New GSM Skills Assessment policy accepts 60-day invitation period.

• The government of Australia has announced changes in the immigration policies for candidates in the Skilled Migration category.
• As per the update, The Australian government is now accepting skills assessments obtained by applicants within 60 days of receiving an invitation for a General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa.

Changed Policies for Candidates in Skilled Migration of Australia

• Previously, the Australian government required applicants to complete the required skills assessments before the submission of the Expression of Interest for a GSM Visa. As a result, applicants benefit from a longer duration to submit the skills assessment, where the previous submission timeframe was a common cause of rejection due to assessments not being completed prior to the Expression of Interest stage.
• According to the new advisory, the updated policies permit the candidates to apply for the visa even if their skills assessment has expired when they receive an invitation. The Department offers 60 days to acquire a valid skills assessment.

Skills Assessment required for GSM visas

The international professionals in the following points-tested GSM or General Skilled Migration visas are required to have skills assessment for the nominated occupations:

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 489)
• Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491)

To be eligible for an invitation, the candidate must be nominated in an occupation listed on the relevant skilled occupation list for that particular visa subclass.

The candidates are required to submit evidence to demonstrate that they have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation they have applied for at the time of registering their application.

Making an Expression of Interest (EOI)

• The process of applying for a GSM Visa starts with submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) through the Skill Select system. Skill Select is an online platform that allows skilled workers to register their interest in migrating to Australia.

Receiving an invitation for a GSM visa

• When an applicant receives an invitation, they will have 60 days to submit their visa application, including their skills assessment. The skills assessment must be completed by a recognized assessing authority relevant to their nominated occupation.
• Previously, the Department of Home Affairs required applicants to have their skills assessments completed before submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) for a GSM Visa. However, the process can often be time-consuming, and some applicants might not have completed their assessments before receiving an invitation, which would mean that they would not meet the time of application criteria for a GSM visa and would have their visa refused.
• To address this issue, the Department of Home Affairs has now announced that skills assessments obtained within 60 days of receiving an invitation for a GSM Visa will now be accepted. This new policy will provide more flexibility for applicants and streamline the visa application process.
• The new policy will allow applicants to complete their skills assessment after receiving an invitation, giving them more time to prepare and organize their application.