Multiple occupations under the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa put on hold The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has announced changed invitation arrangements for certain occupational groups for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa. Invitation for the following occupations will be issued on a pro-rata basis over the 2013/14 program year:
- ICT Business and Systems Analysts - 2611
- Chemical and Materials Engineers - 2331
- Electronics Engineers - 2334
- Telecommunications Engineering Professionals - 2633
- Other Engineering Professional - 2339
- Software and Applications Programmers - 2613
Due to the high number of applications in these occupations there was concern regarding the early exhaustion of places.
The total of the occupational ceiling remains the same but the new pro-rata approach will mean that invitations will be stalled and issued to selected individuals over the course of the current financial year in twice monthly occupation rounds.
This announcement will concern many of you as well as people you may know. For now it is unclear how this announcement will affect nomination applications that are currently being assessed.
Over the course of the next couple of weeks the impact of this announcement on the applications already in the pipeline will be easier to determine if there are further clarifications from the DIAC and the NSW Trade and Investment.
The NSW Trade and Investment has stated that they encourage applicants not to withdraw their application until more specific information has been provided. Please refer to their web site for more details here.
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