# Minimum work experience requirement Subclass 190



## stary100 (Aug 24, 2013)

Hi All,
I am Planning to lodge visa application for the subclass 190 and my back ground is that I have recently qualified CIMA (Full member since July 2013) and planning to put my application for skill assessment to CPA once i receive my IELTS result.
My whole application process will be WITHOUT any experience claimed as it is all pre-qualification and I feel there in no point of sending over to CPA and hence for visa application. 
I am scoring 55 points without any experience and adding up 5 points for the state sponsership to make up my 60.

Now my dilemma is, do I meet the basic requirement regarding work experience?
(will be zero in my application) as few of immigration agent which i have consulted with advised me that If i have not been employed full time (20 hours/week) in my selected occupation or a closely related occupation for at least 12 out of the last 24 months (Post qualification), I simply do not qualify for skilled immigration and some says that previously there was a minimum experience requirement but now it has been taken out.

I do not see anything mentioning at Australian immigration website regarding minimum work experience requirement but I don’t want to catch out for my misunderstanding or lack of information as well.
I am really confused now

I appreciate if someone experience please advise.

Thank you


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Stary100 -

The agents you've been speaking to are hopelessly out of date in terms of their knowledge the requirements - can be very dangerous and costly to rely on bad migration advice. If any of these agents are Registered Migration Agents, you may want to consider a complaint - this kind of out of date advice can result in costly and damaging results for applicants. Yours is a great example of the dangers of relying on unregistered migration agents who have no legal requirements to maintain current knowledge of the constantly-changing regulations, law and policy regarding Australian immigration. 

The 12 out of 24 months work requirement was eliminated over a year ago. There is no specific requirement that DIAC has that you have a minimum amount of closely related work experience, however you must also look at any state you want to be sponsored by to see if they have any minimum work requirements (many do) and you need to check whatever skills assessor you are using to confirm they also do not have any minimum work requirements.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## stary100 (Aug 24, 2013)

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for your reply ,I was silent reader of your post at this fourm and found them very helpful. I am not sure if i can name them on this fourm but one is quite popular one who has offices all over the world and charge hefty amonts for consultation . They have their own website calculator which will ultimatly disqualify you irrespective of points you score, if you tick "No" on the option which says " Have you been employed full time (20 hours/week) in your selected occupation or a closely related occupation for at least 12 out of the last 24 months?
Once again thank you for clearing this up for me.

Regards


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

No problem - with agents, like anything else, bigger does not necessarily mean better.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Imran1982 (Apr 15, 2014)

Dear Mark,
Thanking you for your seamless beneficial advices.
I have a question :
is skilled employment mandatory for subclass 190 (or is skilled level enough after nomination by a state)?


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## Imran1982 (Apr 15, 2014)

sorry didnt read the thread fully earlier. 
its already answered.
my bad.


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## joshkiedis (Jul 23, 2014)

MarkNortham said:


> No problem - with agents, like anything else, bigger does not necessarily mean better.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

I am on the same boat as I kept on getting quite a number of contradictory information from my Agent, that is the reason why Im doing my homework myself and have been looking for info on this forum.

Few weeks ago I provided CPA Australia with my employment testimonials and my IELTS test result to update my assessment ( I had a previous assessment for graduate visa) for skilled migration. I used to work in a bank as account assistant in the my country for 5 years, though I do not hold any accounting degree back then. 2 weeks later, I receive a letter from CPA stating that, and I quote;

*"the claim for skilled employment made by the applicant cannot be found to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level as a 221111 (Accounting General)"*

Letter says that the reason is because I had my experience prior to me finishing my accounting degree in Australia. They said that experience should have come after.

At the bottom part of the letter, it says that

*"this is the opinion of CPA and does not guarantee the awarding of any points under skilled migration point test. Determination of points under skilled migration point system remains on the discretion of delegate officer of DIAC"*.

My question is, can I still be possibly awarded by DIAC with points on my overseas employment experience even though CPA did not recognise it?

I am very confuse and desperate for advise, without the points being awarded on my overseas employment, I will be short by 5 points for independent skilled visa. Please help me with an advise.

Thank you so much in advance.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Joshkiedis -

Thanks for your note, and I'll do my best to try and simplify things. Your question is actually very straightforward, and I don't see why your agent would have a difficult time with it.

Bottom line: DIBP looks to the skills assessors in terms of determining when you become "skilled" - any work experience you have before that date would not normally be able to be counted for points on a skilled visa application. So strike 1 is that CPA Australia does not consider your work as "skilled".

But it gets worse (sorry!) - DIBP has a general rule with skilled visas that any work experience you have prior to you gaining the minimum qualification that is required for your occupation per the ANZSCO directory is not able to be used for points. For 221111 - Accountant (General), the minimum qualification is a Bachelor Degree at the level of an Australian Bachelor Degree (ie, Australian Bachelor degree or the equivalent from a non-Australian school - again, the skills assessors have the role of determining whether a non-Australian degree is equivalent to an Australian degree or not, and DIBP goes by their opinion usually). So if you did the work before you received your Bachelor degree, it would not normally be able to be counted for points on a skilled visa application per DIBP rules.

So bottom line: I don't see a way that you can count work that you did prior to your degree, and/or prior to the date CPA Australia deems you as skilled, for points.

Wish I had better news, but hope this helps clear up any confusion so you can plan a good way forward.

Best,

Mark Northam



joshkiedis said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on the same boat as I kept on getting quite a number of contradictory information from my Agent, that is the reason why Im doing my homework myself and have been looking for info on this forum.
> 
> ...


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## joshkiedis (Jul 23, 2014)

joshkiedis said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I am on the same boat as I kept on getting quite a number of contradictory information from my Agent, that is the reason why Im doing my homework myself and have been looking for info on this forum.
> 
> ...


Once again, thank you Mark for prompt response. I don't think I can thank you enough. Honestly, you are quicker and more efficient to provide an answer than my agent, always call him during the day but never return a call back. I was the one who do all the paperwork for my CPA assessment as it was very hard for me to get hold of him.

My application has been a disaster so far, I invested a lot in my degree here in AU hoping that this is the only key to achieve my dream of living here for good. Before I enrolled to this course in Uni, my agent assess how much points I have. I told him i have this experience back home and he advised me I should take an accounting course because with my experience plus the degree, I will be able to meet the 60 points criteria as long as i get 7 on IELTS as well. It turns out my experience cannot generate points all along.

I think regardless of happens with my application, at least I have acquired a degree in an Australian University and experience the life down under, which for me is PRICELESS.... Thank you again Mark.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Joshkiedis -

Thanks for the note - there is absolutely no excuse for poor communication from an agent, not to mention incompetent advice (ie, can claim work experience prior to qualification completion).

Just wanted to put one other thing out there - you say your application is a disaster, however have you looked at either a 457 temporary work visa, or a 485 skilled graduate visa (if you're within 6 months of completing your degree)? Both of these can work well to give you time here to complete your work experience to build up points for a skilled visa.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



joshkiedis said:


> Once again, thank you Mark for prompt response. I don't think I can thank you enough. Honestly, you are quicker and more efficient to provide an answer than my agent, always call him during the day but never return a call back. I was the one who do all the paperwork for my CPA assessment as it was very hard for me to get hold of him.
> 
> My application has been a disaster so far, I invested a lot in my degree here in AU hoping that this is the only key to achieve my dream of living here for good. Before I enrolled to this course in Uni, my agent assess how much points I have. I told him i have this experience back home and he advised me I should take an accounting course because with my experience plus the degree, I will be able to meet the 60 points criteria as long as i get 7 on IELTS as well. It turns out my experience cannot generate points all along.
> 
> I think regardless of happens with my application, at least I have acquired a degree in an Australian University and experience the life down under, which for me is PRICELESS.... Thank you again Mark.


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## joshkiedis (Jul 23, 2014)

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Joshkiedis -
> 
> Thanks for the note - there is absolutely no excuse for poor communication from an agent, not to mention incompetent advice (ie, can claim work experience prior to qualification completion).
> 
> ...


Hi Mark,

I am currently on 485 visa right now, it will expire on March next year. Regarding the 457, it is very difficult to be employed in accounting field as the competition is tough, especially if you have the local experience and the residency. I am kind of looking forward to NSW SS, but as I saw on the other thread, it is quite difficult and luck has to play along.

I also looking forward with taking NAATI test, but like you said, and for what I have just saw on other forums, it can be very challenging and the number of people passing it apparently is very low.

Those are the only two options I have in mind. I dont want to do the professional year as much as possible.

Kind regards,

Josh


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## abdul qayyum (Nov 2, 2014)

Dear Expats,
Previously i didn't get answer my query, now i querying again in a simple way for better response from you guys.

My plan towards Australia immigration is through subclass 190 and in process of EA assessment. i have more than 8 years of work experience and should be able to claim 15 points. I've applied to EA using Myportal (online portal of EA) and i am just wondering whether i should obtain additional services or not. Additional Services are applicable in following 2 cases 
1. If you want Phd. degree to be assessed (which is not applicable in my case)
2. If you want assessment of skilled employment.

My question is, whether point 2 applicable to me or not?

Br/ Abdul Qayyum


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## hareen (Feb 14, 2015)

Hi Mark,

One of my friends did Bachelors in Petroleum Engineering in India, but doesn't have the work experience.

She will be able to make 60 points which is the base for the 190 visa category (for NSW).

I have gone through the different sources and understood that the first step in starting the process for applying 190 visa is to get the approval from the Skill Assessment authority.

Is work experience needed to get the approval from the skill assessment authority?

Please advise

Regards,
Hareen


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Hareen -

See Engineers Australia website for requirements as they are the assessor for the occupation Petroleum Engineer. EA generally does not require any specific amount of work experience, but does have other requirements you'll want to look at carefully in their CDR program if the degree is not from an institution that is recognised by EA under one of their accords.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



hareen said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> One of my friends did Bachelors in Petroleum Engineering in India, but doesn't have the work experience.
> 
> ...


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## Neel_Joohi (Jan 9, 2015)

Hi,

I am having 3.5 years of work experience as System/Server Administrator. I contacted one of Agents and he told me that my occupation is listed in SOL. So I will be able to get 5 points as Government sponsorship. 
Age:- 26 years --- 30 Points
Education:- B.E., PGDIT ---- 15 Points
IELTS:- 7 Bands --- 10 Points
Government Sponsership:- 5 Points
Now, as far as work experience is concerned, they told me that my education is in the field of Electronics & Communication & work experience is in IT. So to gain point on work experience, I must complete total 7 years of work experience. 
But in my graduation, many of the subjects were related to IT. 
*C Programming
*C++ Object Oriented Programming
*Digital Signal Processing
*Data & Computer Networks
*Microcontroller
*Microprocessor

So tell me 
**Whether I am eligible for 189/190?
**Will I be able to get government sponsership?

If I want to avail points on my wife, what is criteria for her?


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Neel_Joohi -

There are 5 points available for state sponsorship under a 190 visa if a state is sponsoring your occupation and you meet the state's requirements, but there are no state or government points available for the 189 visa which is an independent skilled visa and requires 60 points minimum in order to lodge an Expression of Interest and await an invitation to apply for the visa.

Re: 7 years, etc, this sounds like the RPL option of ACS, the skills assessor for most IT professions. You'll need a positive skills assessment for either 189 or 190 visa. Partner points are avail if your partner meets the age requirement (under 50), has IELTS 6 or better on all bands, and has a positive full skills assessment in her occupation which must be on the same list as yours (CSOL vs SOL).

Happy to help you sort all of this out at a consultation if you'd like - see website link below in my email signature for more.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Neel_Joohi said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am having 3.5 years of work experience as System/Server Administrator. I contacted one of Agents and he told me that my occupation is listed in SOL. So I will be able to get 5 points as Government sponsorship.
> Age:- 26 years --- 30 Points
> ...


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## Alexism (Dec 8, 2015)

*Accountant experience*

Hi Mr. Northam,
I am applying for NSW nomination under General Accountant.
I have positive SA from CPA but no experience in the field. 
I am aware that NSW does not required experience for that code and they also invited me for nomination application based on the fact that I gave no related experience in my EOI. 
I do not claim any points for experience.

My question is: is there any chance that at this stage, after looking at my full CV, they may refuse nomination because of my work experience? I am preparing the CV and really worried about it.

Thank you for your time.


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## zaheerkhan (Aug 6, 2013)

Dear mark
i have got Msc in chemistry which is equal to Australian bachelor degree
i am a chemist, nd have worked for three years as a chemist in a pharma company do you think i am eligible for immigration as a chemist?
my points can be as 30 for age
10 ielts
15 bechelor degree
5 state sponsor ship
5 work experience for 3 years
please give suggestion and how i strt the process
thanks


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Alexism -

Re: DIBP, there is no minimum work experience required for the 189 or 190 visa, so if you can get the points without any work experience claimed, no problem with DIBP. Re: NSW skilled, if you've already received an invitation from them to apply, then that's a good sign - they do consider work experience in their overall process but there are no details published as to the specific role work experience plays in their process. However if you are successful with NSW and they cause DIBP to invite you to apply for the 190 visa, based on what you've said I don't see an issue re: claiming no work experience.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alexism said:


> Hi Mr. Northam,
> I am applying for NSW nomination under General Accountant.
> I have positive SA from CPA but no experience in the field.
> I am aware that NSW does not required experience for that code and they also invited me for nomination application based on the fact that I gave no related experience in my EOI.
> ...


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Zaheerkhan -

Thanks for the note - it not possible for me to do individual assessments here on the forum as there are simply too many details that are required in order to determine eligibility for a visa, especially a skilled visa.

Applications for Australian visas often have to deal with three different sets of rules and regulations: skills assessment authority regulations, state and territory sponsorship regulations, and visa regulations from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As a result, determining which visa(s) an applicant is eligible for and what the best visa is for an applicant is a complex question and not able to be answered in a quick back & forth emails or forum posts.

We offer a professional consultation designed to provide the time necessary to work through your situation, answer your questions, and gather enough information about your situation to determine exactly which visa(s) you may qualify for and the steps you would need to do to apply.

If you'd like to book a consultation, we offer this service by phone, Skype and at our office in Bella Vista (Sydney). For more information or to book, visit our website listed in my signature below.

Thanks again for the enquiry -

Best,

Mark Northam



zaheerkhan said:


> Dear mark
> i have got Msc in chemistry which is equal to Australian bachelor degree
> i am a chemist, nd have worked for three years as a chemist in a pharma company do you think i am eligible for immigration as a chemist?
> my points can be as 30 for age
> ...


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## Alexism (Dec 8, 2015)

Hi Mark, 

I have an issue with employment history in form 80. It was not complicated, however, I made a silly mistake while filling EOI. 

I do not claim any exp points, so I underestimated the employment history until I read about form 80 which requires exact information of all employment in the last 10 years. 

My issue is that there was an irrelevant part-time job (less than 20 hours a week) I worked in 2015 which I mistakenly added up nearly a year of work in EOI (in starting date, I put 1/14 instead of 1/15). 

Still that job, I filed the first EOI in 6/15, I quit the job, got PTE then updated EOI in 12/2015 but did not update that I quit the job and it still shows the last date of job as "current". 

My question is that is there any form that I can correct the information? I had a look at form 1023 but there's no option to correct EOI information in there. 

Thank you.


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## Hassan Abbas (Apr 26, 2016)

*Hi Mark,*

I am working as a Banking Officer from last 3 years. Now I would like to apply for Visa 189.
so could you please suggest me occupation for Banking Experience? 
or can I apply for Accountant (General) . Please Guide me regarding this.
Your valuable reply will be highly appreciated.

Regards,

Hassan


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Alexism -

Sorry I missed your earlier post! For the type of change you mentioned, as it does not affect points, no need generally to correct the EOI (and no way to do so) after you accept the invitation - just need to make sure the info on the visa application itself is correct and doesn't change your points eligibility.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Alexism said:


> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have an issue with employment history in form 80. It was not complicated, however, I made a silly mistake while filling EOI.
> 
> ...


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Hassan -

Thanks for the note. All depends on your qualifications, education and work experience - you could look on the CPA Australia site to see how close your qualifications are, etc to meeting their (strict) requirements. Also you might check out Finance Manager.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam



Hassan Abbas said:


> I am working as a Banking Officer from last 3 years. Now I would like to apply for Visa 189.
> so could you please suggest me occupation for Banking Experience?
> or can I apply for Accountant (General) . Please Guide me regarding this.
> Your valuable reply will be highly appreciated.
> ...


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## estherliew (Jan 27, 2017)

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Joshkiedis -
> 
> Thanks for your note, and I'll do my best to try and simplify things. Your question is actually very straightforward, and I don't see why your agent would have a difficult time with it.
> 
> ...


Hi Mark,

Thank you for your advise. I'm have a question here, I have obtained my qualification Bachelor Degree in Finance & Accounting from UK in 2010, and started to work as Finance & Accounts Executive for 2.5 years. Later on, i have took up CIMA and have completed all my exams last month. Will my 3 years work experiences can be counted and obtained the 5 points if i continue working for another 0.5 years now? I'm planning to apply for Management accountant as my SOL occupation.

Thank you in advance for your advise.

Thanks!
Esther


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## pallavi (May 21, 2017)

*claim points for overseas work experience*

hello everyone,
I am applying as an early childhood teacher for 190 visa as i need extra points.I did my Bachelors of Education in India after which i first worked in prmiary section and then in pre primary or nursery. In India there is no university degree in child care .I was wondering if i can claim points for my work experience from India on basis of my Bachelors of Education? I did my masters in teaching (birth to five ) in 2014 and want to apply for ECT profile.Also, not too many agents have complete information about my this profession and its rules as far as immigration is concerned.


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## Niakris (Jun 28, 2017)

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Joshkiedis -
> 
> Thanks for your note, and I'll do my best to try and simplify things. Your question is actually very straightforward, and I don't see why your agent would have a difficult time with it.
> 
> ...


Hello everyone

So if I understand this right - you cannot get any points for work experience obtained during studies as well?

I have obtained my Bachelor of Business Administration in 2012 and Masters in Professional Accounting on 6 September 2014. I am going for Accountant General, subclass 189.

Worked as an Accounts assistant from august 2012 to April 2013 and as an Accountant from April 2013 till end September 2014.

So none of this experience can be used for skills assessment?


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## sahilsinghal (Jul 15, 2017)

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Joshkiedis -
> 
> Thanks for the note - there is absolutely no excuse for poor communication from an agent, not to mention incompetent advice (ie, can claim work experience prior to qualification completion).
> 
> ...


Hi Mark,
I see that you're an immigration consultant and have been extremely helpgul in this thread. Could you please provide me some guidance?
I am a BBA and an MBA with 5 yrs of exp in financial planning. I want to apply for assessment under Accountant Gen (189). My experience doesnt really match much to the profile that CPA/IPAA, etc have mentioned but I have covered almost all subjects. Do I still stand a chance to get a positive PR? Thanks for your help,
Sahil


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## 77jay (Aug 26, 2017)

*To claim or not to claim points for employment*

Dear Mark,

I have recently been awarded a positive skill assessment letter from the relevant assessing authority in my field of work.

I have been employed overseas for more than 3 years. However in my assessment letter it says that numbers of years assessed positively is 2.1 years and that the first year of employment "was used to calculate the qualifying period required to meet the skill level of the nominated
or closely related ANZSCO occupation". Does this mean that when submitting my expression of interest I should NOT claim points for 3 years of work experience outside Australia because not the full 3 years were positively assessed OR can I still claim points for employment regardless of how many years my skill assessment letter designated as positive assessment?

Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Sahilsinghal -

It all depends on the skills assessor's view of the work experience and academic qualification - no good way to predict - I'd consult with them and see if they can give you a heads-up on how it might go, otherwise read the requirements very carefully (of the skills assessor) and then consider lodging a skills assessment application to see how it goes.

Best,

Mark Northam



sahilsinghal said:


> Hi Mark,
> I see that you're an immigration consultant and have been extremely helpgul in this thread. Could you please provide me some guidance?
> I am a BBA and an MBA with 5 yrs of exp in financial planning. I want to apply for assessment under Accountant Gen (189). My experience doesnt really match much to the profile that CPA/IPAA, etc have mentioned but I have covered almost all subjects. Do I still stand a chance to get a positive PR? Thanks for your help,
> Sahil


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi 77jay -

Generally you can only claim work for points that is "skilled" in the view of the skills assessor if the assessor assesses your work. I can't comment on your report as I haven't seen it, but from what you've said, it would appear that you may be able to claim 2.1 years in the view of the skills assessor for points.

Best,

Mark Northam



77jay said:


> Dear Mark,
> 
> I have recently been awarded a positive skill assessment letter from the relevant assessing authority in my field of work.
> 
> ...


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## sahilsinghal (Jul 15, 2017)

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Sahilsinghal -
> 
> It all depends on the skills assessor's view of the work experience and academic qualification - no good way to predict - I'd consult with them and see if they can give you a heads-up on how it might go, otherwise read the requirements very carefully (of the skills assessor) and then consider lodging a skills assessment application to see how it goes.
> 
> ...


thank you so much


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## LondonChen (Dec 21, 2017)

*Negative Skilled Employment Assessment - Accountant*

Hi Mark

You seem an experienced agent and have great expertise in visa advising. Could you help me please?

I recently submitted my skill assessment with CPA for both academic and skilled employment (5 year UK) assessments. I got a positive result for the academic part, however a negative result on part of my work experience on the basis that "the duties listed in my employment references are not considered to be at the level of responsibilities to a general accountant".

Does it mean more than likely I am unable to claim 10 points via employment or is it worth reassessing employment by updating the wording in JD to more closely matched with ANZSCO requirements?

Please advise how I should act please?

A million thanks!


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