Unfortunately, this is not a bad joke. The Australian Government has announced that starting in 2 days, on July 1 2018, applicants wishing to migrate to Australia under the Skilled Migration program will have to have at least 65 points instead of “only” 60 points.
This significant change will affect the following subclasses:
This change will apply to applications that have been lodged on or after 1 July 2018. The points will still be calculated based on the same criteria such as age, education and work experience but applicants will have to be able to meet 65 points when submitting an EOI in SkillSelect.
In the previous year, applicants were able to get invited at 55 points as they would get the extra 5 points through state nomination. That made them eligible to lodge a visa application. With these changes starting in only 2 days, that won’t be possible any more.
While 5 points might not sound like a lot to someone who hasn’t dealt the Australian Immigration System, those who ARE applying for Skilled Visas know how big of a change 5 points can make. Those 5 points could mean having to repeat the costly English test because the applicant needs to get a higher score now. For someone else that might mean having to rely on their partner’s skill assessment to get an additional 5 points. Others might have to look into receiving additional 5 points by taking the NAATi Credentialed Community Language Test (CCL).
This news comes as a big shock for many migrants who have already struggled to get to 60 points.
The existing 60 points applies only to applications where the invitation to apply for the visa was issued before 1 July 2018.
Important links:
Calculate your points
NAATI Test
English Language Requirement
Skilled Migration
Reference:
Migration (IMMI 18/067: Pool and Pass Marks for General Skilled Migration Visas) Instrument 2018
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