How to get 30 extra points in your application to the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) or to the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)?
The Australian Government, through its Department of Home Affair has made a change in the table of points required to be eligible for Australian General Skilled Migration.
As of July 1, 2018 all visa applications must have a minimum score of 65 points for the following visas:
- Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
- Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
To consult the updated points table, go to: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-nominated-190/points-table
Note: For applications made before July 1, 2018, at least 60 points will be maintained.
This change makes obtaining a SkillSelect invitation more complicated than before and although obtaining the minimum 65 points required does not guarantee an invitation from the Australian government, it is the first step to achieve the dream of residing in this country.
To obtain extra points and achieve a good score, the applicant must work on the following aspects:
- PTE (Pearson Test of English Academic): 20 points
It is an academic test, which analyzes skills in speaking, writing, listening and reading through multiple choice questions, writing essays and interpreting information. This test aims to evaluate the person in a real life context, so they will be exposed to different situations and accents (Australian, American and non-native).
The applicant must reach a score of 79 in the PTE, to obtain the 20 points that the Australian Government grants for having a Superior English.
PTE Score vs IELTS Score
| IELTS | PTE |
| 8 | 79 or above |
| 7.5 | 73-78 |
| 7 | 65-72 |
| 6.5 | 59-64 |
| 6 | 51-58 |
| 5.5 | 43-50 |
| 5 | 35-42 |
More information about PTE can be obtained at: https://pearsonpte.com/
- Professional year: 5 points
Professional Year Program is a 44 weeks structured professional development program which is a combination of formal learning and workplace experience. It helps fresh international graduates to aid workplace experience who have recently graduated from the university in Australia. The applicant must demonstrate that they have minimum 2 years of study in Australia, enrolled in a higher education program of IT, engineering or accounting and must be in 485 visa or bridging visa with validity of minimum 1 year to pursue professional year program which would provide them with valuable 5 points.
Your Professional Year must have been:
- Completed in Australia in the four years before you are invited to apply for a visa.
- In your nominated occupation or a closely related occupation
- Completed over a period of at least 12 months
- Provided by one of these organizations:
- the Australian Computer Society
- CPA Australia
- Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand
- the Institute of Public Accountants (formerly the National Institute of Accountants)
- Engineers Australia.
More information about Professional Year Program can be obtained at: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-independent-189/points-table
- Accredited in a community language (NAATI): 5 points
The applicant must present the CCL test that includes two dialogues, which must be translated from the English language into the other language (LOTE) and vice versa, in which the precision of the translation will be evaluated. Each dialogue will have a maximum qualification of 45, for a total of 90 of which individual should have minimum of 29 in each out of 45.Besides, the applicant must obtain a qualification of 63 or superior in overall to be able to obtain the 5 points that the Australian government grants in this case.
More information about NAATI can be found on: https://www.naati.com.au/services/ccl/
In conclusion, if the applicant focuses on the above three aspects, you can accumulate 30 points that will be of great importance to add to your total score for the application, as follows:
| ITEM | CATEGORY | POINTS |
| ENGLISH | Superior English | 20 |
| Other | Professional year in Australia | 5 |
| Other | Accredited in a community language | 5 |
| total points | 30 | |
These 30 points are added to the points in addition to the points applicant has accumulated by age, employment experience, qualifications, studies and other aspects evaluated. In this way the applicant can achieve the minimum of 65 points and above required to receive an invitation and be able to start the Permanent Residency application process.
With effort and good advice, the immigration process can be successful, so it is important that the applicant makes sure to meet the requirements requested by the Australian government or work hardly to obtain the best qualification to guarantee the most points possible to achieve the objective.
At Maximus Education & Migration we are experts in study, migration and visa services, if you are having any queries related, contact us at 03 85601984 (L), 0402247131 (O) to have a free consultation!
For more details visit us at:
Suite 808, Level 8, 343 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
www.maximuseducation.com.au
info@maximuseducation.com.au
