The global ICT industry continues to grow, with global revenue projected to reach close to 4.5 trillion euros by 2019. Australia too is home to a vibrant and diverse ICT sector that has grown to become one of the major national drivers of innovation and economic growth. Leading IT giants such as Google, IBM, NEC, Avaya, Canon, EDS, Citrix, Fujitsu have built major software development facilities in Australia. Consequently, emerging technologies, data and analytics, and artificial intelligence are presenting tremendous opportunities for the skilled IT workers across the world to migrate to Australia.
In this article, we explore skilled visa options that are available for ICT professionals in Australia.For General Skilled Migration (GSM) the two available skill Lists are MLTSSL and STSOL.
The following ICT occupations are currently on the MLTSSL List:
| ICT Business Analyst | Systems Analyst |
| Analyst Programmer | Developer Programmer |
| Software Engineer | ICT Security Specialist |
| Multimedia Specialist | Computer Network & Systems Engineer |
| Software & Applications Programmers nec |
And the following ICT occupations are currently on the STSOL List:
| ICT project manager | ICT managers (nec) |
| ICT Trainer | Web Developer |
| Software Tester | Database administrator |
| Systems administrator | Network administrator |
| Network analyst | ICT quality assurance engineer |
| ICT support engineer | ICT systems test engineer |
| Web Administrator | ICT support and test engineers nec |
Applicants with occupations on the above MLTSSL list and STSOL list are potentially eligible for either Skill Independent permanent residency Visa, Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) permanent residency visa or State/Territory sponsored permanent residency visa.
How Do I Apply for a Permanent Residency?
Step 1: To obtain a positive Skill Assessment
Step 2: To lodge an EOI
Step 3: Receive an Invitation
Step 4: To lodge your visa application for permanent residency
It is important to understand that each step is fraught with complexity. For ICT professionals in Australia and overseas an application for skill assessment needs to be lodged with Australian Computer Society (ACS). ACS emphasizes the importance of lodging decision ready skill assessment applications which are processed more quickly. For overseas IT professionals, ACS first looks at AQF comparability of overseas qualification. Then each unit of the Course is assessed to determine the ICT content of the qualification. This assessment determines whether the qualification is ICT major, ICT minor or ICT insufficient. Once the qualification is assessed, ACS then assess employment experience of the applicant to determine whether the qualification and experience are closely related. If the qualification and experience are closely related, lesser years of work experience are required to obtain a full skill assessment which allows an applicant to claim more points for skilled employment. After obtaining a positive skill assessment, the next task is to lodge an EOI. EOI should be lodged in a way that enhance the prospect of receiving an invitation to lodge visa application.
If you are interested about migrating to Australia, it is important that you obtain professional support from an experienced Immigration Lawyer from the outset. At K Group Legal, we pride ourselves in producing cost-effective solutions to Australian immigration problems. Our years of extensive professional experience in navigating complex Immigration issues have uniquely placed us in a position to advise you about your eligibility requirement for your permanent residency visa application. If you require professional assistance in relation to your visa application, you can contact us through: (02) 8379 1811 or 0421 677 920 or info@kgrouplegal.com.au
