Good news for chefs and cooks!
Chefs and cooks are now welcomed back to Australia.
Under the newly updated State and Territory Skilled Occupation List (SOL) 2011 Schedule 1 and 2, chef and cook occupations have been relisted.
Chefs and cooks who want to work and immigrate to Australia can now apply for a work visa to Australia under the Skilled Migration Program. With the re-listing of their occupations on the newly updated State Migration Plans SOL, chefs and cooks have now this golden opportunity to migrate and work Down Under.
State and territory Migration Plans (Plans) are agreements between individual states and territories with the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. These plans allow individual states and territories to sponsor General Skilled Migration (GSM) applicants under a broad range of occupations that is tailored to fill skills shortages within their local labor markets.
The State Migration Plans specify which occupations state and territory governments can nominate applicants under and specify the number of work visas to Australia that will be granted as part of this program.
As each state and territory has set sponsorship quotas, there is a need for
work visa Australian applicants to act quickly in order to secure a nomination.
State or regional sponsorship is a pathway to permanent residency in Australia, which in turn can lead to Australian citizenship. Working visa for Australia holders, particularly Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa holders are eligible for permanent residency while Skilled Sponsored (Migrant and Residence) visa holders are eligible for Australian citizenship subject to the residency eligibility criteria.
Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa holders must have lived for at least two years and worked full time for at least one year in a Specified Regional Area, before they can apply for a permanent residency. Once they are granted with a permanent work visa in Australia, they can now freely choose to work and live anywhere in Australia, free from restrictions as well as they are eligible for Australian citizenship subject also to the residency eligibility criteria.
Australian states currently available for State sponsorship nomination for eligible chefs are New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory while Western Australia and Victoria are currently offering State sponsorship nomination to both chefs and cooks.
Chef and cook occupations are not relisted in the Australian Governments updated SOL that applies to all independent or unsponsored skilled migration. However, they are included in the State and Territory SOL though in limited numbers. So once a quota is reached, applications will be closed for the remainder of the program year.
To apply for a State or Territory nominated work visa for Australia, chefs and cooks must meet the sponsoring states requirements which vary from state to state as well as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) eligibility requirements for the relevant work visa Australian subclass.
Generally, State Sponsorship work visa from Australia eligibility requirements require skilled migrants applicants to be under 45 years of age, have functional English, diploma level qualifications or above and relevant work experience.
So as the relisting of the chef and cook occupations has provided a golden opportunity for a limited number of eligible, skilled and qualified chef and cook practitioners to live and work in Australia, eligible chefs and cooks must take this opportunity and apply now for any of the Australian skilled-sponsored visas.
