# Can I claim point with Masters?



## sweetmaanu (Mar 13, 2013)

Hi, 
I would like to apply for Skilled Migrant. Unfortunately I am not sure claim points for my academic background. I have completed BA History from India during the study time I used to work as part time web designer. Then I moved on to UK for doing Masters at London Metropolitan University. I have completed Graduation in Computing(6 month course) then MSc Internet Applications Development now I am working as Web Developer (2 years)


BA History (3 year)
Graduation in Computing (6 months)
MSc Internet Applications Development(1 Year)
Web Developer (2 years)


Could you please tell me is theere any option to migrate to New Zealand with my qualification. 
Thanks in advance.


Regards,
Muhammed


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Muhammed -

While this is an Australia forum, I'd be happy to comment as I'm a licensed agent for NZ as well as Australia.

The short answer is that if you're looking for an employment visa or skilled visa, the way the skilled system works in NZ is that you generally need a job offer from a qualified employer to get enough points to be selected to get an invitation to apply for a visa. In Australia it's a bit different as there are state sponsored and independent skilled visas which do not require employer sponsorship and/or a job offer.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## sweetmaanu (Mar 13, 2013)

*Thanks for reply*

First of all let me thank you for your reply

Actually I am looking migrant visa to Australia or New Zealand 
unfortunately I don't have 3 Graduation in IT field

at the sme time I have Masters in IT field.

from your point of view what is the best way to migrate any of those countries ?
I am bit worried about gain point with my Bachelors

thanks in advance


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## ayesha (Jul 20, 2013)

hi , did you get answer . I am in similar situation .

Thanks


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi -

There are 2 things you may want to consider: for DIAC skilled visa points, if your Bachelor's is from an accredited school, you may get the 15 points towards the skilled visa points test even if the subject you studied is not closely related to your occupation. DIAC does not require a bachelors degree to be relevant to your occupation in order to get the 15 points.

That being said, most skills assessment authorities DO require that the bachelor degree be highly relevant to your occupation. If you have a Bachelor degree that is not closely related to your occupation, some skills assessment authorities offer a "recognition of prior learning" (RPL) version of their skills assessment where they substitute a number of years of relevant experience for a degree. In these cases, they will deem an applicant "skilled" after x years of experience. Assuming a skills assessment authority required 5 years of experience for RPL in cases where there is not a relevant degree, if a person had 8 years total experience, 5 would be used for RPL, leaving the applicant "skilled" after 5 years. That's great, but the downside is that for the points test for DIAC, only "skilled" employment is eligible to be counted for points - that means employment after you get your degree/qualification, or in the case of RPL, employment after the date you are considered to be "skilled". So in our example, you would then be able to claim only 3 years of experience for the points test out of your 8 years.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## ayesha (Jul 20, 2013)

Hi , 
My agent is saying that rules have been changed now . he is saying if i have 8 year of experiance that wiill count 8 year of experiance doesnt matter pre qualification or post qualification as long as my emplyment was paid and full time . is he misguiding me . I started working as a junior application develper in 2005 after completing my high school and short diploma . I moved to UK and while i was doing my diploma and then Master from univeristy i was working 20 hours paidly. Isnt that experiance gonna count becuse in absence of that it hard for my to score 60.
Age : 30
Degree : 15
Employement 8 year : 15
IELTS 6.0 band : 0 
Can you please help as i am really confuse ?
Many Thanks 


MarkNortham said:


> Hi -
> 
> There are 2 things you may want to consider: for DIAC skilled visa points, if your Bachelor's is from an accredited school, you may get the 15 points towards the skilled visa points test even if the subject you studied is not closely related to your occupation. DIAC does not require a bachelors degree to be relevant to your occupation in order to get the 15 points.
> 
> ...


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Ayesha -

It's not possible for me to give you any sort of a detailed assessment of your case via the forum - there are simply too many details to consider - Australian immigration law is complex and there are many details to look at. If you'd like to have us do a detailed assessment of your case, please click on my website in the signature and click on "Consulting" in the top middle area.

Remember that there can be 3 separate and different sets of rules for skilled visas - the skills assessors, state sponsorship authority, and DIAC (immigration dept) all have their own rules, and these rules do not always agree with each other. For instance, DIAC will give you 15 points for an accredited bachelor degree even if it's not in a subject that is closely related to your occupation, where a skills assessment authority may give you no credit at all and fail the skills assessment (unless there's an RPL option and you meet it, etc) if your bachelor degree is not closely related to your occupation.

RE: DIAC points, if work experience is gained before you have met the minimum skill level for your occupation (ie, before you are deemed "skilled" either by earning the minimum degree or working the required number of hears to become skilled via RPL or otherwise), it generally is not counted for points.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## enida (Aug 28, 2012)

Hi Mr.Mark,

I am also in a confusing situation regarding education points I can claim.
I have submitted CDR to EA and my degree earned in Sep 2008 was positively assessed meeting the requirements for standing as an ET. (10 points for skills assesment).
They also have recognized more than 3 years work experience after completing my bachelor. (which makes me claim for additional 5 points)

I have also completed a MSc degree in the same field and in the assessment letter it's quoted as below, which makes me really confused:

Your additional qualification from xxx University awarded in April 2012 has been assessed as broadly comparable to an Australian Masters degree for the purposes of awarding points for qualifications under the General Skilled Migration points test.

Does this mean that I can claim another 5 points, in total 15 points for education and 5 points for experience (20 points in total), or jus 15 (10 for assessment and 5 for exp)?

I would highly appreciate any feedback from your side.

Thank you very much.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Enida -

Sorry, I'm confused. Was your Bachelor degree assessed as something less than a Bachelor on the AQF?

Best,

Mark Northam


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## enida (Aug 28, 2012)

Hi Mr.Mark,
This is the letter content:

I am pleased to advise that the competencies you have demonstrated taken in conjunction with your qualifications from the xx University of Tirana completed in September 2008 have been assessed as meeting the current academic requirements for standing as an Engineering Technologist (Skill Level 1) in Australia. The appropriate occupational classification in your case for migration purposes is Engineering Technologist ANZSCO 233914.

Your additional qualification from xx Univ awarded in April 2012 has been assessed as broadly comparable to an Australian Masters degree for the purposes of awarding points for qualifications under the General Skilled Migration points test.

Your claims of skilled work experience have been assessed by Engineers Australia in support of the assessment outcome provided as:
Total Overseas work experience: Total Australian work experience:
December 2008 to April 2011 Nil 
June 2011 to December 2012


THANKS FOR YOUR PRECIOUS REPLY.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Enida -

Re: what education points you get out of this, it's still not enough info. There are no points for a Masters Degree by itself without the supporting Bachelor Degree - if you received a Bachelor Degree from the University of Tirana and its an accredited school, it's likely that you would get 15 points for that degree, however DIAC may ask for a VETASSESS points advice letter regarding that degree (they have the option of doing this) since EA did not specifically address the issue of equivalency of that degree to the AQF.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## enida (Aug 28, 2012)

Hi Mr.Mark,

My university is not an accredited one, that's why I submitted the CDR, otherwise I would have followed the route of accredited universities.

I currently have 30 points (age) 10 points (positive assessment) and claim for 5 points (experience). To get 60 points I would need IELTS above 8 for each band (which is extremely difficult) or if I could claim for 5 points for my MSc IELTS above 7 would be enough.

I haven't pretended points for my MSc degree considering that my school is not accredited, but the paragraph regarding the additional qualification from EA confused me a little, and I don't know how to proceed, to consider the 5 additional points or to struggle for IELTS above 8?

Thanks a lot,
Enida


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Enida -

That explains it. An unaccredted bachelors degree means you cannot use it for points with DIAC. Fortunately EA recognises your Masters Degree and that should get you at least the 10 points, however I can't give you any specific advice as I'm not familiar with all the details of your case. Whether it will get you 15 points instead of 10 (ie, equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor Degree) is the big question. If you try to get a VETASSESS points advice letter for a Masters Degree with an unaccredited underlying Bachelor Degree, that generally is not possible. However, the case officer may accept EA's assessment of your Masters. My concern, again, is that without an accredited underlying Bachelor degree, DIAC may require a VETASSESS points test letter on the Bachelor Degree, which would fail. The safer bet is to claim only the 10 points, but again that's based on very limited info.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## enida (Aug 28, 2012)

I understand, I have to struggle with IELTS .

Thank you very much Mr.Mark.

All the best,
Enida


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## edman (Dec 11, 2013)

*Claiming points for australian qualification*

Hi Guys,

I am facing a confusing situation regarding my skill assessment and australian study. I would greatly appreciate if you could share your opinions with me.

here is a short brief about my case:

I have a bachelor degree (agricultural engineering) from overseas and Master degree ( MBA) from Australia. Engineering Australia has assessed me as "engineering technologist" and assessed my degree as broadly equivalent to Australian associate degree.

I understand that i can only claim 10 points for my qualification. However, i m not sure wether i can claim 5 points for my australian study qualification. my agent is suggestion that as EA did not assess my bachelor degree as equivalent to australian bachelor degree, i cannot claim the 5 point for my australian master degree!!! (because i need to have a bachelor degree before obtaining a master degree).

n.b. my MBA degree meet the requirement for 2 years study and 16 calendar month duration. and i already granted TR based on that!

my other points:
age: 30
naati: 5
ielts: 10
state sponsorship (190): 5

your help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers,
edman


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