The International English Language Testing system, also known as IELTS, is the only recognised language testing system in Australia, apart from the OET (Occupational English Test) in the health sector. It has been widely noted that IELTS holds a statutory monopoly on English Language Testing in Australia.
Many professionals in the immigration industry have raised arguable claims that the IELTS points system is unfair, as applicants for Skilled Migration need to secure a minimum amount of points to be able to apply for migration in Australia.
The current points allocation scheme has two thresholds:
- A score of seven in each component (Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing) is awarded 10 points.
- A score of eight points in each component is awarded 20 points.
If you fall short on any component you will not be awarded the respective points of the threshold, even if your overall score is high. This means that applicants are not being recognized for the true extent of their English language skills.
It is particularly important to engage an experienced migration lawyer under this process because:
- The new SkillSelect program applies the ‘occupation ceiling’ feature to certain invitations, which means that there will be a limit on how many EOIs are selected for some occupation groups – once this limit is reached, no further invitations for that group will be issued for that program year. Invitations would then be issued to other EOIs (even if they are lower ranking).
- If you need to come to Australia ASAP (before an EOI is issued) or if you become impatient with the wait, then an experienced migration lawyer can identify alternative options and advise you on the pros and cons of each option.
- At The Migration Place we often put together a visa strategy which balances out the desire for permanent residency (PR) against the desire to come to Australia ASAP. It is always wise to have more than one visa option in play if possible, just as it is wise for a trapeze artist to have a safety net.
If you would like to receive further information about applying for a Skilled visa, contact our office on (07) 3229 4025.