Thursday, March 31, 2011

Migration - Australia




I
know a lot of us are looking for ways to better our ways of living. Some of us are looking for better opportunities overseas; others take their chances and stay. But for those looking for opportunities in Australia, below are the information you will need. Just to let you know, the immigration policy in Australia keeps changing every financial year (i.e. July of every year) and therefore some of my information will change or may have already changed.

Please, use the information here as a guide only. If my information is somewhat misleading, please confirm with your Migration Agent or visit www.immi.gov.au

By the way, this is just one of the many ways you can use to migrate to Australia.

Migration through Skills
Few years ago it was easy to migrate to Australia, probably because the numbers of kangaroos are more than the number of people. But after year 2000, migration policy became stringent and migrating becomes a challenge. Today you need to pass a lot of criteria to able to be considered.

If you already have an employer in Australia then migrating will be easy for you, provided your employer is willing to sponsor you. How do you go about it? Well, you don’t! Your employer will lodge the application, together with your documentations, and you’ll just have to wait for your visa. Wait for an email, mail or call from the immigration department asking for your passport as they need to stamp it with your visa. Once it’s stamped, you can now start packing!

If you don’t have an employer and would want to work, your best option is to apply for Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 175). This visa requires you to have a positive skills assessment and passed the points test. At the moment the passing mark is 120 however they’ve got a pool mark of 100, meaning they’ll start reviewing your application after they’ve finished those that passed the points test, provided they didn’t meet the year’s quota.

Below are the ways to get points for the point test requirements:

Factors, Description and Points
Age
18-24     25 points
25-32 30 points
33-39 25 points
40-44 15 points

English language
You will need to pass the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) with marks according to the below table, which can be taken either in Australia or overseas. This test is basically broken into four components: speaking, reading, listening and writing. Below are some of the testing centres where you can take the exam.

Testing Centres in Sydney

Testing Centres in Manila
Proficient English - IELTS 7     10 points
Superior English - IELTS 8 20 points


Australian work experience in nominated occupation or a closely related occupation
To get points for this you will need to have at least a year of local (i.e. Australian) work experience in your nominated occupation in the past 2 years.
One year Australian (of past two years)     5 points
Three years Australian (of past five years) 10 points
Five years Australian (of past seven years) 15 points

Overseas work experience in nominated occupation or a closely related occupation
To get points for this you will need to have at least three years’ work experiences outside Australia (could be any part of the world but Australia) in your nominated occupation in the past 5 years.
Three years overseas (of past five years)     5 points
Five years overseas (of past seven years) 10 points
Eight years overseas (of past 10 years) 15 points


Qualifications
To get points for this you will need to have your qualification assessed by assessing body in Australia and get a positive assessment from them. You also need to have your nominated skills is in the ‘Skill Occupation List’ at the time of lodging. Now, the list gets changed every year so always check if your nominated skill is still in the list before applying.

Assessing Body:
Australian Computer Society – all IT related skills and studies.

Vocational Educational Training and Assessment Services
(VETASSESS) – for general professional skills and occupations.
Offshore recognised apprenticeship; AQFIII/IV completed in Australia; Diploma completed in Australia     10 points
Bachelor degree (including a Bachelor degree with Honours or Masters) 15 points
PhD 20 points


Recognition of Australian Study
To get points for this you will need to have completed at least a two-year full time study in Australia, that's a guaranteed 5 points

Designated language
You will need to have an accreditation by National Accreditation Authority for Translator and Interpreters (NAATI), this is 5 points

Partner skills
To get points for this, your partner needs to be included in the visa application as one of the primary applicants, not an Australian resident/citizen, is less than 50 years old at the time of the application, whose skill is in SOL and has a positive assessment (yup, needs to be assessed too!), have competent English (yes, needs to take an IELTS!), and must be working in the skilled occupation for at least 12 months in the last 24 months before the application was lodged. This is a guaranteed 5 points.

Professional Year
This is a program by the Department of immigration where participants will be familiarised to the Australian values in the workplace and employment, or this could be an internship in an Australian workplace. To enrol or check if your internship falls under the Professional Year category, you may visit the website www.immi.gov.au as the courses are limited and keeps changing every year. This rewards 5 points

Sponsorship by state or territory government
You’ll get 5 points for this if an Australian state or territory is sponsoring you.

Sponsorship by family or state or territory government to regional Australia
You’ll get 10 points for this when you are sponsored by a relative/employer that’s in a regional area (as defined by the department of immigration).

Study in a regional area
You’ll get 5 points for this when you have completed your Study (could be your Professional Year) in a regional area (as defined by the department of immigration.

So says for instance you’re 28- year old Information Technology graduate, have been working as a Developer for the past 5 years, and will be sponsored by your brother in Darwin, this will be your points:

Age  = 30points
Qualification (provided your skill is in SOL and you have a positive assessment = 60points
IELTS (your band score is 7) = 10points
Overseas work experience = 10 points
Sponsored by a family in Regional Area = 10points
Total Points 120


Now that’s an easy 120 points! You’ve passed the points test.

But let’s say you don’t have a family in the regional area that’s willing to sponsor you, you can nail your IELTS and get a band 8 score, that’s 20 points! Still gives you a passing 120 points.

Or you can take a two-year diploma study in Australia (that’s a guaranteed 15points for Qualification and 5 points for Recognition of Australia Study), now you’re way over the passing mark (140points in total).

As you can see, although the screening is stringent and the qualification is a bit high, if you’ve got legitimate work experience, good command of the English language, and has a positive assessment, you too can migrate to Australia.

So first things first, check if your skill is in SOL, if it’s in there apply for skills assessment – when you’ve got a positive assessment (they would normally tell you how much points you’ve earned) take an IELTS and nail it! Then take it from there. And I hope someday I get to see you and you can tell me how this info has helped and changed you. Good luck!

Friday, March 11, 2011

... should i say goodbye?

How do you say goodbye to someone you’ve known your whole life? To someone who helped mould you to who you are now? To someone who taught you what’s unconditional love really is?

But then again, we don’t really need to say goodbye to our loved one who passed away because they’re not really going anywhere. Well, their bodies will be buried or get cremated, but their story will continue to live in our hearts.

When it seems we’ve forgotten our departed loved ones, remember the time you first saw their wonderful and encouraging smile - that alone is enough to bring you back to the very beginning of your story together.

We don’t say goodbye… we never do. We’re just letting them rest.