Australia and Canada are two of the major destinations when it comes to immigration to a new country. Both of these countries are great and especially for new immigrants, but to make it easier for you on which one to choose, we have done the comparison based on major factors that are required for one to immigrate. One of the major factors for choosing the country is the immigration system itself. Therefore we have done the comparison for Australia Skilled Visa System and Canada Skilled Worker program.
Please note, this is a very basic comparison of immigration programs between Canada Vs Australia skilled visa program. In case you want to assess yourself, you can check our Australia PR Point Calculator and Canada PR Point Calculator.
Skilled Worker Programs – Overview
Here we are comparing two of the most popular immigration programs: Australia’s Skilled Independent Program (Subclass 189) and Canada’s Federal Skilled Work(FSW) program. Both of these programs are aimed to attract the higher caliber applicants with higher education, Skilled work experience, English Language ability and many more things.
Neither of these applicants requires to have a job offer from family or state sponsorship. These two programs are ideal for people who are highly qualified from any country.
In both of these immigration programs, you can receive permanent citizenship status. This PR status will allow you to stay in these countries as much as you want with a pathway to become a citizen of a particular country
One thing both these programs have in common is these programs are point-based systems to determine their eligibility and to select the applicants.
The difference in Australia vs Canada PR:
One big difference when it comes to Australia Subclass 189 visa vs the Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program is that in order to apply for these programs you need to have a positive skill assessment from a skill assessment authority. This is required to demonstrate your educational degree is comparable to an Australian or Canadian degree, but in order to file for Canada’s Federal skilled worker program, they require an applicant to have at least 1 year of full-time skilled work experience. Both of these programs define skilled work experience as any job done under National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill level 0, A or B
Another difference is the occupation list for both programs. You can simply search over google For the Australian Occupation List for the skilled independent visa and can find it via the home ministry website.
Points System Comparison
As we know both of these programs are point-based and in order to determine the eligibility of an immigration applicant. They assign points for Age, Language Credentials, Work Experience, Education and other factors such as your study. For Australia, the minimum score that you need to be eligible is 65 points, while for Canada it’s 67 points.
The following is a detailed point table for your reference.
If you are meeting the minimum point requirement, then you are eligible to submit your interest in the program. However, for both Australia and Canada simply meeting the minimum points requirement will not guarantee that you will receive an invitation to these programs. In other words, if you are staying at the bottom of the pool you won’t receive an invitation. So in order to get invited, you will need higher points.
Application Process For Australia
The application process for the Australian Skilled Visa Program is similar to Canda’s Express Entry system. Applicants who meet the minimum of 65 points need to submit an EOI using the SkillSelect online system, but unlike Canada, Australia doesn’t have a secondary point system. Australian immigration issues invitations once per month mostly on the 11th of each month.
Applicants with the highest EOI will be invited to apply. If multiple applicants have the ranking score, then that candidate whose occupation limit is not reached and whose profile was submitted earlier will be given priority. EOIs are valid for 2 years and if your EOI doesn’t receive a reply in these 2 years it will simply expire.
The occupation ceilings in the AIS give an eligible occupation maximum quota and if that quota is reached then no invitation will be issued till next year. Once you have received an invitation, you have 60 days until you can submit the application for Australian PR to the department of Home Affairs and if your application is successful you will receive the PR status for you and your dependents.
Application Process For Canada
Canada’s Federal Skilled Worker program runs up with the Express Entry immigration system. Completing your express entry profile is the very first step to start your process to immigrate to Canada permanently. You will need to complete your express entry profile and meet the minimum quota in order to be accepted for the pool.
If you are interested in the FSW program, you will need to meet, at minimum, the pass mark of 67 points out of 100 on the grid.
Once you are accepted into the Express Entry pool, you are not guaranteed that you will receive an invitation to apply for PR. An invitation will be based on your score and rank in the Express Entry pool using the CRS system.
The CRS score is done out of 1200 points and is separate from the eligibility point grid. An express entry profile is valid for 12 months and the applicant must resubmit their profile if it’s not selected in the 12 months.
The Canadian govt. gets the draw about every two weeks, the Canadian govt. conducts an express entry draw to invite candidates with the highest CRS score. If an applicant is successful, they will receive the PR status for themselves and for any other dependent family member.
Processing Times & Cost
Australia’s skilled independent program costs almost $4045 AUD for the main applicant plus $2025 AUD for spouse or partner + $945 AUD for each child. Similarly to Canadian immigration, Australian applicants would pay simply for translation, postage and miscellaneous costs.
Canada’s cost is very nominal if compared to Australian immigration but the processing time for both these programs is similar. Canada’s FSW program charges total fees of $1040 CAD per adult and $150 for a child. Though, applicants to Express Entry programs should be aware of various other costs that they can expect during the immigration process.
Canda’s Express Entry system has a processing time of 80% of all applicants within the 6 months of receipt.
Author Bio: Simar is a well-versed education consultant who works with multiple universities and countries for the PR program. He has just started his own agency “Immigration Consultant Group”. (http://immigrationconsultantgroup.in/)