Hi Folks
I am Arun Vijay from India. I really appreciate the support that you lend to the people asking questions here.

I am an Electrical and Electronics Engg graduate(graduated May 2008) from one of the recognized universities under the subclass 476.I am presently working as a JAVA Programmer in an MNC in India .Now I have a few queries about this VISA.

What are low and high risk countries . Which category does India fall under?(couldn’t find this info anywhere)

Am I required to register with Engineers Australia association sooner or later for getting this VISA?

What about the prospects of an Electrical Engineering fresh man finding a job in the mining industry?

How is the IT industry looking in Australia. Please tell me your general views.

By reading through the posts I came to know that it takes at least 10 months on average for a CO to be assigned. But I found wanderer saying that there was an employee retraining program. I hope it must have been over by now. Is there any possibility for VISA applications being processed a little sooner.

Any idea about the acceptance/ rejection ratio?

I know it’s a lot of queries. But I am kind of super excited about moving to Australia. My friend told me about this VISA on 4th April .I applied for VISA the same day .I have already booked my IELTS on April 18th .Hope I will get this VISA and move to Australia soon.

I'd suggest that you have a look at the second sticky thread at the top of the section and read links in all posts for the government has been updating their priority classification for processing visas and have essentially said that the changing economic conditions mean that processing times previously published cannot be used as a reliable guide.

Your reference to my comment on retraining I take to be what I've said in regard to any change in regulations likely to mean delays as can occur in organisations when that occurs, the governments own position being nothing better.

As to employment opportunities, global economic conditions will I imagine be affecting all areas of employment, IT likely to slow with general activity and quite a few mining organisations already having cut back operations and anyone looking at international moves in the current environment ought to do so with there being limited opportunities for finding work readily, there also likely being international students in Australia who could be eligible for making permanent visa applications too and they just add further to the potential employees pool.

In regard to registering with the IEA, the 476 being a temporary visa is not points tested and as such the qualification assessment for a GSM visa is not required but nevertheless being registered would help in attaining employment with a lot of organisations.

There's a thread down the page a bit where information was also requested re a 476 visa, probably some relevant info there and as to high/low risk countries, again that is something usually applicable to health clearances and/or points assessment so possibly not really too relevant given current conditions I have referred to; essentially do not expect a too speedy processing.