The skilled recognition visa 476 is a temporary work visa which allows engineering freshers from recognized universities and their family members to work, study and live in Australia for 18 months. Following 18 months or after working for 12 months you will be eligible to apply for an Australian skilled visa.
The technology and engineering sector in Australia is experiencing a significant growth. The visa subclass 476 is an attempt to attract engineering graduates from overseas. It helps engineering graduates to gain experience and improve their eligibility for or provisional skilled visa or permanent residency in Australia.
Things you can do with skilled recognition visa 476
- You can stay and work in Australia for a period of about one and a half years
- You are allowed to travel to Australia till the visa is valid
- You can get enrolled in a professional course
- Study further to improve your English language skills
Eligibility criteria for Skilled Recognition Visa 476
Following are the eligibility conditions for skilled recognition visa 476.
- Engineering qualification: You must have earned one of the following engineering degrees from a recognized institute in the last couple of years.
- A bachelor’s degree
- A master’s degree
- A doctoral degree
- A postgraduate diploma
You must have specialized or have a major sequence of study in one of the following fields.
- Electrical engineering
- Electronics and communication engineering
- Civil engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Mining and material engineering
- Mechanical, production and plant engineering
- Structural engineering
- Environmental engineering
Engineering qualifications from one of the Washington Accord accredited institute is accepted. However, engineering qualification from institutes other than Washington Accord accredited institute are also recognized but you need to find out which are those institutes based on your country of stay.
- English language skills: Passport holders or citizens of countries like United States of America, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada are considered to have English language proficiency for applying the skilled recognition visa 476
Or else, you need to prove that you have obtained the following score in the one of the English language tests as mentioned below.
- IELTS: Scoring at least 6 in total in an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 5 in four individual modules (reading, writing, speaking and listening). The test has to be taken in the last three years immediately before submission of visa application.
- OET: Must obtain at least grade B in all the four separate test modules of an OET or Occupational English Test which has been written three years immediately before submission of visa application.
- TOEFL IBT: An overall score of 64 in English Test which will be a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test with a minimum score in the following test modules, 4 in reading, 4 in listening, 14 in writing and 14 in speaking. The TOEFL IBT must be taken immediately before three years of visa application submission.
- PTE: Scoring at least 50 in ‘Pearson Test’ with a minimum score of 36 in the four modules (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). The PTE must be taken immediately before three years of visa application submission.
- Cambridge English: A total score of 169 in Cambridge English test with a minimum score of 154 in each one of the four test modules (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). The test has to be taken on or after 1st January, 2015.
- Health requirements: Before lodging a skilled recognition visa 476, you need to meet certain health requirements and provide your HAP ID. The health examinations you need to undergo will depend on factors like your home country, period of stay in any other country in the past 5 years and the activities you plan to carry out in Australia. The outcome of your health examination usually remains valid for a year. The same conditions apply to your family members listed in your visa application even if they are not migrating. You can arrange to get your health examination done prior to the lodging visa application.
- Character requirements: Both you and your family members must meet the character requirements. This will include providing a police certificate from all the countries where you have stayed for one year or more in the last 10 years after attaining the age of 16.
- You are less than 31 years of ages
- Have earned an engineering degree from an institute of repute within the last couple of years.
- You have not had a Temporary graduate visa subclass 485 or Recognized graduate visa subclass 476 before except as a family member.
Skilled recognition visa 476 application process
- When your 476 Skilled graduate visa is granted, you must not reside in Australia except New Zealand citizens as they have a Special Category subclass 444 visa.
- To apply for the visa, you either need to furnish a valid Medicare card or the receipt of enrollment.
- Prove that either you or one of the members included in visa application have health insurance in Australia.
- You can lodge your visa application online with Application for a Temporary Graduate or Skilled Regional visa. For that you need to provide the relevant documents and pay the visa fee through credit card.
- To apply through post or courier, use Form 1276 (Application for general skilled migration to Australia) available online. You need to print it, fill it up and send it along with the visa application fee.
Once you have lodged your visa application, you can track its status via the ImmiAccount and also provide additional information using Form 1023 through ImmigAccount. You can inform about any changes in personal circumstances to DIBP.
Remember that in case you need to withdraw your visa application, your visa application charges will not be refunded. You can seek assistance from migration consultant Adelaide as they guide you in every step of the visa 476 application process.
