Australia: Temporary Suspension of General Skilled Migration Applications
Australia: Temporary Suspension of General Skilled Migration Applications
Effective May 8, 2010, foreign nationals will be temporarily unable to apply for the following offshore General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa categories: Subclass 175 (Skilled – Independent), Subclass 176 (Skilled – Sponsored) and Subclass 475 (Skilled – Regional Sponsored). Australian authorities will not resume accepting applications for these categories until anticipated changes to the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – the list of occupations eligible for the GSM – are finalized and announced. The revised SOL is expected to be issued later this month.
Applications received on or after May 8 will not be considered valid and will be returned to applicants. This includes applications posted before May 8 but received on or after this date.
The following applications will not be affected by the temporary suspension and will continue to be processed normally: (1) applications submitted from within Australia (onshore applications); (2) offshore applications received before May 8, 2010, including those lodged online through the Department of Immigration’s website before midnight Australian Eastern Standard time on May 7, 2010, which will continue to be considered under the current SOL in accordance with current priority processing policies; and (3) applications submitted after May 7 by dependents of current Subclass 475 (Skilled – Regional Sponsored) visa holders.
In order to qualify under the GSM visa program, a foreign national’s proposed occupation in Australia must be among those listed on the SOL. The current SOL is being reviewed to ensure that the occupational profile of GSM applicants more clearly reflects the needs of the Australian labor market. The Australian government is expected to reduce the number of occupations to be included in the revised SOL.
Fragomen is monitoring developments and will provide an update once the new SOL is published.
The content of this alert is provided for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to AUInitiations@fragomen.com.
Source: Fragomen
