Since the new SOL has been announced, we have been getting numerous queries from hundreds of current students as to what options they have left to gain Permanent Residence in Australia. After talking to many of them it seems that they are still confused about the changes and transitional arrangements announced on 8th February 2010, as well as the ones announced on 17th May 2010. Not to mention, some are still being given wrong information by some Education Agents, Migration Agents, University and College Staff and Faculty, friends and relatives. Since every decision a student makes in these difficult times, may waste their time and money, or even permanently ruin their chance for Permanent Residence, I’ll attempt to clear some of these confusions.

The new Skilled Occupation List (SOL)

Some students are thinking the new SOL announced on 17th May 2010 by the Minister of Immigration is not the “Final List” because of the use of words like “intended”, “proposed” and “recommended.” This is the “Final List” of Occupations that will come into effect on 1st July 2010, and likely to become law after the Governor-General gives the Royal Assent. The new SOL is a much smaller list with only 181 occupations. Popular courses studied by a majority of the students to gain their Permanent Residence, like Cook, Pastry Cook, Baker, Graphic Pre-Press Tradesperson, Welfare Worker and Hairdressing have been removed from the list. What this means is that any student applying for Permanent Residence from 1st July 2010, must have their occupation listed in the new SOL, unless they are covered by the transitional arrangements announced on 8th February 2010.

Transitional arrangements announced on 8th February 2010

There seems to be a lot of confusion on what the transitional arrangements are for students who held a student visa (Subclass 572, 573 or 574) on 8th February 2010. Some students think that if they held a student visa on 8th February 2010, they can still apply for Permanent Residence using the old SOL until 31st December 2012. This is definitely not the case!! Only anyone who has already applied for or has been granted a Subclass 485 visa by 7th February 2010, can apply for Permanent Residence using the old SOL until 31st December 2012. But the rest of the students who held a Subclass 572, 573 or 574 visa on 8th February 2010 can only apply for a Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate Visa using the old SOL, until 31st December 2012. But when applying for Permanent Residence under the Skilled Migration program, the new SOL will apply to these students. Which means, the pathway to Permanent Residence for these students based on their current courses is slim to none. Because their occupation is no longer in the new SOL. The Minister of Immigration mentioned the ENS (Employer Nomination Scheme) pathway for these students. But to meet the ENS criteria one needs 3 years of Full Time experience which is impossible for a student to get in Australia, even if they are granted the Subclass 485 visa. When the MODL List existed, the 3 year Full Time experience requirement was waived. Now, with no MODL most students will not be able to meet the ENS criteria.

Skills Australia and State Migration Plans

We had a meeting with the Head of Secretariat of Skills Australia Sue Beitz, last Tuesday. We were told that the new SOL is not a Skills Shortage List. Rather it is a list that looks at Australia’s Skills needs in the long term. That’s why occupations like Pharmacists and Primary School Teachers are not on the list. Because according to Sue, the demand for these occupations will be met by local graduates and employees over the next few years. The other thing we were surprised to find out is that Skills Australia did not consult with the States when compiling the new SOL. This means the States’ Skills needs will not be completely met by the new SOL. States and Territories therefore will need to come up with their own list of occupations and compile their own State Migration Plans, and get it approved by the Minister of Immigration. The good news (if any) for current students is, if their occupation is in the State Migration Plan they can still apply for their Permanent Residence even if their occupation is not in the new SOL, as long as they meet the States’ Sponsorship criteria. Students should keep in mind that the States’ may require additional experience and English requirements before they approve the Sponsorships. Also, we still don’t know what occupations will be in the State Migration Plans. These will be announced over the next several months.

Option left for current Onshore Students

If your occupation is not in the new SOL and you have not been granted or applied for a Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate Visa by 7th February 2010, you have the following options:

1. Check with an experienced Migration Consultant if you qualify to apply for a Subclass 885, 886 or 487 visa by 30th June 2010 to make use of the old SOL.
2. If you cannot apply for a Subclass 885, 886 or 487 visa by 30th June 2010, find out what courses you can do that are in the new SOL, that may give you a chance to apply for Permanent Residence in the future.

It is important to note that some students doing trade courses are applying for the Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate Visa without knowing the consequences of doing so. The new TRA Job Ready Program requires students to gain 1 year full time paid experience while on a Subclass 485 visa. Also, a student can only apply for a Subclass 485 visa once in their lifetime. So, if the current students apply and waste their Subclass 485 visa, they will never in the future be able to meet the TRA requirement and apply for Skilled Migration, even if they decide to do a new trade course in the future.

Skills Assessments and IELTS Requirements

The IELTS requirement for Accountants is now 7 each in IELTS Academic. IELTS General will not be accepted for Accountants. Please note that the Department of Immigration will accept both IELTS Academic and General. Also, those onshore students currently considering doing a Bachelor Degree course for the Social Worker occupation in the new SOL may get some transfer credits if they did a Diploma in Community Welfare, but they’ll need 7 each in IELTS Academic to get a positive Skills Assessment for Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). They will also need to do an AASW approved course. IT graduates are still on the new SOL as confirmed to us in writing by ACS, but because ASCO and ANZSCO codes are different some confusion has been created. These confusions will be cleared out when the new SOL will be formally released by the Department of Immigration on 1st July 2010. Students must carefully consider if they can meet the IELTS requirement of the assessing body before changing course and wasting more money.

ASCO, ANZSCO and Points Test

All occupations currently have an ASCO Code associated to it. This will be changed to ANZSCO from 1st July 2010. There are some significant changes in requirements from ASCO to ANZSCO, so students will need to clearly understand them before trying to meet the criteria for their Skills Assessments and the Department of Immigration’s Education and Experience requirements. A new Points Test will also be announced in the near future that may again reshape the entire Skilled Migration program.

Processing Times

Currently Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate visas are being granted a lot faster and the Department of immigration is trying to clear its Subclass 485 backlog. Occupations in the Critical List are taking around 4 to 6 months to grant instead of a few weeks as was the case earlier. Other Skilled Migration applications are unlikely to get a Case Officer before 2012.
More changes are to come. Students should not just discuss with friends and rely on wrong information. They should immediately seek detailed and correct information to assess their situation and select the best possible option, from an experienced and reputed Migration Consultant.