Those applying for an Australian skilled visa assessment, may have been waiting for the results of the latest SkillSelect Invitation Rounds, you’ll be pleased to hear that your wait is now over. Subclass 189 Invitations The three invitation rounds of the Skilled Independent Subclass189 visa require a score of at least 60. Over 2000 invitations were issued at the beginning of July, followed by 848 later in the same month and then 1,400 at the beginning of August. A system issue with pro-rata occupations can account for the drop in invitation figures in the second round here. Pro Rata Occupations The quantity of pro-rata occupations has risen from three up to six, reflecting a large volume of invitations being sent in the Other Engineering Professional and Computer Network Professionals categories. The following new occupational categories have been added: Auditors; Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers. Subclass 489 Policy Immigration has made it known that the Skilled Independent Subclass 189 program will take priority over other programs. As such, it will remain more tricky to obtain an invitation for a Skilled Regional Subclass 489 visa in the Family Sponsored stream for those with a pro-rata occupation. Last year there were around ten invitations per month whilst this year 100 invitations for each round have been witnessed. Occupational Ceilings Many occupation categories have reached their quotas, including Other Engineering Professionals, Computer Network Professionals, Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers, and Electronics Engineers. These will likely be added to the pro-rata list which would see a rise in minimum point requirements or waiting times. The other possibility is that these occupational categories will be filled very rapidly for the 2016 program year.
Need help applying for an Australian Skilled Visa?
To find out more about visas for Australia, speak with one of our Registered Migration Agents today at enquiries@my-oe.com or fill in a free online visa assessment.
