SETTLE IN AUSTRALIA

Australia is the smallest continent, but combines a wide variety of landscapes. These include deserts in its interior, hills and mountains, tropical rainforests, and heavily populated coastal strips with long beaches and coral reefs off the shoreline. Australia offers a wealth of travel experiences, from the vastness and drama of the outback, to the spectacle of the Great Barrier Reef and its islands, the cosmopolitanism of Sydney and arguably some of the best beaches in the world. Visitors expecting to see an opera in Sydney one night and meet Crocodile Dundee the next will have to re-think their grasp of geography in this huge country. It is this sheer vastness, and the friction between the ancient land steeped in Aboriginal lore and the New World cultures being heaped upon it, which gives Australia much of its character. Modern-day Australia is made up of six states and two territories: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory, where the capital city of Canberra is located. The government of the country is democratic, led by the governor-general. The Queen of England holds symbolic executive power. Because of this close cultural tie to Great Britain, Australia has been involved in many events along with England, including both world wars. Presently, the country enjoys healthy relations with Japan, many nations of Southeast Asia and Europe, the United States, and neighboring New Zealand. Since Europeans first came to Australia, in 1788, immigration has been essential to the country's development. The world's smallest continent and the sixth-largest country, Australia has a culture similar to that of the United States. Most Australians live in the temperate southern and eastern parts of the continent; much of the rest is semi-arid to arid. Most Australians are Caucasian, with Asians and Aboriginal people making up the majority of the rest of the population. Sydney is Australia's largest city, home to one fifth of the country's 19.2 million people, but Canberra is the capital. Today, Australia is a culturally diverse nation. After World War II, immigrants from Greece, Turkey, and Italy poured into the country. Later waves of immigrants followed from Asia in the early 1970s. Though many Australians are of British and Irish ancestry, by 1988 almost 4 percent of the entire population was of Asian descent. There are still approximately 230,000 Aborigines in Australia today. The diversity of the population leads to a unique fusion of different interests that make up Australian culture. Art, music, and education are important to Australians, and sports such as cricket, rugby, football, and yachting are popular pastimes for many. The focus of Australia's foreign policy has shifted in the past 20 years or so from Europe and the US to its near-neighbors. It has acted as a broker between warring groups in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The main Australia immigration program is made up of- A skill immigration stream, which has a number of categories for people who have particular occupation skills, outstanding talents or business skills, A family immigration stream, where people can be sponsored by a relative who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident and a special eligibility migrants, who are former citizens or residents wanting to return to Australia, or certain New Zealanders. The immigration program for 2003-04 has 100,000 to 110,000 places available for migrants, plus a parent contingency reserve of 6,500 places for a full year. (top)

Australia’s Skilled Migration Scheme: The purpose of the Australia skilled migration scheme is to attract people with skills which would be of benefit to Australia. If successful in applying for skilled migration visa, you will be granted permanent residence in Australia. In order to be eligible for skilled migration, you or your spouse must be able to satisfy the basic requirements like, Age: You must be under 45 years of age when you apply, English language: You must have sufficient ability in the English language for working in Australia. This is known as vocational English, Qualifications: You must meet the requirements for the award of degree, diploma, advanced diploma or trade qualification(s) which took at least 2 years of full-time study in Australia at an Australian institution, which are relevant to your nominated occupation and which were taught in English. You must have post-secondary (such as university or trade) qualifications, or in a small number of cases, substandard. Degree or trade certificate specific to the occupation, and experience related to this profession (60), Qualification equivalent to Australian degree, but not specifically related to the profession (50), Qualification equivalent to Australian diploma or advanced diploma, but not necessarily specifically related to the profession (40), Occupation not on the Skilled Occupations List (0), Occupation: You must nominate a skilled occupation which fits your skills and qualifications. The nominated occupation must be in the Skilled Occupations List. Generally you need to show that you have worked in a skilled occupation for a set period of time. The amount of relevant work experience you must have is dependent on the occupation that you nominate. If you are an international student you may qualify for a waiver of this requirement. Degree or trade certificate specific to the occupation, and experience related to this profession (60), Qualification equivalent to Australian degree, but not specifically related to the profession (50), Qualification equivalent to Australian diploma or advanced diploma, but not necessarily specifically related to the profession (40), Occupation not on the Skilled Occupations List (0).

Australian Qualification Exemption: In the last 6 months, if you have completed a degree, diploma, advanced diploma or trade qualification which took at least 2 years of full-time study in Australia at an Australian institution, which are relevant to your nominated occupation and which were taught in English, you are exempted from this score. If you have been in paid employment in a skilled occupation for at least 12 of the last 18 months, you are worth 60 points, and it is is worth 40 or 50 points, if you have been in paid employment in a skilled occupation for at least 24 of the last 36 months. There are points based on your age, Under 18, 18-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45 and over. Points are given for your English Language Ability with Competent English, Vocational English and Less than vocational English. Points are also given for Spouse Skill Qualifications if spouse is aged under 45, has vocational English ability, has an occupation on the Skilled Occupations List, in the last 6 months, has completed degree, diploma, advanced diploma or trade qualification(s) which took at least 2 years of full-time study in Australia at an Australian institution, which are relevant to spouse's nominated occupation and which were taught in English, has an occupation worth 60 points, and has been employed in that occupation for 12 of the last 18 months or has an occupation worth 40 or 50 points, and has been employed in that occupation for 24 of the last 36 months. If you have a job offer in an organisation with at least 10 full-time employees. If you are willing to invest A$100,000 in an Australian government security for a period of at least 12 months or employed in Australia in a skilled occupation for at least 6 of the last 48 months, while holding a visa authorising me to work, holder of a qualification equivalent to an Australian degree in a designated language, accredited as a professional interpreter or translator (level 3) in a designated language by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. You may receive points if you or your spouse has a relative who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident and is willing to sponsor you. You or your spouse must be related to the sponsor as either, a non-dependent child, a parent, a brother or sister, an uncle or aunt.

Generally in order to qualify for skilled migration you must pass the skilled migration points test. The minimum pass mark is 120. If you have relatives living in Australia, this may greatly enhance your chances of qualifying for skilled migration. You would need to be aged under 45, and be a manager, professional, associate professional or tradesperson to qualify. If you have a relative living in a designated area, you may qualify for skilled migration even without passing the points test. Designated areas include the whole of Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, ACT, NT, and areas in other states outside capital cities. (top)

If you have close family living in Australia, they may be able to sponsor you for migration visa or permanent residence. If you are in a permanent relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you may be eligible to apply for permanent residence on spouse grounds. If you are married to, intend to marry or live in a de-facto relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen living in Australia, your partner may sponsor you for permanent residence visa in Australia. A Parent Visa enables a person with children who are Australian citizens or permanent residents to be sponsored for migration to Australia. In some circumstances, the visa may be applied for while the parent in Australia. Eligibility depends on how many children the applicant has, and how many of them are living permanently in Australia. If you have a background in business management or high level investment activities and are interested in investing in Australia, starting up a new business in Australia or purchasing an ownership interest in an existing Australian business, you and your family may be eligible for permanent residence status under Australia's business migration program. Business owner visas allow people with a significant ownership interest in a medium to large size business overseas to migrate to Australia and establish or invest in a business there. Senior executives with management experience in a large overseas corporation may be granted permanent residence in Australia under this visa category. Once in Australia, they are expected to establish or make a significant investment in an Australian business. Investment-Linked visas are granted to applicants who are experienced in making business investments, have access to substantial capital, and willing to make a substantial investment in an Australian Government Security for a fixed term. Once they have migrated to Australia, visa holders are expected to engage in some form of business or investment activity. If you already have a significant ownership interest in an Australian business, and would be willing to take-up residence in Australia for at least nine months in order to take an active role in the management of that business. This category of business migration requires the least capital outlay.

An Australian company can sponsor a prospective employee for temporary or permanent residence in Australia. A visa will be granted on the condition that the applicant takes up a skilled position with the sponsoring organisation. Representatives of foreign companies which intend to open a branch office in Australia may also qualify. If you want to work in Australia on a company sponsorship visa, you will need to find a job with an Australian company before you apply for a visa.

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