[mrlenan]

Hi
Hope you all will be doing fine.
I am going to apply for ACS in some days, but I am told by someone that I must find out whether the immigration department is dealing in that ACS code (or category) or not. i.e. Whether immigration department is accepting the application in that category or not? Can anybody tell me from where I can get this?
I am planning to apply for Software Engineer. But I do not know from where I can get whether Immigration department is accepting applications for the category of Software Engineer or not?
Please help me.

 

[espresso]

Hi mrlenan,

two things:

First, for most visas your occupation code must be on one of the skilled occupation lists (called SOL and CSOL). Software Engineer is on the SOL which gives you the largest number of visa options, including the 189 Skilled Independent visa and the 489 Family Sponsored visa. Read through the information on SkillSelect for a more comprehensive overview, including state and employer nominated visas.

Second, if you aim for one of the points tested visas (subclasses 189/190/489), occupation ceilings limit the number of visas per year. The occupation ceiling for programmers and developers (group 2613), to which Software Engineers belongs, is 4800 per year. So far, 1419 people have been invited already, that's why DIAC introduced a new "pro-rata" arrangement, which splits the remaining places equally over the year. You therefore have much better chances if you can score 65+ points. More information: SkillSelect Reports and 2 Sept 2013 Report

Note that employer sponsored visas are not affected by the occupation ceilings but some may have considerable limitations (e.g. only temporary such as the 457 visa, you need a new visa if you want to switch jobs etc.).

Cheerio,
Monika