On 8 February 2010 Minister for Immigration & Citizenship Chris Evans announced many of the foreshadowed changes to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program.
For all those that have a GSM visa application currently lodged with DIAC the announcements of yesterday have NO impact on your application or your eligibility. The changes will only apply to applications lodged on or after 8 February 2010.
The key elements of the Ministers announcements were:
Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL) was revoked in it’s entirety with effect from 8 February 2010.
GSM visa application processing priorities were changed (yet again!) with effect from 8 February 2010.
Applications lodged prior to 1 September 2007 that are still not finalized will now be subject to the Ministers direction of “cap and cease”. This means that he has put an undisclosed cap figure on the numbers of these applications that will be finalized to visa grant. Once the cap has been reached the remaining applications will be deemed as ceased and the applicant will no longer be considered to have made an application. These applicants will receive a refund of their visa application lodgment fee from DIAC.
A new skilled occupations list (SOL) will come into effect “some time in the 2nd half of 2010″. This new list should be available on the DIAC website by 30 April 2010.
The Critical Skills List (CSL) is to be revoked as at the time that the new SOL comes into effect. The CSL will not be replaced, the SOL will be an all encompassing list and there will be no other list based levels of prioritizing occupations for any kind of preferential ranking or processing priority.
State/Territory sponsorship will continue under what will be referred to as “State/Territory Migration Plans”. These plans will be subject to the Ministers approval.
Under this new arrangement it will be possible to apply for a GSM visa without holding an occupation that is on the SOL as long as you hold an occupation that is sponsored under a state migration plan that has been approved by the Minister.
A review of the existing GSM points test is to be conducted in the 1st half of 2010 and any changes to occur in the 2nd half of the year.
Legislative changes are to be introduced that will allow the Minister to limit the numbers of visas to be granted in any specific occupation within a given visa year.
Given the extent of the changes announced, the above is a broad overview of the “core” outcomes to the Ministers announcements. More details on the changes are contained on the DIAC website. Click here to view more information.
These changes will have an impact on the eligibility and consequently the best visa application strategy for all applicants who do not yet have their visa applications lodged. We will be contacting all Access Migration Services clients with individually tailored information on how the changes affect you and what options you have to continue to meet the regulatory requirements for a GSM visa.
Student visa holders are also affected by the changes announced and they will also be contacted individually with advice as to how the changes impact on their ability to secure permanent residence beyond the student visa stage.
The announced changes are consistent with the Ministers desire to have a GSM program that is demand driven based on Australia’s workplace requirements, not demand driven based on the number of people that want to live in Australia. It is a hard argument not to support from any standpoint and while we support the need for change we definitely do have issue with the manner in which the Minister is seeking to achieve that change.
One area in question at present is whether the current SOL will remain in effect for newly applying applicants up until the new SOL is introduced or whether the new SOL will be applied retrospectively. This may be due to poorly worded explanation and should be confirmed by the department sooner rather than later.
On the positive side this does, to a large degree, remove much of the uncertainty that has been surrounding the GSM program for the best part of a year now. However it is important to remember that the jig saw puzzle is not yet complete! The points test assessment methodology is now also up for review and despite the “spin” that the department is issuing there is no doubt that the points test will be revised and changed.
It would now be obvious to any interested party that this Minister has no issue making changes effective immediately and applying changes retrospectively. We would again strongly advise anyone, with serious intentions to seek residence in Australia via the GSM program, to take advantage of what ever eligibility you may currently have as it may be gone forever when the new points test requirements are announced and take effect. Call us now on 0845 644 5607 for advice and assistance.
