Breaking news; Chefs Occupation is categorised under Skilled Priority Occupation List in Australia
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Australia’s Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List [PMSOL]
PMSOL or the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List for Australia was first announced in collaboration with the National Skills Commission in September 2020. PMSOL was primarily announced to ensure that certain critical occupations are filled in the pandemic scenario. Australia has been experiencing a shortage of skilled labour force due to the coronavirus. So the occupations listed under the PMSOL are given priority to be filled up.
The addition of 22 new occupations to the list brings PMSOL to 41 in total. Chefs added to the priority migration skilled occupational list has been the latest development, carried out in June 2021.
Chefs added to priority skilled migration list
Chefs have been added to the priority skilled migration list in order to cope with the shortage of skilled labour in the Australian hospitality industry. The border closures exacerbated the skill shortage in this industry, which was already facing labour shortage prior to the Covid-19. As a result, Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced the addition of ‘chefs’ in the PMSOL, along with a number of other critical occupations.
What does this mean for skilled chefs?
The decision to add chefs to the PMSOL will allow hotel and restaurant businesses to recruit skilled labour from overseas. From the perspective of qualified chefs, this addition would mean that their visa now will be processed on a priority basis. However, the government has also announced that skilled migrants who will arrive in a PMSOL occupation will be subject to quarantine arrangements at their own expense.
Having being said so, there may be quite a few challenges that skilled chefs may face while trying to secure a visa to Australia:
- Quarantine requirement: As we have mentioned above, all overseas arrivals into Australia, must quarantine for 14 days in a hotel or quarantine facility at their own expense. This is a must requirement, irrespective of the vaccine status.
- Border restrictions: Australia continues with border restrictions, which may make it difficult to secure a flight to the country. Moreover, flights will likely be very expensive, and one may face unnoticed cancellations as well.
- Capped overseas arrival: Australian government has already limited the number of overseas arrivals. And with the addition of new skills in the PMSOL may overburden the limitation.
The concluding thought
The article can be concluded with the final thought that it is great news that Chefs have been added to the priority skilled migration list, for the Australian hospitality industry. With this addition, now it can be easy for the hotel and restaurant businesses to sponsor qualified chefs to let them come and work in Australia during this pandemic period. And being in the PMSOL, the visa applications of skilled chefs will now get priority, resulting in the acceleration of the approval process.
Contact any of our registered migration agent Sydney for visa consultation.
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