Access Migration

DIAC Minister Chris Evans has now announced the new processing priorities for general skilled migration visas. These are:

Priority 1 - Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the ENS and the RSMS.
Priority 2 - Applications from people who are nominated by a state or territory government agency with a nominated occupation that is specified on that state or territory’s state migration plan.
Priority 3 - Applications from people who have nominated an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) - Schedule 3 in effect from 1 July 2010.
Priority 4 - All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.

Applicants who have an occupation that is listed on the new SOL Schedule 3 will be processed at priority level 3. Level 3 will also apply to applications that are currently sponsored by a family member or an Australian state or territory (but who does not have a nominated occupation on the new state migration plan).

All applicants that do not fall into the above criteria will be processed at priority 4.

The following GSM visas are affected by priority processing:

Skilled - Independent subclass 175
Skilled - Independent subclass 176
Skilled - Regional Sponsored subclass 475
Skilled - Regional Sponsored subclass 487
Skilled - Independent Regional subclass 495
Skilled - Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) subclass 496
Graduate - Skilled subclass 497
Skilled - Onshore Independent New Zealand Citizen subclass 861
Skilled - Onshore Australian-sponsored New Zealand Citizen subclass 862
Skilled - Onshore Designated Area-sponsored New Zealand Citizen subclass 863
Skilled - Independent Overseas Student subclass 880
Skilled - Australian-sponsored subclass 881
Skilled - Designated Area-sponsored Overseas Student subclass 882
Skilled - Independent subclass 885
Skilled - Sponsored subclass 886.

For further information regarding the new processing priorities Click Here

For more information about state sponsorship or applying for a general skilled migration visa call our office on

0845 644 5607 or contact us.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 1:57 am and is filed under Australian Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.