Revised visa norms make migration to Australia a tough job

For Chetan Kulkarni who has been trying to migrate to Australia for over a year,it was a shock to learn that his post of office manager no longer featured in the new Skilled Occupation List released by the Australian Government on July 1.

For Chetan Kulkarni who has been trying to migrate to Australia for over a year,it was a shock to learn that his post of office manager no longer featured in the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) released by the Australian Government on July 1. With the SOL reduced to about 188 from an earlier 440,experts say the decision will reduce the number of migrants by about 50 per cent and at the receiving end are thousands from the city.

I have already spent Rs 1.5 lakh on consultation and visa processing formalities. As the occupation office manager has not been listed on the SOL,I will have to undergo skills assessment once again at an additional cost of Rs 10,000, says Kulkarni,an employee of a MNC bank.

Some of the most in-demand professions including hairdressing,toolmaking and fitting have been omitted from the list. Im a hairdresser and was genuinely keen on migrating to Australia. Now that my profession is removed from the SOL,I do not know what to do, says Saritha Rai.

With about five lakh people emigrating annually,India has been one of the largest manpower providers for Australia and experts feel that the reduced SOL along with stringent student laws will reduce the immigrant flow by around 50 per cent. One needs to get 120 points in the skills assessment test to be eligible to get a work permit. One of the areas where the candidates used to score additional points was the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in which one could get 15 points if he or she scored a band six,another 15 points if they had a blood relative in Australia and 15 more if his/her profession was listed in the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL).

On July 1,the Australian Government increased the IELTS requirement to band seven and removed the other two arrangements completely. This means that people with average knowledge in English can never go to Australia even if they have blood relatives there. This may hit the flow of trade persons, says Manoj Palwe of Taurus Infotech,immigration consultants.

State sponsorship is one of the options and it carries 15 points,but comes with a fee ranging from Rs 25,000- 30,000. Many candidates opt for this to gain 120 points.

Each state in Australia has its own list of nominated professions. The state nomination lists are expected to be out soon and we hope that they will give us more space to choose from. Right now,we have decided to wait, said Jasmine Patel of JSK consultants.

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Canada,one of the destinations to migrate easily to,has also followed in the footsteps of Australia. Many are looking for a permanent change. However,I feel that the embassy will clear the pending applications and revise the list once again after a year, says Aseem Mane,an advertising professional.

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migration