In the post World War II era Australia set up a large scale migration programme in agreement with the British, other European and the International Refugee Organisation to encourage migration, especially from war-torn Europe.

Since that time the migration programme has undergone many changes, revisions and updates to take into account the changing needs of the Australian economy and society. This migration programme has seen 5.7 million people settle in Australia and the population rise from 7 million to 18.6 million. Successive governments have modified and developed policy around the needs of the country, the people and the economy.

Today Australia is one of the few countries in the world to run a permanent migration programme to actively encourage potential migrants to settle in the country. The policy is non-discriminatory and means that anyone from any country can apply to migrate regardless of their gender, ethnic origin or religion.

MIGRATION PROGRAMME

In broad terms the immigration programme can be split into the following categories:

Family stream

This allows people with family links to Australian citizens or permanent residence the right to live and work in Australia.

Skilled stream

This seeks to bring in people with business or work skills or other special talents that would be of benefit to Australia’s economic growth.

The government hopes to attract 100,000 immigrants for 2006/2007 places on the permanent migration programme, with roughly half going to people with family links in Australia, the remainder having business or professional skills and abilities. There is also a humanitarian programme for refugees and displaced people who have suffered human rights violations or discrimination.

The major reasons for migrating are for family reunion, cultural change, economic and career opportunities, political stability and the appeal of the lifestyle and environment.

Eligibility under the skilled stream

Australia’s permanent migration programme encourages people with professional or trade occupations to settle in Australia. More than half of the places on the migration programme are allocated to skilled migrants.

You may apply if you:

• Are under 45 years of age at the time of application.
• Have an occupation that is listed on the Skilled Occupations List. Please refer to the Glossary for a detailed version of this document.
• Have obtained a successful outcome of your skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority in Australia.
• Have at least 12 to 24 months’ recent work experience depending on your occupation.

IDENTIFYING YOUR OCCUPATION

There are over 400 specific jobs listed on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) that may qualify a person for permanent migration to Australia. You will need to confirm that you have an occupation that is on this list.

The list is grouped into four major categories:

• managers and administrators
• professionals
• associate professionals
• tradepersons and related workers.

It is important to ensure that the occupation that is chosen from the list accurately reflects your experience. Occupations and job titles often differ from country to country, and may be known by a different name in Australia.

Many of the job titles on the list cover a wide range of roles and specialisations. If you need to clarify what occupation would be best for you to apply under you should either contact the relevant assessing authority, or browse through the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations book (ASCO).

The Skilled Occupations List also shows:

• the ASCO number for the occupation
• the relevant assessing authority for the occupation
• the number of points allocated for the occupation points test.

GETTING YOUR SKILLS ASSESSED

Before a full migration application can be submitted, the candidate’s qualifications, skills, experience and competence in their chosen occupation must be assessed by the relevant assessing authority in Australia. The purpose of this assessment is to ensure that the person is suitably trained, qualified and experienced to work in the nominated occupation. The government relies on trade associations and professional societies to assess applicants’ skills.

The benefit of the skills assessment is that it will help the candidate determine whether it will be worthwhile to submit a full application. In the past many people went through the effort of preparing a full migration application only to find at the last stages that they did not meet the Australian standards for their occupation, and therefore could not be approved for permanent migration.

Each authority has different procedures to assess a candidate’s skills, but in general they will want to see evidence of tertiary or trade qualifications, and proof of any relevant work experience. They will contact the specific authority that deals with your nominated occupation for exact details on how to have your skills assessed. Included below is a general list of information and documentation that the majority of assessing authorities ask for:

Identification

• Copy of full-length birth certificate, or
• copy of identification pages of passport
• evidence of change of name (if applicable, e.g., marriage certificate)
• two passport photographs.

Education

• Copies of all post secondary qualifications and certificates (e.g. degree, diploma).
• Transcripts of courses completed, including details of the duration, date of completion and subjects covered and evidence of the nature and content of the training, describing the content of each subject studied for the machines, tools and equipment on which you were trained.
• Registration or licensing membership.
• Any documentation not in English must be accompanied by an English translation from a certified translator.

Work experience/employment history

In further support of your application, you will need to provide evidence of all your previous and current employment. This should be submitted in the form of a statement of service/reference on company letterhead and signed by a company official. The statement should include the following:

• Exact dates when your employment with each specific company commenced and terminated and details of training undertaken and any promotions.
• The position/classification in which you were employed.
• A full and detailed description of the nature and content of your work tasks and the tools and equipment used.

Where applicable also provide:

• Evidence of trade training undertaken during service in the armed forces, e.g. training and employment record (if applicable).

If references for each period of employment are not available (e.g. the company has gone out of business), please provide:

• certified copies of your annual tax returns
• pay advice/wage slips
• job specifications
• letters of appointment.

Self-employment

If you have been self-employed at any time you should provide the following:

• A personal statement on a properly signed statutory declaration, affidavit or similar legal declaration (with your signature witnessed by a legal authority in your country) providing full details on:
  • the exact commencement and completion date of each period of self-employment
  • the occupations in which you were self-employed
  • the nature and content of the work tasks you personally performed
  • the number of staff employed and their occupations
  • your workshop and the tools and equipment used
  • your business registration certificate.
• At least three statements from suppliers, on letterhead paper, confirming the nature of business, trading dates, the total amount of all material/equipment purchased over a 12-month period and the types of material equipment supplied.
• At least three statements from clients, on letterhead paper, with full details of the work you did for them including dates and the total amount of contracts executed over a 12-month period.
• A statement on letterhead paper from your accountant or legal representative certifying the name and nature of your business, the exact dates of the period of self-employment and the capacity in which you have been self-employed.

PAYMENT OF FEES

All the assessing authorities in Australia charge a fee to carry out a skills assessment. These range from approximately A$100 to A$1000 depending on the occupation. While a few assessing authorities accept credit cards most of them will require the money in the form of a bank draft or money order. This will need to be drawn on an Australian bank that will clear in Australia. You will also need to check with the assessing authority who to make the cheque payable to.

HOW TO HAVE YOUR DOCUMENTS CORRECTLY CERTIFIED

This is the stage where many people encounter problems with their applications. While the following procedures may seem long-winded and pedantic, they are put in place by the assessing authorities to ensure that the information they are receiving is true and factual.

• All documentation submitted to the assessing authority must be certified copies of the originals.

Accordingly, you are required to make photocopies of documents and then take these photocopies, along with the originals, to a person authorised by the Australian government to certify documents. This authorised person will compare the copies with the originals and certify (in the appropriate words) on the copy itself that the photocopy is a true copy of the original document. Failure to adhere to these procedures will render your application invalid, and it will be returned to you, possibly a number of months later, asking you to resubmit it in the correct format.

A list of persons authorised to certify photocopied documents

• 1.Solicitor/barrister
• 2.Justice of the Peace/magistrate
• 3.Notary public
• 4.Commissioner for oaths/affidavits

What each certified photocopy must bear

• The full name of the authorised person
• The person’s status, e.g. solicitor, GP
• The person’s signature
• The person’s official stamp or seal.

You should not send a photocopy of a document where the certification itself is also part of the photocopy. The certification must always be put onto the photocopied document.

Although the approved person may charge you for this certification service, you should always adhere to the above list of approved persons, as other persons will not be considered acceptable and this will result in your application being returned to you without being processed.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

How long will it take?

Processing times vary depending on agency procedures and the case load they have to deal with. Average processing times may range from two to six months, though agencies will normally issue a letter confirming receipt of the application once they have received it. If the assessing authority requires further information they will normally ask for this by way of a letter. This further information should be promptly forwarded to them to allow them to reach a decision on the case as quickly as possible.

What can I expect the result to be?

If the assessing authority feels that you meet the requirements they will respond with a confirmation letter. They will also give a recommendation on the points that you should be awarded in support of your migration application, though it should be noted that the final decision on occupation points lies with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) processing case officer. For occupations that require Australian registration they may also provide details of any extra registration requirements that will need to be undertaken. This could include conversion courses and/or professional training.

If the assessing authority feels that you do not meet the required standards they will normally provide you with guidance on what will need to be done for their criteria to be met. This might be a period of further work experience or extra studies to gain the necessary qualifications. If the skills assessment was positive the next step will be to clarify what the work experience requirements are for your application.

CLARIFYING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE

• If your nominated occupation is worth 60 points you must have been in paid employment in the skilled occupations for at least 12 out of the last 18 months before submitting your full migration application.
• If your nominated occupation is worth 40 or 50 points, you must have been in paid employment in a skilled occupation for at least two out of the past three years before applying.
• If you are applying under the skills matching or skilled regional sponsored categories you may be eligible with less work experience.
• You will be exempt from the work experience requirements if you have completed an Australian qualification within the six months before submitting your full migration application. This six-month period begins from the date of the completed qualification, and not from the date the qualification was conferred.

Tip

Many people applying for a permanent migration visa may not have worked in their nominated occupation for a number of years, and so would not be able to meet the work experience requirements. What some people opt to do is to have their skills assessed, and if the result of this is positive they take employment in their nominated occupation to gain the necessary work experience. After gaining the required experience they can then submit their full migration application.

THE POINTS TEST

There are two categories that require you to pass a points test to be eligible for permanent migration to Australia. They are:

• 1.Skilled – Australian sponsored
• 2.Skilled – independent.

Points are awarded for:

• skills
• age
• English language ability
• specific work experience
• occupation in demand (or a job offer)
• Australian qualifications
• spouse skills
• relationship (skilled – Australian sponsored/designated area sponsored only).

Extra points will be awarded for capital investment in Australia, Australian skilled work experience, or fluency in one of Australia’s major community languages.

The pass mark and pool mark

There are two separate score marks on the permanent migration scheme. You must have enough points to meet or exceed the pass mark. The pass mark is taken as the one that is in effect at the time your application is assessed, not when your application was lodged.

The second mark is the pool mark. If your points score does not reach the pass mark, but meets or exceeds the pool mark, your application will be held by the DIMA for up to two years. If over the two-year period the pass mark is lowered and your points score meets or exceeds the new pass mark, your case will be processed further.

The present pass mark and pool mark scores are listed below.

	Pass mark	Pool mark
Skilled – Australian sponsored category	110	105
Skilled – independent category	120	70

Skills

The occupation you nominate affects how your skills qualifications are assessed. The occupation must be on the Skilled Occupations List at the time you apply. If the assessing authority deems your skills are suitable for the occupation you will normally be awarded the allocated points mark from the skilled occupations list.

60 points will be awarded to most occupations where training is specific to that occupation. You will normally need to have a degree or trade certificate qualification as well as experience in your nominated occupation as well as meeting the registration requirements in Australia. For some occupations work experience will be taken in lieu of formal qualifications.

50 points will be given for more general professional occupations. A qualification equivalent to an Australian degree is normally required, though it does not need to be specific to your nominated occupation.

40 points – other general skilled occupations. These occupations will require the qualification equivalent to an Australian advanced diploma, though they do not need to be specific to the nominated occupation.

Age

Age at time of application	Points
18–29	30
30–34	25
35–39	20
40–44	15

You will need to provide a certified copy of your birth certificate as proof of your age.

English language ability

English language ability	IELTS Standard	Points
Vocational English Applicants must have reasonable command of English language, and be able to cope with overall meaning in most situations. They must be able to communicate effectively in their area of employment.	IELTS score of at least five on each of the four components in the test – speaking, reading, writing and listening.	15
Competent English Applicants must have an effective command of English language. They must be able to use and understand complex sentences.	IELTS score of at least six on each of the four components in the test – speaking, reading, writing and listening.	20

All applicants are encouraged to obtain proof of their English language ability.

There are a number of methods of doing this:

• Provide evidence that you are a native English speaker – which will award you points for competent English. If you were born and raised in an English speaking country you will normally be awarded points for having competent English.

If you were not born and raised in an English speaking country you may need to provide the following proof:

• That you have undertaken post secondary studies at an institution where the instruction was in English.
• Undertake an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. You will normally only need to take the general training test, unless you are advised otherwise by your skills assessing authority. These test results will remain valid for 12 months.
• Points for competent English will also be awarded for a pass in the occupational English test or equivalent. This will normally be taken on the advice from your assessing authority

If DIMA has any doubts about your English language ability they may ask you to take an IELTS test if one has not been done already.

Specific work experience

	Points
If your nominated occupation is worth 60 points and you have worked in that occupation, or a closely related occupation, for at least three out of the four years before you apply.	10
If your nominated occupation is worth 40, 50 or 60 points, and you have worked in skilled employment (any of the occupations on the skilled list) for at least three out of the four years before you apply.	5

To gain points for specific work experience you need to obtain proof by way of employment references and detailed duty statements covering the required period. These may be the same documents that you provide to meet the recent work experience requirements.

Occupation in demand or job offer

There are a number of occupations that are in acute demand in Australia. To encourage people with these skills to apply for permanent migration, the DIMA awards extra points for these occupations. They are also willing to offer further points if the applicant has a job offer in that nominated occupation with an organisation that has employed at least ten people on a full-time basis for the previous two financial years.

	Points
Occupation in demand, but no job offer	15
Occupation in demand with job offer	20

Points will only be awarded if the nominated occupation is on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) at the time when the application is assessed, not when the application is lodged. As the contents of the list can change over time it is advisable to check on DIMA’s website (www.immi.gov.au) before submitting the application.

To be eligible to claim extra points for a job offer in this category, evidence will need to be provided to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs proving that an offer has been made. The organisation making the job offer must indicate the number of people that it has employed on a full-time basis for the previous two years. DIMA rigorously checks all applications to ensure that the information is correct.

Australian qualifications

DIMA recognises that applicants with Australian qualifications have a greater chance of obtaining employment in Australia. Therefore they award extra points for people who have studied for at least 12 months full time and have completed a qualification in Australia.

The qualifications must be at Australian post secondary degree (or higher qualification), diploma, advanced diploma or trade qualification. Five points can be claimed in this category. To receive these points a certified copy of the qualifications and/or notification of results along with a transcript of the academic record must be submitted with the application.

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs may waive the recent work experience requirements if these Australian qualifications have been completed in the last six months before lodging the migration application. Please note that this six-month period begins from the date of completion of the qualification, and not the date the qualification was conferred.

Spouse skills

If your spouse meets the basic requirements of:

• age
• English language ability
• qualifications
• nominated occupation
• recent work experience
• obtained a suitable skills assessment from a relevant assessing authority

DIMA is willing to award an extra five points towards the application. Proof that your spouse meets these requirements will be identical to those procedures listed under each of the separate headings above.

If your spouse meets these basic requirements you should carefully consider which person to put forward as the main applicant. Normally it will be best for the main applicant to be the person who receives the highest score. If these details are provided DIMA will be able to assess both people in the relationship which will help strengthen your application, and give them another option to approve it.

BONUS POINTS

Points may also be claimed for any one of the following:

Capital investment in Australia

If you invest A$100,000 in an approved government investment for a term of at least 12 months, you may qualify for the extra five bonus points. The money should not be invested until the processing officer in charge on your case instructs you to do so. Your intention to do this must be clearly stated in your application.

You should also contact one of the authorities below:

New South Wales Treasury Corporation Registry, GPO

Box 7405, Sydney NSW 1115, Australia.
Email: nswtcorpcomputershare.com.au

Northern Territory Treasury Corporation, GPO Box 2035,

Darwin 0801, Australia.
Email: territory.bonds@nt.gov.au

Queensland Treasury Corporation (which has been outsourced to Computershare Investor Services Pty Ltd),

Computershare Investor Services Pty Ltd,
GPO Box 2687, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia.
Email: registry@computershare.com.au

South Australian Government Financing Authority,

Level 5, 200 Victoria Square, Adelaide 5001, Australia.
Email: SAFA.mail@saugov.sa.gov.au

Western Australia Treasury Corporation,

PO Box 7282, Cloisters Square, Perth WA 6850, Australia.
Email: settlements@watc.wa.gov.au

Australian work experience

If the applicant has worked legally in Australia in one of the occupations on the Skilled Occupations List for at least six months in the four years before applying they may claim extra bonus points. If this work was done when the applicant was on an Australian bridging visa they will not be eligible to claim points.

Fluency in one of Australia’s community languages (other than English)

To be eligible to claim the five bonus points in this category the applicant must have a professional level of language skills (written and oral) in one of the community languages listed below. Evidence of their ability must be provided by either:

• qualifications from a university where instruction was in one of the listed languages, or
• Accreditation with National Accreditation Authority for Translators Interpreters (NAATI) at a professional level (3).

Afrikaans	German	Polish
Albanina	Greek	Portuguese
Arabic (including Lebanese)	Hindi	Romanian
	Hungarian	Russian
Armenina	Indonesian	Serbian
Bengali	Italin	Sinhalese
Bosnian	Japanese	Slovak
Burmese	Khmer	Slovene
Chinese–Cantonese	Korean	Spanish
	Lao	Swedish
Chinese–Mandarin	Latvian	Tsgalog(Filipino)
Croatian	Lithuanian	Tamil
Czech	Macedonian	Thai
Danish	Malaysian	Turkish
Estonian	Maltese	Ukrainian
Fijian	Netherlandic	Urdu
Finnish	(Dutch)	Vietnamese
French	Persian	Yiddish

Relationship

This section is only for applicants applying under the skilled – Australian sponsored category.

You may receive 15 points if you or your spouse have a relative who is:

an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and is willing to sponsor you.

You or your spouse must be related to the sponsor as either:

• a non-dependent child
• a parent
• a brother or sister
• a niece or nephew.

Proof of your or your spouse’s relationship to your sponsor must be evidenced by their certificates, marriage certificates and family registers.

An assurance of support must also be provided. You will be advised by DIMA when your assurer should make an assurance of support application with Centrelink. For more details of what is required your assurer should contact Centrelink on 132 850 or refer to ‘assurance of support’ details on their website, www.centrelink.gov.au. If overseas call 00 61 3 6222 3455.

A Sponsorship For Migration To Australia, Form 40, must be completed and be submitted with the application.

SKILLED DESIGNATED AREA SPONSORED

To apply within this visa category you are required to meet all of the aforementioned basic requirements, successful skills assessment, age, English language ability and work experience. However, this category is not points tested.

You or your spouse must be related to the sponsor as either a:

• non-dependent child (a natural, adoptive or step-child)
• parent
• brother or sister (including adoptive or step-siblings)
• niece or nephew (including adoptive or step-niece or nephew)
• first cousin or
• grandchild.

You must be able show proof that your relative has been resident in a designated area for at least 12 months prior to you lodging your application.

Designated areas are as follows:

State or Territory	Designated Areas
Victoria	Anywhere
South Austrlia	Anywhere
North Territory	Anywhere
Tasmania	Anywhere
Australian Capital Territory	Anywhere
Queensland	Postcode areas 4019-4028, 4037-4050, 4079-4100, 4114, 4118, 4124-4150, 4158-4168, 4180-4899 (anywhere except Brisbane metropolitan area)
Westren Australia	Postcode areas 6042-6044, 6051, 6126, 6200-6799 (anywhere except the Perth metropolitan area)
New South Wales	Postcode areas 2311-2312, 2328-2333, 2336-2490, 2535-2551, 2575-2739, 2787-2898 (anywhere except Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong)

Proof of your or your spouse’s relationship to your sponsor must be evidenced by their certificates, marriage certificates and family registers.

An assurance of support must also be provided. You will be advised by DIMA when your assurer should make an assurance of support application with Centrelink. For more details of what is required your assurer should contact Centrelink on 132 850 or refer to ‘assurance of support’ details on their website, www.centrelink.gov.au. If overseas call 00 61 3 6222 3455.

A Sponsorship For Migration To Australia, Form 40, must be completed and be submitted with the application.

HEALTH AND CHARACTER CHECKS

Australia has very strict health standards which must be met by any person who is applying to migrate or will be staying in Australia for longer than 12 months.

The health standards are designed to ensure:

• Risks to public health and safety in the Australian community are minimised.
• Public expenditure on health and community services is contained.
• Australian residents have access to health and other community services.

All applicants and dependants who intend to migrate must undertake health screening. This screening will include a physical examination, an X-ray and blood and urine tests.

If the applicant cannot meet the health requirements they will be refused entry unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Tuberculosis

According to the World Health Organisation, tuberculosis is occurring in epidemic levels globally, and presents a serious infectious public health risk.

All people seeking permanent entry who are over 16 years of age must have a radiological exam for tuberculosis. Any applicants under 16 years of age will also need to undergo the exam if they are suspected of having TB or have a history of contact with a person with TB. If the X-ray shows evidence of TB the applicant will be requested to undergo further tests to establish whether or not it is active. If it is active or untreated the person will need to undergo a course of treatment and further tests to confirm that the disease has been adequately treated.

Applicants who have evidence of TB, or have had treatment for TB, may be admitted to Australia but will have to provide a health undertaking which will include follow-up monitoring after their arrival in Australia.

Hepatitis B

While the risk of hepatitis B transmission is low, mandatory screening will apply to:

• pregnant women
• children for adoption
• accompanied minor refugee children.

A positive hepatitis B test will not normally lead to a rejection of the application. The person will normally be required to sign a health undertaking.

HIV/AIDS

All migrants over 15 years of age must undergo HIV/AIDS testing. Applicants under 15 years must also be tested if they have been adopted, undergone blood transfusions, or have any other clinical indications.

The health test procedures

The health checks are normally called for by the DIMA processing officer after your full migration application has been submitted. If you pass all the other requirements the DIMA officer will then instruct you to undertake the medicals.

Health checks are normally carried out in the country where the applicant resides, by doctors and radiologists who are approved by the Australian government.

When arranging the medical examinations it is essential that you attend the X-ray examination before seeing the medical doctor, as the X-ray must be available for them to complete the examination.

Character/police checks

To be granted entry to Australia, applicants must be of good character. To determine this, applicants are asked to provide police clearance checks for each country that they have resided in for more than 12 months in the last ten years. It is worth noting that in some countries this process can take anywhere from four weeks to over six months.

In certain circumstances applicants may also be required to provide personal details to enable additional character checks to be undertaken.

As with the medicals this information does not need to be provided when you apply.

APPLYING FOR A VISA

Visa limits

At any stage the Australian government may apply limits (caps) to the number of visas granted each year, or suspend processing applications. If a cap is applied the application will be processed but the visa will not be granted in the year that the visa limits are reached.

Family members

If your other family members are also applying for a visa you will need to decide who to put forward as the primary applicant. This will generally be the person who has the best chance of meeting the migration requirements. Other family members such as spouses, dependent children or dependent relatives should be included in the same application so you only pay one charge. Children who are born after an application is made, but before a decision has been reached, will automatically be included in the parent application. If this circumstance arises the Australian Mission must be notified of the details of the newborn child. In some circumstances a spouse or dependent child can be added to an application, though they will also need to make certain visa requirements.

Can I lodge more than one application?

If more than one visa is applied for, and approved, the last visa issued will normally be the one that is valid. Thus, any previous visa granted will be null and void. For further advice and clarification the relevant Australian Mission should be contacted.

Withdrawing an application

If you wish to withdraw an application, notice must be lodged in writing with the Australian Mission. Any charges that you have paid to have your case processed will not usually be refunded.

CONTACTING THE AUSTRALIAN MISSION

Change of address

It is the applicant’s responsibility to inform the Australian Mission of any change of address that occurs for periods longer than 14 days. The Australian Mission must be informed of the new address and how long you will be staying there. Correspondence will always be sent to the last known address provided and deemed to have been received within 21 days of writing.

Correspondence regarding the application can also be sent to another person or agent, and it will be taken that the applicant has received any letters sent to that person. The Australian Mission must also be informed if you intend to travel to Australia while the application is being processed.

Change of circumstances

The Australian mission must be informed of any changes of circumstances, for example, a serious illness, change in marital status, the birth of a child – as soon as it is possible and practical. The visa may be cancelled if incorrect information is supplied or you fail to advise the DIMA that some of the information is no longer correct. This information should be supplied to the Australian Mission on Form 1022.

Supplying extra information

Additional information can be provided in writing at any stage before a decision has been made on the application. In some circumstances they will request or invite you to provide additional information. You will be given a date by which to respond. After that date the application will continue to be considered whether or not you have provided the information requested. DIMA will not delay the decision-making process if the applicant says they may, or will, give more information later.

Interviews

The Australian Mission may invite you to attend an interview. You will need to agree on the time and date with a DIMA representative. If you do not attend the interview the application will be processed, and a decision will be made on the basis of the information available. You may be given another opportunity to arrange an interview, but the Australian Mission is not obliged to do this.

HOW YOUR APPLICATION IS PROCESSED

All applications are decided on the basis of two factors: firstly the information that is provided by you, and secondly the law at the time it was submitted. Applicants should be aware, however, that the government may change the pass mark and pool mark at any time, and this may affect the application.

It is imperative that applicants thoroughly check through the application and documentation before submitting them for consideration. While it can be a time-consuming and frustrating process gathering together all the information, it must be submitted in the required formats, otherwise it will lead to delays in the processing of the case.