From 14 February 2019, when lodging a Vetassess Skill Assessment, for general professions, applicants will be required to provide exact employment dates (dd/mm/yyyy). Prior to this change a Vetassess Skill Assessment used only month and year to calculate the employment dates.
Vetasses will continue to retrieve these dates from official documents only. So it is essential that employment references and statement of services from employers provide the exact start and end dates of employment. If the exact start and end date is not included in the employment period, Vetassess and Department of Home Affairs will consider the dates to be from the end of the first month to the beginning of the final month. This could result in a loss of up to 2 months’ work experience.
The Department of Home Affairs uses the outcome letter from Vetassess to establish the skilled employment history for a visa applicant. Various visa applications in the skilled and employer sponsored migration streams require applicants to complete a minimum number of years work experience, in their nominated occupation or closely related occupation, within a certain time period. Any lost months, due to missing information in the evidence submitted, may have a detrimental effect on the outcome of a visa application.
Employment outside ten years
As of 14 February 2019, in a Vetassess Skill Assessment an applicant may be able to consider closely related employment outside the last ten years, provided it is continuous employment with the same employer within the last ten years. For example, if an applicant worked for an employer from 21 Feb 2007 – 20 Feb 2010 (9 – 12 years ago based on today’s date 21 Feb 2019) then the entire employment period with that employer may be assessed and included in the outcome letter. However, it is important to note this does not mean, when calculating points for a Skilled 189 or 190 visa that the Department of Home Affairs will include employment outside the last 10 years.
It is important to obtain up to date accurate migration advice. Please contact our Migration Agent Sydney to discuss your particular application and identify any relate time related risk factors. You may book an initial phone consultation here
