Australian migration Points Test, and a lot, a LOT! of reading!

Finally settled and agreeing to really start seriously looking into migrating to Australia, one of the 1st things I did was to read, reread and reread again the many, detailed and bureaucratic pages of instructions.  Basically, being able to navigate and comprehend the written instructions on the migration process, with NO help from a migration agent, would test my English language skills to an extent, even the IELTS could not match. 

We had determined that we would apply via the Professionals and other Skilled Migrants category, from outside of Australia, on a Skilled - Independent (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 175).  I read each and every page on the Subclass 175 visa, from How this Visa Works, to Eligibility, to Obligations, to Applying for this Visa, and followed every single link provided on each page to its final destination.   Tabling the details of what was needed, into 3 columns, of Eligibility Requirements, Weblink related to the Eligibility Requirement, and Weblink details, I created a document of steps from start to finish totaling 9 pages long. Looking back on the process, it doesnt seem that hard, but the initial process of digesting the pages and pages of steps to perform and consider; wow it was quite a mouthful.

Successful application of an Australian Visa Subclass 175 is determined by a system of points, and supporting documents for the various points you claim to have.   Our points test is shown below

Under each Eligibility requirement, there would be a link to follow, and a description allowing you to determine how many points you get under each section.  The total points need to add up to 120, and as you can see, ours doesn't.  When we started the application back in July 2009, the Australian Immigration had an additional criteria of MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List), which was removed in Feb 2010 See link http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/faq-gsmchanges.pdf.  This gave us an additional 15 points for an occupation in demand (20 points if your occupation is in the MODL + you have a job offer), and brought our total to 130.