Well, its the first of September and the changes to the General Skilled Migration Program become effective today. (Note: applications lodged on or before 31 August 2007 will not be affected by these changes).

It looks like the IELTS test is going to make or break some Australian Visa Applications from now on and I wonder how this will impact the numbers of migrants coming in from Non English Speaking countries.

My personal opinion is that it’s pretty damn important that anyone coming into Australia is able to speak a reasonable level of English. I’ve already struggled trying to get to destinations when travelling to other cities with work.

Its amazing how many taxi drivers (especially in Brisbane of all places) can’t speak very good English, let alone have a clue where the hell they are taking you.

Coming from the UK, this issue was even more prevalent, hopefully the changes might stop Australia from going the same way.

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Related posts:

1. Changes to the General Skilled Migration Program Annouced
2. English Language threshold increased for General Skilled Migration Programme
3. Changes to the General Skilled Migration Programme coming in September
4. Evaluation Of General Skilled Migration Categories
5. General Skilled Migration changes and their impact on international students