Q & A: Good Score

Q. In the Independent type of immigration, what's considered in your experience a "good" score from the self-assessment? or in another words, what's the average or normal score range for people that succesfully got the visa (with or without interview)?

I know that a minimum of 60 is required before the interview, and that the official's evaluation can be different from mine, but if I gave myself 73 points I wanted to know if that's considered good enough.

Answer: Under the current system of immigration, any total point score that is 70 points or higher, is usually considered to be a "good score". When estimating total point score, it is of course difficult to predict the points that will be given for the "Personal Suitability" factor. In our experience the average score in that factor tends to be approximately 6 points, but that can vary greatly depending upon the person's overall work/education and personal history.

Thus, before personal suitability is calculated, a "good score" will tend to be anything that is 64 points or higher, so that when the personal suitability points are added (average of 6 points) the total score then rises to 70 or above.

Having said all this, however, an applicant should keep in mind that there are a number of other critical and important factors that are evaluated by an immigration officer, and can effect the outcome, regardless of someone's total point score. For example, under the current system of immigration, there often exists the requirement that a person's career match with that person's field of education. Such mismatches can sometimes be grounds for refusal, despite estimated point totals. And so achieving a "good score" is by no means a guarantee that the application will be successful.

Incidentally, the requirement that education/work history match will likely NOT be implemented in the new system, on June 28, 2002. This will hopefully give more flexibility to admit applicants who possess varying education and career histories, recognizing that specialized education skills can be transferred to new areas.