To the relief of many applicants for General Skilled Migration, the required scores for 189 invitations have started to drop.
This article looks at the SkillSelect invitation rounds so far in the 2017-18 program year and looks at the required points and waiting times for the most popular skilled occupations.
Skilled Independent Subclass 189 – Non Pro Rata Occupations
For non-pro rata occupations, the minimum score for an invitation for a Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa has dropped from 70 to 65 in the latest round.
Waiting time with 65 points is 30 weeks, but we expect this to reduce over the next few rounds. Eventually, we expect the minimum score to drop to 60 but it is difficult to predict when this is likely to happen.
Accountants and Auditors
Minimum score for accountants and auditors remains at 75 points. Looking at waiting times, these are not reducing as quickly as expected, so the score may remain at 75 for the next few months at least.
points and waiting times.
IT Professionals
Minimum score for ICT Business and Systems Analysts remain at 70, but the minimum score for Software and Applications Programmers and Computer Network Professionals has dropped to 65 points in the most recent round.
Engineers
Most engineering specialisations are not pro rata so the minimum score will be 65 for these occupations.
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers dropped to 65 in the most recent round, and looking at the waiting times for Electronics Engineers, we expect this occupation to follow in the next invitation round.
Other Engineering Professionals is also likely to drop from 70 to 65, but this may take another round or two.
Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 – Family Sponsored
Minimum points for the Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 family sponsored option have been 60 for the whole program year.
We suspect that many of the invitations for this subclass have been for pro rata occupations.
