The Department of Immigration and Citizenship introduced new priority processing arrangements for certain skilled migration visas on 1 July 2010.

These arrangements take account of the changes to the Skilled Occupation  List (SOL) that came into effect on 1 July 2010, as well as the scrapping  of the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL) and the Critical Skills  List (CSL).

These new priority processing arrangements apply to applications  already lodged with the Department and to future applications.

The new priority processing arrangements apply to the following visas:
 •    The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
 •    The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
 •    General Skilled Migration (GSM)

The following GSM visa subclasses are exempt from the priority processing  provisions specified in Direction 48:
 •    Skilled – Recognised Graduate Subclass 476
 •    Skilled – Graduate Subclass 485
 •    Skilled – Designated Area – Sponsored (Residence) Subclass 883
 •    Skilled – Regional Subclass 887

 Applications for these visa subclasses will be processed in the order in  which they are received.

 The following GSM applications are exempt from Direction 48:
 •    applications that have been remitted by the Migration Review Tribunal
 for reconsideration;
 •    applications where it is readily apparent that the criteria for grant
 of the visa would not be satisfied;
 •    applications by members of the family unit of a person who holds a
 temporary or provisional GSM visa (subsequent entrant applications).
 •    visa applications for a Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 487
 visa where the applicant holds a Skilled – Independent Regional
 (Provisional) Subclass 495 visa, Skilled – Designated Area-sponsored
 (Provisional) Subclass 496 visa, Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 487  visa or Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 475 visa at the time they  apply.

The Skilled Migration visa processing priorities
Under the new  priority processing rules are the visas below starting with those with highest priority listed first:
    1. Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the ENS and
    the RSMS.
    2. Applications from people who are nominated by a state or territory
    government agency with a nominated occupation that is specified on that
    state or    territory’s state migration plan.
    3. Applications from people who have nominated an occupation on the new
    Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 in effect from 1 July 2010.
 
We highly recommend you book a Professional Migration Assessment with one of our registered migration agent to make heads or tails out of all the new legislation introduced by the Department of Immigration before you lodge a visa application.

Danielle Ferris
Registered Migration Agent
Migration Agent Registration Number 0955608
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