What is SkillSelect ?
SkillSelect is a service for skilled workers and professionals who wish to migrate to Australia based on their work experience. It is an online system for which you will have to create a login in order to be able to access SkillSelect.
How does SkillSelect work and what is an EOI ?
SkillSelect works by submitting an EOI (Expression of Interest). That EOI is NOT to be confused with a visa application. It is simply an expression of interest, meaning you are telling the Australian government that you would like to apply for an Australian visa.
What to do before submitting your EOI ?
When you submit your EOI in SkillSelect, you will have to include the following information:
- Personal Information
- Nominated/desired occupation
- Details on your work experience
- Education
- Your English language proficiency
- A Skills Assessment for your nominated occupation
- Business and Investment experience (if you wish to apply for a Business Visa)
Answer the following questions for yourself before proceeding with submitting your EOI:
- Which Australian state or territory would you like to live in?
- Do you fulfill the nomination criteria of that state? (Here's the list of the states and their lists)
- Is the occupation you wish to apply under on the relevant list of eligible occupations?
- Would you be able to pass the skills assessment by the relevant assessing authority?
- Do you have the required English language test score?
- Do you have the relevant work experience in the nomination you wish to apply under?
- Are you able to show evidence of your employment history (payslips, reference letters, contracts, etc.)?
Which visas can be applied for through SkillSelect ?
If you wish to apply for one of the following visa subclasses, you will have to apply by using SkillSelect:
Business Talent (Permanent) (subclass 132) visa
Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) subclass 188) visa
Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa
Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa
Skilled – Nominated or Sponsored (Provisional) (subclass 489) visa
What happens after you have submitted your EOI in SkillSelect ?
Once you have submitted your Expression of Interest, the SkillSelect system will give you a points score and results based on the claims you have made in your EOI.
This result and your points score will become your ranking for some visas (higher ranking for higher points score for example). You an update the information in SkillSelect at any time, which will result in SkillSelect updating your ranking as well.
How does the selection process work ?
Depending on the visa you wish to be considered for, you might receive an invitation to lodge a visa application under a State Nomination for example (e.g. 190 visa). An Australian employer might also contact you to discuss a job opportunity as Australian employers have access to SkillSelect in order to find suitable candidates.
If you ARE selected:
SkillSelect will send you an invitation. After that you have 60 days to apply for a visa before the invitation expires.
If you are NOT selected:
Your EOI will be saved in SkillSelect for two (2) years from the date you have lodged your application. During those two years, you can always update your EOI to for example add qualifications and/or experience you have gained, which will in return improve you ranking.
SkillSelect has certain “Invitation Rounds”. There is no exact regular time of when the next invitation round will be.
The latest invitation round was (at the time of writing this article) on May 23rd, 2018. And the results of that round can be found here.
Invitation rounds for the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) and the Skilled – Regional Provisional (subclass 489 visa) will be sent twice per month. The dates for the invitations are not fixed.
Invitation numbers for every round might differ depending on the number of applications being processed at the time. State or territory nominations for visa subclass 489 will not impacted.
SkillSelect – Points Score & Occupation Ceilings
Occupation Ceilings: The occupation ceiling is the maximum number of skilled workers that will be invited to apply in a certain occupation. To see the occupation ceiling for all occupations, have a look on the Government’s page here.
The Occupation Ceilings do not apply to State/Territory Nominated Visas, Employer Sponsored Visas or Business Innovation and Investment visa subclasses.
Points Score: The Points Score for Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) is currently 75 points and for Skilled – Regional Provisional (subclass 489( it’s currently 80 points.
To see the points score needed for pro rata occupations, please check here.