At any given time, there are at least a million Filipino workers and professionals in the Middle East – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq and even Iran.

Engineers, nurses accountants, financial managers, chefs, cooks, even welders and electricians have been working in the Middle East (ME) for at least a year, or an average of four years. And it is not surprising because while other countries require licensure or registration by the receiving country before one can practice her or his profession, employers and most ME governments do not.

Nurses without NCLEX or IELTS for example can start working in KSA or UAE. However, to work or migrate to Australia, Canada , New Zealand, UK or the USA, a nurse must pass the exam or be suitably assessed by the RN regulatory authority.

After years of working in the ME, taking the NCLEX seems to be drifting away and one does not realize that years have passed since he or she first worked in the ME.

Yet even if an OFW has a resident visa in the ME, it is difficult to imagine that one can become a permanent resident, much less a citizen of a Middle East country. As one gets older, however, and the physical, psychological and emotional demands of work in the desert becomes less alluring, the hope or dream of getting a job and immigrant status to any of the five countries with permanent migration programs presents itself as a viable and attractive option.

How can a Filipino working in the Middle East qualify for migration or permanent residency to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK or the USA?

Age. Australia has a cut off age at 44; Canada, 49; New Zealand, 55 - while the UK and the USA set different and more liberal criteria. The concern however, is – with the recession and more than 10% unemployment in the USA, young and old foreign workers/intending immigrants face a long wait because of the backlog in visa cases.

Education. Australia emphasizes experience more than education. Canada does the opposite. For example a bachelor’s degree gets 20 points towards the Canadian residency pass mark. Australia settles for at least one year post-secondary education, as long as the immigrant visa applicant is suitably assessed as the equivalent of an Australian counterpart.

Experience. An engineer who has worked in his occupation for 3 of the last 4 years would meet the specific experience requirement for Australian Skilled Migrant and get 10 points towards a 100 minimum to be eligible. The same engineer would get 19 points towards migration to Canada, but the pass mark is lower – 67.

English. Applicants for migration to the five commonwealth nations are required to prove English proficiency. The scores they get for the IELTS English or language proficiency exam will produce different results in their migration application for Australia or Canada. New Zealand does not assign points towards migration eligibility but merely requires moderate language proficiency. The USA does not require skilled workers or professionals to take an English exam, except for certain health care workers, including nurses, therapists, doctors, physician assistants, etc. A migrant applicant to Canada can get 16 points when he/she meets the minimum requirements for proficiency (6.5 in reading, writing, speaking and 7.5 in listening). A proficient score in English will get an Australian applicant 25 points. A score of less than 7.0 in one factor will demote the applicant to a competent category and get only 15 instead of the maximum 25.

Occupations List. All five countries mentioned above publish a list of occupations they need on a nationwide, state or regional level. New Zealand has the Immediate and Long Term Skills Shortage List; Australia has the Migration Occupations in Demand and the Critical Skills List; UK has the Shortage Occupations List, the US has the Schedule A occupations and Canada the Priority Occupations. But Canada has the fastest processing time for those on the list – 6 to 12 months as opposed to 5 years in the US; 2-3 years in Australia, 5 plus years in the UK. Please refer to a separate Priority Occupations List for Canada on this page.

If you wish to determine where you would qualify for a resident or immigrant visa (and have your family with you on the same resident category) send your complete and detailed resume to immigrants@visacenter.org.

By Crispin R. Aranda
International Visa Counselor, IVC

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