5 best jobs for immigration to Australia

Wondering if your job qualifies as ‘easy’ to migrate to Australia?

In my comparison I have used a few subjective criteria that in my opinion help to select a job with the biggest chance of success. You might find this article useful whether you are a person that have just finished high school or have plenty years of work experience.

In my selection I have used the following criteria:

Occupation is listed on both Skilled Occupation list (SOL) and Consolidated Skilled Occupation list (CSOL) lists – this improves your chances of finding a right visa
If applicable, skills assessment is relatively easier than for other professions
Limited additional licencing and/or registration requirements or none at all for migration purposes
Training for a given occupation takes does not take more than 2-3 years (for people with no prior relevant qualifications).

Having an employer wishing to sponsor you helps a lot, however doing everything on your own and applying using points-tested visa can lead to permanent residency as well.

So the best occupations are:

1. Accountant

When you are young and arrive in Australia with no qualifications the migration options are extremely limited. Getting an accredited accounting degree might be a good option if you don’t mind getting involved with lots of calculations. The minimum required to have your qualification recognized is Bachelor Degree or higher. The degree will generally take 3 years with possible fast-track options cutting that time to 2 years. Expect to fork out from $30,000 (colleges) to $70,000 (universities) for this degree.

The accountant’s group includes:

Accountant (General)
Management Accountant
Taxation Accountant
External Auditor

One of the most popular courses among international students – variety of courses available
State nomination available for majority of states
No job experience required for professional accreditation
‘Professional year’ option if you need extra points in points-tested visas.
For accredited qualification obtained in Australia the skills assessment (usually done by CPA) is pretty much straightforward

Can be expensive (especially Uni studies)
For overseas qualified accountants it might be quite difficult to receive positive skills assessment straight away due to differences in what accounting areas are covered in Australia’s studies compared to other countries.

2. IT specialist

Together with accountants this male-dominated group have also moderately set requirements for anyone applying for permanent residency.

The IT professionals’ group eligible for migration purposes includes:

ICT business Analyst
Systems Analyst
Analyst Programmer
Developer Programmer
Software Engineer
Computer Network and Systems Engineer

If you graduated from Australian university you only need one year of work experience or completion of the Australia Computer Society (ACS) Professional Year program (after your graduation) for positive skills assessment
No English test required by ACS saving you money and extra stress
If you have no IT-related qualification but many years of relevant work experience it is still possible to migrate
Very good outlook for all IT-related roles for many years to come

Information and communications technology (ICT) jobs change and evolve like no others. Therefore to be an attractive candidate for employers you must be keep abreast of latest technologies and trends

3. Kitchen Chef

In terms of visa grants the chef position has been among the most popular ones among 457 and employer sponsored visas for last couple of years.

Those who need skills assessment fo Chef position need to know that the whole process carried out by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) is more complex that the one of the ACS mentioned earlier. Unless you are a passport holder from select countries who have a specific pathway you would normally need a cookery-related qualification being a Diploma or higher. You should be able to provide evidence of at least 3 years of full-time work as a Chef including at least one year within last 3 years.

Those holding a qualification being equivalent to at least Australian Diploma meet the qualification requirements
Majority of 457 applicants do not require TRA skills assessment. Case officer might however request it in case of any doubts about applicant’s qualifications.
Big job market for this profession.

For 189/190/489 visas people with a limited work experience might have problems as at least 3 years of paid work experience is required for TRA skills assessment
As formal skills assessment for 457 visa application is normally not required, the passport holders from the following countries are treated differently and disadvantaged by having to through TRA assessment. These countries are: Brazil, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Fiji, India, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Zimbabwe
Although kitchen chefs don’t complain about the number of job offers, their salaries are lower compared than other’s roles

4. Mechanic

Mechanics similarly to Chefs will need to have their qualifications and experience assessed by TRA (in case such skills assessment is required).

This group includes:

Motor Mechanic (General)
Diesel Motor Mechanic
Motorcycle Mechanic
Small Engine Mechanic

Entry to the profession is an equivalent of Australian Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training or three years of work experience if having no formal qualifications.
Highly in demand across Australia

This is definitely not a job that would suit women

5. Dental Hygienist / Dental Therapist

On my list that for some reason has become male-oriented I have also found two potential professions that could suit females. As you can see on SOL there are two other dentistry-related professions: Dental Prosthetist and Dental Technician which are assessed by TRA. I have decided VETASESS’ occupations as the assessement is more straightforward compared to TRA.

Another thing I like about VETASSESS is that for a low fee they offer the Advisory Service that can give you advice on your qualifications & experience. This in turn helps in preparation to skills assessment without taking a risk and spending a lot of money for actual skills assessment.