ONLY ALL SEARCH

You must be at least at "competent" English to be eligible to apply for occupations other than trade occupations. You should have a high enough level of English that would enable you to score at least a "6" on all four components of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination. However, if your nominated occupations is a trade occupation, a score of "5" (vocational) will suffice.

You must have post-secondary (such as university or trade) qualifications (in a small number of occupations substantial relevant work experience may be acceptable) and your skills must have been assessed by the relevant Australian assessing authority as suitable for your nominated occupation.

If your current occupation, or an occupation in which you have engaged in for several years, is not found on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL), then you can not apply for permanent residency to Australia under the Skilled categories.

This is separate to the need to have your skills assessed as suitable for your nominated occupation before you apply.

• To meet the recent work experience requirement, you must have been employed in an occupation on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) for at least 12 of the 24 months before applying.
• You are required to have worked at a skilled level for at least 20 hours a week.

To meet the two-year study requirement, you must have completed in at least 16 calendar months:

• a single qualification requiring at least two academic years of study; or
• more than one qualification resulting in a total period of at least two academic years of study