Delight Your Clients and Grow Your Immigration Consulting Business

The Australian Government has clearly signalled that Skilled Independent visas are to reduce in number.

This is because these visas are granted based on the applicant’s occupation, but many migrants do not end up working in their nominated occupation. Although it makes sense to allow people the chance to settle and adapt to local requirements, the Government’s position is that the visa was granted on the expectation that Australia would receive a person who was going to work in that skilled occupation. After all, this is why that occupation was listed for immigration purposes as being in short supply in Australia.

So there is an official Government policy shift towards the grant of sponsored visas instead of unsponsored ones - where someone other than a Federal Government employee chooses which skills are needed and which people should be able to apply for a visa. See this news release. A quote from the Minister in this article reads as: “To meet immediate skills needs, the government will fast-track the processing of sponsored permanent migration visas, where skilled migrants are nominated by employers for jobs that cannot be filled locally. 'This could see employer sponsored visas occupying an increasing share of the skilled program.”

What this means is the applicants who self select and are then granted a Skilled Independent visa will continue to reduce in numbers, and there will be steady increases in the numbers of ENS, RSMS and 457 sponsored visas (plus State sponsored applicants on special lists).

Already the programme for 2010/2011 is shaped to be different to that from 2009/2010. And this trend will continue. Discussion in the industry is that Skilled Independent visa grants will probably shrink to around 20,000 per year...

In your immigration consulting business, this will mean you receive fewer clients unless you shift your marketing focus towards clients who need sponsorship or employment assistance. This policy change is also better for the migrant, as a successful job search strategy will result in more productive employment and better wages. If migrants are left to their own resources to settle in Australia after you obtain their visa, there is a good chance that they will working below their abilities and attracting a lower income.

Put bluntly, the days of “get a visa and go” are gone, or soon will be. Now it is all about “get a job, get a visa and go”,

It’s also a waste of immigration places, as the Government wants to bring in people to fill skilled vacancies, not lesser service roles. This could be classified as a failure of migration policy, but it is more a failure of the migrant’s efforts to cleverly market themselves in a new country.

Our service can help speed up visa processing times by allowing a broader choice of visa options. Now agents can consider employer sponsorship and genuine offers of employment in the visa mix. Furthermore, our services provide the only way for many people to migrate, being those who need the points from a job offer or sponsor. (Click here for our agent brochure).

By selecting a visa with a higher processing priority, your clients can migrate to Australia without significant delay.

The new priority for processing skilled migration places will be:

• Employer sponsored migration visa categories (such as the Employer Nomination Scheme and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme)
• State Migration Plan
• State nominated, on CSL
• CSL without State nomination
• State nominated, not on CSL
• Skilled independent, non CSL, not State or employer sponsored, no job offer.

Therefore, moving your client from a generic Skilled Independent application to an employer sponsored visa may result in faster grant of a visa.

The service options are:

• CV Review
• Written Job Search Strategy
• Personal Job Search
• Written Job Search Report
• Interview Training
• Meet and Greet

For agents who handle several Job Search clients per year, fees are reduced where the agent holds a license to market our services. A licence is essentially a discount card for bulk clients, much like a concession card for multiple use of rail or bus.

Here is a table that shows who is responsible for what in the Hire A Migrant system:

This table explains the concessions and benefits for licensed agents:

This fee structure does not discriminate against unlicensed agents, rather it encourages agents to invest in marketing effort to reach more employers and find more jobs - this is where the substantial part of the license fee is being spent. Agents who help us find more jobs for their client must benefit financially through discounted services.

Click here to enrol a new client for job search service assessment.

This next link takes you to a page about how we work together, what we can offer in support and what are the key issues in the Agency license agreement (different to the client service agreement).

Click here to review and request marketing support and materials as a licensed agent.

Any new agent can click here to download a $250 discount voucher to use with your first job search client project.

This site is not intended for use by either migrants or sponsors who are directly sponsoring a future employe. It is a condition of use of this site that all users acknowledge that they are not seeking migration advice for themselves as migrant or to act as sponsor of a future worker. For full legal entitlement and disclaimer please click here (c) Hire A Migrant Pty Ltd ACN 124 164 138 unless attributed.

The Australian Government is now in caretaker mode ahead of the national election scheduled for August 21. The timing is very unfortunate as a long series of major changes to immigration policy are still unfinished, leaving many thousands of people in a state of great uncertainty.

Although it is possible that State Governments may be able to submit their new lists of State Sponsored occupations for Ministerial approval, it is unclear whether the Minister still has the ability to authorise their implementation at least until a new Government is formed. Similarly, other unwelcome legislation for capping and ceasing certain visa categories is also unable to progress. Another choke point is that quotas for certain occupations may also be implemented at State and Federal levels soon after the election.

Or not! One major party view is that smaller employers should find it easier to become a sponsor, which would enable many more job applicants through. Applicants affected by change and uncertainty may still consider applying for 457 permits until their visa pathway for permanent residency is made clear. Even without the election, Immigration is in a bit of a mess and it will probably be October before it’s mostly cleared up.