Independent skilled visas for Australia have proven to be popular with job seekers from China, the UK, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, according to figures from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP.)

The department granted 74,020 visas in the 2012/2013 financial years in the points tested skilled migration stream under SkillSelect, the programme that enables skilled workers and business people interested in migrating to Australia to record their details so they can be identified for a visa through an Expression of Interest (EOI.)

Visa grants in the skilled independent category comprised 59.8% of the points tested skilled migration program and the skilled state/territory category made up a further 29.2%, with the remainder from the points tested skilled regional category.
‘SkillSelect allows the Australian government to control who, when and in what numbers applications are made for points based skilled migration. It also allows state and territory governments to select the most suitable business and skilled migrants to meet their requirements,’ a DIBP spokesman said.
‘SkillSelect will deliver significant economic benefits to Australia by improving programme targeting and ensuring that the limited number of skilled migration places available go to and brightest across a broad range of occupations that are deemed to be in need in the medium to long term,’ he explained.

‘SkillSelect streamlines visa processes and improves the employment prospects of skilled migrants through better management of those eligible to apply, how they apply, and when they apply,’ he added.

The DIBP points out that skilled,independent migrants are able to migrate independently of any sponsorship or nomination requirements, whereas skilled state/territory sponsored applicants require a nomination from a state or territory government.

All of these visa categories involve a points test in which applicants are allotted points on the basis of particular attributes which recognise a broad range of human capital skills including English language levels and qualifications.
The permanent employer sponsored category enables employers operating in Australia to sponsor overseas skilled workers for permanent residence to fill skilled vacancies.
The permanent employer sponsored category accounted for 47,740 places, or 37% of the total skilled migration programme of 128,973 places in 2012/2013.

Of the total 47,740 permanent employer Sponsored visas granted, some 21,651 were granted to primary skilled applicants and the remaining 26,089 were for secondary dependent applicants.

Courtesy of The Australia Forum

Administrators note:

Contrary to initial doubts, the SkillSelect system appears to be  proving popular mainly because for the Independent skilled (sc189) visa, there is no sponsorship requirement.

The advantage of moving to Australia on a sponsored visa is not always what it seems, so for applicants who fit the criteria and have made sensible enquiry and researched their industry, an independent visa – where they are not tied to an employer or where the employer has no involvement (or leverage) and simply employs the candidate as they would a local – is very attractive.

It should be noted too, that the other SkillSelect visas such as the State nominated (sc 190) and Regionally sponsored  (sc 489) visas, whilst not independent, do not involve direct sponsorship or employment by the sponsoring authority, unlike the employer nominated visa categories (ENS & RSMS).

For points tested visa eligibility assessment please consider our Visa Assessment service or for general information and advice on lodging an  Expression of Interest (EOI) and a subsequent visa application if you are invited please Contact Us