is probably the biggest hurdle, from then on it’s just nervous waiting really.

      It’s too scary for me to try and give you your chances, it’s just not possible. Even when we went through the application process, knowing everything about ourselves and what we needed, we still had no clue what chance we would have, just relief when we got a yes.

      Good luck though, I hope it comes off for you and your family.

      Cheers, Bob

  • Jay April 29, 2013, 12:34 pm |

    I’m exploring the option of migrating to Australia.

    Need some advise.

    check my point was 80, but not sure if it accurate.

    Looking for oppocunities to move there with Husband and Kid. Hubby having own business ( Web base services).

    • BobinOz April 29, 2013, 9:21 pm |

      If you are wondering how to proceed or maybe which visa would be best for you, I recommend you do my Visa Assessment Service. If you do have 80 points, that’s a pretty good start!

      Cheers

      Bob

  • Oleg December 8, 2012, 8:49 am |

    Hello, I’ve been reading your post and it’s really helpful so thank you for giving great insight 🙂
    But, I have a question of my own. I’m planning to move to Brisbane in 2 years. I live in Sweden and I am still in high school so I picked a university there. It will go smoothly and all getting there to study so that’s not a big problem I think.
    My main question is, I really want to move there aswell as permanently and all it’s always been a dream. Is there anything required as student or I have to wait until I graduate? I will be 20 years old when I move there as a student.
    Thank you for your time 🙂

    • BobinOz December 8, 2012, 9:21 pm |

      Hi

      It’s a little more complicated than that Oleg, what you are looking to do I think is turn on a student visa into a permanent residency visa. This is possible to do, and many have done it before, but this path is not guaranteed.

      If you want to make sure it happens, you really need to spend some time working out how you can achieve it, based on your own skills, qualifications and overall background, or you can get a professional MARA agent to plan the path for you.

      If you want to choose the second route, I highly recommend my MARA agent, you can click this link to read about my Visa Assessment Service.

      Thanks

      Bob

  • Victor Gibson November 28, 2012, 7:28 am |

    Hey! I was just checking out the SOL and I was a little bummed. I am planning on making the move next year but I didn’t see anything for pharmacy technician as far as the skilled side goes. There are other ways of making it over there right? I’m hoping the other 5 will get me a chance! Thank You for all your advice !

    • BobinOz November 28, 2012, 4:26 pm |

      I am a little surprised to hear pharmacy technician isn’t on the list, maybe it appears under a different name somewhere, some job titles are a little strange.

      Yes, there are other ways of making it out here, lots of other ways really. If you need help check out my Visa Assessment Service.

  • Patrick November 7, 2012, 12:33 am |

    I just got my Working holiday visa, and there’s no points involved.
    As of this month, Nov 2012, it cost 280AUD and 30 minutes to apply, there is not label required in the passport.
    On the spare change side, they say that you should have at least AU$5000 to cover initial costs of the trip and enough to buy a return ticket if you came on a one way flight.

    • BobinOz November 8, 2012, 10:17 pm |

      Hi Patrick

      Yes, you are right, there are no points involved in the WHV, it is quite a straightforward visa to get hold of. As I have said in this article, the Working Holby Visa is totally different and at the time I thought you needed around £2000 in the bank, so not much has changed there either.

      I hope you have a fantastic year here, to be honest, it’s kind of hard not to. Cheers!

      Bob

  • Tammie September 30, 2012, 1:22 am |

    I love your post that share most of the details that we are looking for. But would like to know is marketing a skill under the SOL? I didn’t see it under the list..

    • BobinOz October 2, 2012, 2:38 pm |

      It used to be Tammie, marketing is the skill my wife has and how we got here, but I’m afraid I don’t keep up-to-date with every skill on the list, I could never even remember more than three items on the conveyor belt of The Generation Game.

      Anybody else know if it’s on the current list?

      • Tammie October 9, 2012, 1:53 am |

        Thanks Bob!! Apparently marketing is no longer in the list. I just found out with the agent today. But fortunately, IT remains as one, where my husband major in. Hopefully our application will be accepted. (finger crossed)

        Did you get the housing subsidy of 8k AUD as soon as you landed? The agent told us we could get it immediately.

        • BobinOz October 9, 2012, 7:03 pm |

          Sounds promising, I hope your application goes well. Not sure what housing subsidy you are referring to, we certainly didn’t get anything when we first got here, or anything since. Can you clarify which subsidy you mean? There are a few around.

          • Tammie October 11, 2012, 12:42 pm |

            Thanks! Oh I double check with the agent, it is actually the first home grant totaled 7k AUD.

            • BobinOz October 11, 2012, 11:05 pm |

              Must be your first purchased home ever, anywhere in the world though, as I understand it.

  • Gudny October 4, 2011, 2:09 am |

    I have been reading your blog the past days and I think it’s really helpful. We are thinking about moving to Australia from Iceland.
    I just wanted to thank you 🙂

    • BobinOz October 5, 2011, 7:20 pm |

      Thanks Gudny, glad it’s been helpful. Iceland to Australia? You’ll certainly find it a bit different here 🙂

  • BobinOz November 29, 2010, 7:56 pm |

    Nothing too exciting Nelson, marketing. And yes, it was my wifes skill, I am skill-less! Hehe…

  • Nelson November 27, 2010, 10:48 am |

    Just out of curiosity… what job/skill did you apply with? (Or rather what did your wife apply with, I seem to remember you mentioning your age being a problematic factor.)

  • BobinOz August 9, 2009, 1:52 pm |

    Too easy, go to….

    http://www.immi.gov.au/

    cheers

    Bob

  • Rashida August 9, 2009, 1:02 pm |

    i want Govt information about australian immigration

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