Victoria Announces State Migration Plan

By Mark Webster
3 November 2010

The Australian state of Victoria announced yesterday that its State Migration Plan has been approved and will be open for applications from the 3rd of November.

Significance of State Migration Plan

People with occupations on the Victorian lists can apply for nomination through Victoria, then apply for a skilled sponsored visa. This type of visa is a permanent visa, but which requires a pass mark of only 100. Unlike skilled independent or skilled applicants sponsored by relatives, state sponsored applicants do not need to have an occupation on the new Skilled Occupations List, but instead can have an occupation on a much wider list, the State/Territory Nominated Skilled Occupations List.

Since the introduction of the new Skilled Occupations List in July 2010, it has been impossible for most people to apply for a permanent or provisional General Skilled Migration visa, unless their occupation is on the new Skilled Occupations List. The introduction of the Victorian State Migration Plan gives such people an opportunity to apply for migration to Australia, providing their occupation is on the Victorian shortage list.

In addition, applicants nominated under State Migration Plans are processed on a priority basis by the Department of Immigration - faster than any other General Skilled Migration applicant.

Two Lists

There are two lists which have been released by the Victorian Government. One list is for recent graduates applying for the onshore version of the skilled sponsored visa - the subclass 886 visa. The list for recent graduates is very short, covering only a few specialisations within science, engineering and health. The criteria are also very tough for graduates - in particular people in the science field are expected to have a PhD or a job offer in Victoria. Places for Registered Nurses are also in tight supply with only 50 places allocated for some of the specialisations.

The list for offshore applicants (ie people looking at visa subclass 176) is much wider, but has much higher requirements in terms of English language ability and work experience. Most professional occupations on the offshore list require at least 2 years of work experience in the field. The trades on the list all require at least 5 years of work experience.

In terms of English, many professions in the offshore list require a 7 minimum score in the IELTS test of English.

Common occupations in the offshore list include:

  • Engineers
  • Accountants
  • IT Professionals
  • Scientists, including Mathematicians and Statisticians
  • Health Professionals including some Registered Nurse specialisations
  • Teachers - secondary school and pre-primary school
  • Interpreters
  • Trades - particularly construction, metal fabrication and electrical

Quotas Apply

Victoria has been allocated a quota of 4,500 applications which can be sponsored under the State Migration Plan for the 2010-11 financial year.

Each occupation also has quotas, and some occupations are already closed to new applications (eg cooks, pastrychefs, refrigeration & airconditioning mechanics).

As a result, if you are eligible, we recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Announcement of Further State Migration Plans

It is likely that the ACT will be the next state to announce a State Migration Plan. Thereafter, it is likely that South Australia and Western Australia, which were also heavy users of state sponsored migration, will look at finalising their plans. The outlook for NSW, Queensland and Northern Territory is more uncertain, with these states either being heavily over-subscribed already or satisfied with employer sponsored options for their immigration needs.

If you would like to check your eligibility under Victoria's State Migration Plan, please contact us to arrange for a consultation.

References

Live in Victoria Website - Victorian State Migration Plan

Keep me updated - Immigration News Updates

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