Is it relatively easy for a recent college grad from the U.S. to migrate to Australia?

Question

I graduated from a state university in the U.S. with bachelor's degrees in economics and management. I don't have much experience, however.

I'd love to work in Australia. What are my odds of successfully migrating there? Would the "skilled migrant" program be my best bet, or should I try to get sponsored by an employer in Australia somehow?

And... how long does the immigration process generally take? Is there a huge backlog of applications to immigrate to Australia?

Thanks!

Answer 1

not easy at all

you need to be skilled in an occupation Australia needs

doesn't matter if you choose independent skilled visa or employer sponsored you still must be qualified,you also have to pass a points test

sponsorship is not easy as an employer must prove he can not fill the position in Australia before he can bring in a foreigner

dont do what the other user said her sister did,working on a tourist visa is illegal.You can apply for a 12 month working holiday visa though

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/index.htm

Answer 2

My sister graduated university in 2006, and is now living in austrailia.

She applied for a working visa, and was denied. So she had to settle for a tourist visa, which allowed her to live in australia, but she was mandated to leave the country every three months! So that means, taking time off work and paying for a flight out of the country very frequently. When that visa ended, she applied for a working visa.

It took her almost a year to get a working visa, which only lasts for 2 years, in which case she will have to re-apply and possibly get rejected. They are ridiculously strict with immigrants.

There definately will be difficulties getting to move to ANY other country, and especially to work there. Get started now, because the process will be long.

Answer 3

You will be able to migrate to Australia if your occupation is one in which workers are in demand in Australia. Your main problem will be in passing our points test, which gives additional points for experience and for occupations in very high demand, and as a recent graduate, you may have difficulty in qualifying for a non-regional visa.

Begin by assessing your chances...

See the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) to see if your occupation is on it: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121...

Even better, see if your job is on the Migrant Occupations in Demand List (MODL). If it is, you earn additional points and get priority processing:  http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-s...

Ensure you can have your skills recognised:

http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/a-z.htm#a

See if you can pass the points test:

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-s...

If you can jump those hurdles, you only need to meet health and character requirements, and you're in with a genuine chance of getting a permanent visa!

The standard time for processing applications is 12 months where the applicant passes the points test. If they don't pass, but instead meet the 'pool mark', it may take another 12 months in which they must reach the pass mark (more experience etc.). There is a backlog however, and processing may take longer than the standard times. It's well worth the wait - this is a fantastic country to live and work in!

Sponsorship, particularly to a regional area reduces (or in some cases, eliminates) the points requirements. See:

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/index.htm for info. re costs. other requirements and how to apply.

And K, there is nothing ridiculous about how strict we are. As it happens, it's even more difficult for Australians to move to the US, and in any case, we owe our first loyalties to our own people. No one will ever convince me that we should allow people in from overseas who will take jobs from Australians. We welcome immigrants with open arms, but they must be able to contibute needed skills to our economy without harming our own citizens.

Answer 4

I'm trying to migrate as well, but just cant figure out how!

They make it nearly impossible if you don't have any experience in the work field (and I dont have any either).

I've been looking into the work and holiday visa (which lets you work temporarily in positions-- picking fruit, farm work, etc), but i would rather find an employer to sponsor me, I'm just not sure how to go about doing that.

On top of that, the working migrate visa is $400 about and the work and holiday visa is less than $200.