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Interested in applying to migrate to Australia?
To qualify under Australia's skilled migration program, there are certain minimum requirements that each primary applicant must satisfy:
- You must be under 45 years of age when you lodge the visa application.
- You must have the required level of competency in the English language.
- You must meet either of the following requirements (click here for more information on skilled occupations):
- you have been employed for a minimum of 12 out of the 24 months before lodging the application in one of the skilled occupations listed for migration to Australia, or
- you have recently completed a minimum of two years of study in Australia and obtained acceptable academic or professional qualifications in one of those occupations
- You must pass standard health, character and security checks
If you think you meet these requirements, or if you are not sure but would like to get more information, you might consider applying for a full professional assessment prepared by an Accredited Specialist Australian Immigration Lawyer.
Why pay for a consultation when plenty of people offer "free assessments"?
Some of the best things in life are free, but mostly you get what you pay for. A lot of the "free assessment" offers you find on the internet are based on a computer program which calculates your points according to a generic profile and, if you might be eligible, you get a response that says something like:
"CONGRATULATIONS! You have scored xxx points which is enough to qualify you for skilled migration. Now all you have to do is sign up for our full professional consultation to get started towards your new life in Australia."
After reading through the fine print (if you can find it), you then learn that the service takes no responsibility for the result of the free assessment, there really is a lot more information needed, and it will cost you $XXX to go to the next stage.
The fact is that assessing whether a person is eligible to migrate to Australia is a lot harder than it looks. The first hurdle is getting through the skills assessment procedure which has to be done before you can even apply for the visa. Depending on the occupation you are applying under (which by the way may not necessarily be the one you would think), you will have to apply to one of about 35 different "relevant assessing authorities". These are mainly non-government professional associations each of which has its own requirements and guidelines. Many have higher English language standards than the minimum required by Immigration. Some of them recognise only certain Universities or Colleges, or qualifications from certain countries. Some require you to come to Australia for testing.
On the other hand, the various States and Territories that make up the Commonwealth of Australia are allowed to nominate migrants in certain occupations that they are looking for, so some people who don't get the necessary score on the computerised points test might still be eligible with a State or Territory sponsorship.
Basically, free assessments are worth about as much as you pay for them -- nothing. So we don't offer them. What we do offer is an assessment that is:-
- personalised;
- detailed;
- covers all your options;
- in writing;
- prepared by a licensed legal practitioner who is one of less than 50 accredited specialist immigration lawyers in Australia;
- covered by lawyer's Professional Indemnity Insurance for your protection;
- protected from disclosure to others by the principal of "client legal privilege" and privacy laws;
- with information about what to do next.
Before we give you our assessment we will talk to you, human to human, by phone, email, IM, whichever you prefer. We will ask you for lots of information, and then probably lots more. We might take a few days to look things up or make enquiries. Then we will put it all down in writing, give it to you, and talk to you some more if necessary.
We think that's worth paying for.
So how much does it cost?
Full professional assessment - $150. (This amount is in Australian dollars (AUD). Click here for approximate exchange rates for other currencies.) If you are in Australia, or usually resident here, there will be a 10% surcharge for GST.
You will only be asked to pay the fee when the assessment has been prepared and is ready to send to you.
What do you need to do?
Send us details of your background, education and work experience.
It is very important that you provide all of the information requested. Please do not send a partial answer as we will then not be able to complete the assessment.
- Your date of birth.
- Nationalities of all passports you hold.
- A full list of all education you have completed, showing names of institutions, qualifications awarded, dates of study and a list of all subjects studied and marks awarded. Please do not use abbreviations for the names of institutions or courses as these may not be understood.
- Detailed duty statements for all employment positions you have held. Please describe your duties in full, don't just give job titles. Give dates of employment and state whether full or part-time.
- Details of any relatives you have in Australia: type of relationship, immigration status, postcode of residence.
- If you have taken the IELTS English language test: date of the test and the mark awarded for each of the four parts.
- Any other matters you think might be relevant (for example, if you have any concerns about the health, character and security requirements, let us know).
If possible, please send the information in an attachment as a formatted .doc, .rtf or .pdf file.
If you have a spouse (whether legally married or not), it would be helpful if you could send the same information for them as well. There is no extra fee for a joint assessment.
Send email to mtjones@migrantlaw.com.
After you have sent us the information, we may get back to you for further details or explanation. Once we have everything we need, we will prepare a detailed written assessment based on current Australian immigration law and policies, and also referring to any future changes to the extent that they are known or expected at the time of the assessment. Where appropriate we will advise on what you might do to improve your position if you do not immediately qualify, or other options that you might have.
As stated above, you will only be asked to pay when the assessment has been prepared and is ready to send to you.
Alternative assessment - telephone consultation with an accredited specialist immigration lawyer
If you have questions about migration to Australia that are not connected with the skilled migration program, you can book a telephone consultation to speak to an accredited specialist immigration lawyer. The call can be recorded and a copy emailed to you for your records.