The Analyst Down Under

Another day spent wondering, but now I have some idea of where I would go if I were to migrate under a state plan. Thanks to various contributions to my discussion on Embrace Australia - a popular discussion forum for 'people who love Australia', complete with a panel of experts - Zaheer Khan's advice is not applicable to applications being lodged after July 1, 2010. That's a little sad, because guys like Zaheer are charging a good amount of money to register a case with them (effectively perhaps doubling or more all the dollars you're to part with in the course of immigration). They've proved that effective self-research and management is the only way to go about this process. It is also clear that evidence that any secondary applicants 18 years or over included in the application have at least functional English will allow me to avoid payment of the second installment of the visa application charge. Function English is evidenced by a band score of at least f...

Sometimes, you know you've heard good advice. That's why Mr. Zaheer Khan's email seemed worthwhile, when he advised: "You have two option at this stage to lodge your application before 1 July, 2011. Due to policy changes in next year and make harder for most people to apply as skilled migration to Australia. Independent 175 visa you can lodge right now and I know it will take approx 15 months at this stage. Other option is to get state sponsorship which is less time then 175 visa. ENS and RSMS visa are not easy and you need to be sponsored by an employer before you can lodge your application. I suggest you to lodge your application in 175 and then apply for state sponsorship. Once you get sponsorship you can convert from 175 to 176 visa. Regards Zaheer Khan REGISTERED MIGRATION AGENT : MARN-0743622 (Post Grad. Cert. IMMI Law & Practice) (Victoria Uni Australia) P O Box 7203, Dandenong Victoria, Australia Cell: 0413685889 (Australia) ___________________...

Well, filling out the online application was just a little tricky but I got through to 99%. Of course, the last part of the application will take a few more days to come through - payment of AUD $2,575. Unfortunately, I was too busy fooling around to talk to a immigration helpline operator before they all went home to peg their socks out for Santa. Everyone will be most likely merry-making for the next three days at least - including Pakistanis this time over the long weekend (two whole days, plus one for Benazir with the hooligans at it again). From the immigration help page , the number to call for GSM application queries is apparently +(61) 1300-364-613, which probably connects to the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre (ASPC). The number is listed on the General Skilled Migration Processing Centres page . Office hours are 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday Central Australian Time (GMT +9.30 / PST +4.30), i.e. PST 04:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. To cut past the IVR, press 1 followed by 0 to tal...

Well, it seems that General Skilled Migration is certainly applicable to management accountants, since they are very much listed in Schedule 3 of the General Skilled Migration Skilled Occupation Lists (SOL) . Schedule 3 applies to all new GSM applications, as per the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) instrument which commenced on 5 December 2010 . However, GSM applications receive third priority in visa processing, after Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS). Information regarding priority processing can be found here . The ENS and RSMS are temporary visas. Temporary visas are a step back as only permanent residency leads to citizenship. However, I am in a position to get the minimum number of points for permanent residency under the Skilled – Independent subclass 175 visa as a management accountant. Using a migration agent is not necessary and can be risky, particularly if they are not registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Regi...

The ICAA has declared that my qualifications are “suitable for immigration purposes” as a management accountant a week before expected. I really don’t want to waste any time in getting my visa, since the assessment is valid for a maximum of two years, as is the IELTS result. Since changes are taking place more frequently than website updates, most of the information is out of date. The best place to start with the visa application process is probably the introductory page for the online application at http://www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/general-skilled-migration.htm The online application requires you to read the Life in Australia booklet before applying, available here . I ordered a copy today, with reference number '20101206221226 Khan'. Of course, the pdf version is also available from here , and contains essential facts and figures about Australia, including some history, general knowledge, government, laws and civil rights and some social commentary on Australian way of life...