At the end of last year, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Evans, announced alterations to the skilled migration program. The announcement caused a lot of misunderstanding and led potential migrants to develop new myths about the program and migration in general. This article will dispel some those myths.

Australia will not accept more skilled migrants

This is not true. With 115,000 skilled visas granted in the year to 30th June, 2009, the skilled migration program is to break the last year record. In the year to 30th June, 2010, the number of skilled visas granted will shrink to 108,100 (the same as in 2008).

It is impossible to get a visa if one’s occupation is not on the Critical Skills List.

At the moment, the Critical Skills List occupations and State/Territory Sponsored skilled visa applications are the only offshore ones to be processed to a decision. However, in the near future (3 to 4 months) Department of Immigration case officers will have to start processing applications from individuals whose occupation is on the Migration Occupations in Demand List. This is very likely that skilled visa applications from this category will be processed with a view of visas being granted during the 2009/10 period.

It is impossible to obtain sponsorship from a State or Territory Government.

All of the States and Territories sponsor skilled applicants for the grant of visas to some extent. They can sponsor an individual for the grant of provisional subclass 475 visas or subclass 176 permanent residency visas. In order to find out which State or Territory Governments sponsor your occupation you need to contact one of the agencies representing them. Those can be found here.

Obtaining the sponsorship from a State or Territory Government requires an individual to commit to live there while he remains in Australia.

This is not entirely true. However, an individual applying to a State or Territory Government for sponsorship will have to support his application with information that will demonstrate genuine intentions to reside in that State or Territory. In most cases, an applicant will be asked to reside in the State or Territory for at least 2 years.

Employers can no longer sponsor individuals for skilled visas.

Australia’s Immigration Minister introduced changes in the policy guidance to his Department. Since then, employers are required to more clearly demonstrate the benefit to Australia originating as a consequence of the employment of the individual following the grant of a 457 visa. However, this has not caused successful 457 visa grant rate to drop – far from it.


The global recession makes it very hard to get a job after moving to Australia.

The Australian economy is doing very well in comparison with other affluent countries in the world. It managed to avoid technical recession possibly due to its close economic associations with China and South Asian Economies. Thanks to the large migration programs, Australia’s population grows contributing towards the significant financial boost. A chance to secure employment in Australia is much bigger than in other first world countries. As a consequence, it has become the most attractive destination for skilled professionals seeking employment.

If you are one of those individuals who are thinking about moving to Australia, some of the issues crossed your mind. If you would like to get more information about migration process or talk about your concerns, please contact us.