As highlighted in a previous post, in April this year, the immigration department announced some changes to the skilled visa point system. These changes will come in effect from 16 November 2019.
According to the new rules, applicants who do not have a spouse or de facto partner will get an additional 10 points.
Applicants who have a skilled spouse or partner will also get ten extra points in the new system. Currently a skilled spouse can only add points five points to the main application.
Applicants will also get five points if their spouse or de facto partner have competent English. At the moment a spouse can’t add points to the primary application for their English ability.
These point changes are significantly beneficial to South African applicants as in most cases the partners have good English which at the moment offers no value to the primary application.
The amendments to the point system follow the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission. According to the commission, around 50 per cent of Australia's permanent skill intake is secondary applicants, many of whom have limited skills.
In its 2016 report, the Productivity Commission recommended that the points system be amended so that secondary applicants with skills and other desirable employment-related characteristics contribute significantly to the points score of the primary applicant.
In my opinion this exactly why these changes will help South Africans significantly because as mentioned they generally have very good English ability and in many cases valuable skills.
So if you are waiting for an invitation due to a low point count, or if you’re thinking this news may help your decision to get started with the process, get in touch with us at info@pathwaylawyers.com - David Dadic
