SkillSelect – April 2019 Invitation Round Results
A significant drop in 189 Visa invitations.
The Australian Immigration Department has released the details of the SkillSelect invitation round which took place on 11th April 2019.
In the latest round only 100 prospective applicants received an invitation to apply for the 189 Skilled Independent Visa. The number of invitations for the Regional Visa remain unchanged at 10 invitations. In total 110 invitations were issued in the April 2019 round. This is the lowest number of invitations issued so far in the current financial year. In comparison, 4, 430 applicants received invitations to apply for the 189 Visa applicants in the October 2018 round.
The drop in the invitation numbers is not the only worrying trend. It appears that applicants must score at least 80 points in the Expression of Interest application to increase the chances of securing the invitation. Having reached the 80 points mark might not guarantee the invitation through since only 49 invitations were issued to applicants on 80 points in the April round.
The points required for pro-rata occupations have also gone up as follow: (*EoI date of effect applies):
Accountants: 90
Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers: 85
Electronics Engineer: 80
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers: 80
Other Engineering Professionals: 80
ICT Business and System Analyst: 85
Software and Applications Programmers: 80
Computer Network Professionals: 80
The next invitation round is due to take place on 11th May though the exact date is yet to be confirmed.
The points required for the State Sponsored visa remain unchanged at 65 however some State and Territory Governments appear to be prioritising applicants achieving higher Visa points scores.
Do you need up to date information and help with your Skilled Migrant Visa application? Contact our Australian Migration experts on 0207 427 5290 or email us: [email protected]
