Finally, the much talked-about changes to the Australian Visa program are in effect now. The changes have been in force since July 1, 2010. Let us have a look at the changes made:

• Australia’s new Skilled Occupations List is one of the many changes that have taken their effect on July 1. This is the list that focuses on the occupations that the nation needs at the time. The list is supposed to get updated each year, in order to identify the occupations that the Australian labor market needs the most. As per the announcement by the Aussie Immigration Minster, the nation has reduced the number of occupations from 400 in the earlier list to 181 in the new SOL. Occupations, such as hairdresser, dance instructor and cook have been eliminated from the new list of skilled occupations. The changes apply to all those who apply for an Aussie visa under the Skilled Migration Program.
• Replacing the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations came into force the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations. The immigration department will make use of the new standard to access information regarding occupations under various categories. The ANZSCO is the result of the collaboration between Australian Bureau of Statistics; the Employment, Education and Workplace Relations Department; and Statistics New Zealand.
• It was announced by the Australian Immigration Minister in February 2010 that those applications which were submitted before 1st September 2007 for certain specific offshore visas for skilled migrants would be cut short and ceased. Since the maximum announced limit has been reached, all the applications which fall under this category and are awaiting a decision would now be ceased. However, the application fee for the visa would be given back to the applicant.
• Effective from July 1, applicants under certain state/territory, as well as family sponsored subclasses of GSM visas are required to provide evidence that they have been nominated by a state/territory or a relative. The foremost thing that these applicants must do is to file application for an Australian Visa. Then the nominating state/territory or relative must complete the associated nomination/ sponsorship form using the TRN number, which has been earlier provided to the applicants at time of filing petition for the visa.

Now, that the changes are in effect, all the speculations and doubts will be cleared that people have regarding the impact of the changes on overseas immigrants!