Australia needs Software Programmers and other IT professionals

Foreign Software Programmers and other IT professionals looking to emigrate to Australia can apply under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Program. Applicants will need to meet the basic requirements for GSM, pass the Australian immigration Points Test and pass an occupation skills assessment to qualify for an Australian visa.

GSM is for professionals and other skilled migrants who have skills in particular occupations required in Australia and who are not sponsored by an employer. Australian Immigration uses a Skilled Occupation List (SOL) as part of their points system. In order to qualify for skilled migration to Australia, you must nominate an occupation from the SOL.

The following are occupations listed on the SOL for IT professionals:

• IT Business Analyst
• Systems Analyst
• Analyst Programmer
• Developer Programmer
• Software Programmer

In order to qualify for one of these occupations, applicants must hold a bachelor degree in IT or Computer Science. Otherwise, at least five years of relevant experience can substitute for the educational qualification. In some instances, relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.

Before emigrating to Australia as a skilled migrant you need to have your skills assessed by the relevant assessment authority for your occupation. For this occupation you will need to be assessed by Australian Computer Society. They assess computer professionals such as Programmers, System Designers, System Mangers etc.

Based on the educational qualifications and the work references sent to the Australian Computer Society, you will be assessed under any of the following groups:

Group A - This application is for applicants with a Bachelor Degree or higher, with an IT major and IT skilled employment.
Group B - This application is for applicants with a Diploma or Bachelor Degree, with a minor in IT and IT skilled employment.
Group C - This application is for a recent graduate with an IT degree from an Australian University.

Once you have your positive assessment letter from the Australian Computer Society, you can apply for the skilled migration visa electronically and count your assessment points in the points test in order to qualify for the visa.

For the complete list of occupations on the SOL list please visit our information page.

If you would like to apply for Australia's General Skilled Migration program WorkPermit.com can help. WorkPermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with over twenty years of experience dealing with visa applications. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.