|
Migrants in Demand |
| Engineers |
| (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical etc) |
| Healthcare |
| (Nurses, Pharmacist, Doctors etc) |
| IT Professionals |
| (C++/C#, SAP, Java, Siebel) |
| Tradesmen |
| (Toolmakers, Electrician, Welders etc) |
| Other Professionals |
| (Accountant, Chef etc.) |
Processing Fees and Duration
Visa Application Fee
The visa application charge for most of the listed Skilled visa is AU $ 1,990.00
This fee covers application for all members in a family unit.
If any member of a family unit aged above 18 years does not meet the requirement for functional English (IELTS Score of at least 5.0), then an additional fee of AU $ 2,765.00 is payable later at the final stage of the application.
Other Fees and charges
Besides the above visa application fee, an applicant may incur the following additional fees and charges
- Skills Assessment Fee – All skilled migrants (and sometime their spouses) need to get their skills assessed by a nominated skills assessment body in Australia. The fee for skills assessment varies depending on the occupation and assessing bodies.
- IELTS Fee – For most applicants from non-English speaking countries, DIAC requires submission of a valid IELTS score for each applicant above 18 years. This fee is normally payable in your current country of residence (approx AU $ 250.00 per applicant above 18 years)
- Health and Medical examination Fee – All applicants need to complete medical examination as prescribed by DIAC by a panel of doctors approved by DIAC. The fee for medical examination may vary for adults and children in different countries.
- Police clerance certificates – All applicants above the age of 18 need to submit valid Police clerance certificates from all countries where they have lived for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. The fee for this may vary in each country.
- Migration Agent Fee – If you seek the help of a registered migration agent to lodge your application, the agent may charge you a fee. Generally migration agent fees are spread over each stage of the process and vary amongst agent.
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It is advisable to seek the help of a registered Australian Migration Agent, who has sound understanding of Australian immigration law and are governed by the code of the Migration Agents Regulatory Authority (MARA).
All registered migration agents hold a valid registration number which can be verified at http://www.themara.com.au/Online/ARSearch.asp?DeptID=140
Visa processing duration
Off-shore visas – The current processing time for skilled visas that can be lodged from off-shore (outside Australia) is about 8-10 months.
On-shore visas – The current processing time for skilled visas that can be lodged from on-shore (within Australia) is about 3-5 months.
In most cases (especially off-shore visas) you can only lodge your visa application after completing a skills assessment for your nominated occupation. The skills assessment time could vary among various assessing bodies ranging from 2-10 weeks.