General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia; The Ultimate guide to a successful visa
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia might be the best option to consider if you are planning to move to another country for work
But Why Australia? What’s so special about that country?
Australia holds a high rank in the UN Human Development Index. Some of the many qualities that bought it that rank are better education, higher life expectancy, and growing socio-economic progress. It is one of the top ten countries with the highest per capita income and the highest minimum wages. It offers a safe environment, studying opportunities, and pension benefits even for the migrant workers living there.
Don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself. ( https://info.australia.gov.au/index )
As said before, General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia is the most popular pathway of applying visa for Australia. It is a great chance the Australian government offers to the skilled workers and their families who wish to work and live there.
What is a skilled visa in Australia?
General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia is the best and the most common way of migration to the country if you are planning to move there. Australian government issue these permanent residents (PR) visa to qualified and carefully selected workers around the globe. Being a PR visa, they allow the holders to live, work, and study in Australia permanently. Eligible family members of yours also get the same benefits as you, as long as they are parallel with the terms of the visa you are holding. The best thing about the GSM Visa is the ability it gives the holders to apply for Australian citizenship. You can apply for citizenship just after a short period of four years working as an employee. Then you can make your stay in Australia truly permanent.
Popular subclasses of skilled visa
There are three major visa programs under the skilled migration program which was designed to attract skilled migrant to the country by the Australian government. They believe these programs are playing a role in boosting their economy. The major visa programs of General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia are as followed.
- Skilled independent visas
- Skilled nominated visas
- Employer-sponsored visa programs
Nearly a dozen of subclasses are falling under these major visa programs of General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/). Yet, the most popular subclasses among them are the Subclass 189 and the Subclass 190.
Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
The Skilled Independent GSM Visa Australia is for both qualified and skilled foreign workers who are without a sponsor. This is the best choice if you are not sponsored by a State, Territory, employer, or family members in Australia.
You also can add your family members when applying as long as they meet the given health and character requirements. With this visa, you and your family are allowed to live, work, and study anywhere in Australia. So, the Skilled Independent subclass is beneficial for those family members as much as it is for you.
With a Skilled Independent visa, You and Your family will be enrolled in Australia’s public health care scheme too. After a short waiting period, they will even have access to social security payments
With this visa, you are allowed to travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for 5 years. However, you will need an RRV visa of subclass 155 or 157 to re-enter Australia after 5 years.
Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
The Skilled Nominated GSM Visa is issued to qualified skilled foreign workers who are sponsored or nominated. The Australian State or territory should nominate you to be qualified for this visa subclass.
You can add your family members to the subclass 190 visa when applying. This visa allows you and your family to live, work, and study in Australia. But you can’t leave the state or territory that sponsored you for at least two years from the day you were appointed. You will also have to inform the relevant State or territory officials if you are planning to change the address.
Apart from that key detail, the benefits you get will be the same as the above-discussed Subclass 189.
Skill shortages & jobs are in demand Australia 2020
The list of skill shortages published by the government of Australia covers a wide range of jobs. Every one of them is given with an occupation ceiling. This is to make sure that the GSM program is not dominated by a few jobs most people demand. However, this same occupation ceiling makes the competition to secure those positions a bit rush.
Here are the jobs and occupation ceilings for the 2020-21 program. But keep in mind that these occupation ceilings do not apply to State or Territory Nominated, Employer Sponsored or Business Innovation and Investment visa subclasses.
Requirements to fulfill for a skilled visa
If you are hoping to enter the race of General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia, first, you are needed to be invited to apply. You should submit an expression of interest (EOI) to the Australian government for that.
If you are applying for a skilled independent visa, they rank your EOI against many other applicants there. If you are applying for the skilled nominated visa, a state or territory government should nominate your EOI to get an invitation.
If your EOI got selected, they will send you an invitation to apply.
You need to be aged under 45 and score 65 points in the EOI to apply for any of the skilled visas. You need to have a competent knowledge of English and meet the health and character requirements too.
You also have to sign the Australian values statement if you are 18 or older.
Tips to get more points for a skilled visa application
General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia is a competitive race. The higher the points you get higher the chance of you will have to be invited to apply. Here are a few points to increase your chances.
Don’t hesitate to apply for the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia if you wish to move to Australia. The older you get, the lesser points you will get. The young applicants get more points, based on age.
Get your English polished as the immigration offer higher marks for the fluency in English. A superior English knowledge marked by IELTS 8 means 20 points while a proficient English knowledge marked by IELTS 7 means 10 points.
They give you an extra 5 points if you have worked in Australia for one year. The longer the experience you have, the higher your points will go too.
Being single or having a skilled partner means 10 points. Even if your partner has a good English knowledge marked by IELTS 6, they would give you 5 points.
Higher the education you have, the higher the chance of getting selected. The points increase with one’s level of education.
Processing time for a skilled visa application
The average Processing time of General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia application is between 3 months to 15 months. It takes much time as the Australian government assesses every application on a case-by-case basis.
Cost for a skilled visa application
The cost of General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Australia is AUD 4,045 for the main applicant. If you wish to add your family members, there is a charge for each family member.
You can work out the cost of your visa easily with the help of the Visa Pricing Estimator ( https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/visa-pricing-estimator ).
If any member of your family is above 18 years old and has poor English knowledge, you will have to pay extra for them in the second installment. The normal charge for family members at the second installment is AUD4,885. You might also have to pay for other things such as health checks, police certificates, and biometrics. Please keep in mind that the Visa Pricing Estimator does not calculate these other payments or the second installment.
General Skilled Migration visa to Australian citizenship pathway
Australian government defines anyone with an Australian permeant visa as a permanent resident of the country. A permanent resident can apply for citizenship after spending 4 years in the country. You shouldn’t have left Australia for 12 months in that period and not more than 90 days in the last 12 months before Appling.
You have to fulfill the needed character requirements and score 75% or above in the citizenship test. If you proved you have sufficient knowledge about Australia and its people by passing the citizenship test, you would have also met the needed language requirement.
Having a criminal record or being out of the country when the applications are being processed could have negative effects on the decision of its approval.
Read other related articles