Published on Australian Maritime Safety Authority (https://www.amsa.gov.au)
On this page:
A migration skills assessment checks your skills and qualifications meet the standards required for certain maritime jobs in Australia.
You may need a migration skills assessment if you:
This assessment is usually required before you can apply for a visa with the Department of Home Affairs. We assess skills and qualifications on the Department’s behalf. If you want to learn more about applying for a visa, visit working in Australia.
Important
A successful skills assessment does not guarantee you will be issued a visa or get a job in Australia. We cannot give advice on immigration or visas. If you have questions about visas or migrating to Australia, contact the Department of Home Affairs.
To be eligible for a migration skills assessment, you must:
We assess applicants who are qualified or certified as a:
We do not assess:
You can apply for a migration skills assessment if you have any of these:
Check that your certificate or qualification is eligible.
You must have sea service experience to be eligible. The amount and timing of the sea service will depend on your occupation and qualification.
If you’re applying as a marine surveyor, you don’t need sea service but you must show relevant professional experience.
You will have to provide proof of your sea service or professional experience when you apply.
Follow these 6 steps to apply for a migration skills assessment.
You can only apply if you hold one of these certificates or qualifications:
We do not assess:
We only assess STCW certificates issued by countries that have an agreement with Australia. Check if your certificate is from a recognised country.
Marine surveyor qualifications can be from any country.
We assess your application against the requirements for an Australian certificate of recognition.
You will need to show that your experience and qualifications meet Australia’s specific requirements — including sea service, which may be different than in your home country.
Before you apply, make sure your training and experience meet Australian requirements.
You must provide certified copies of your:
You can use our template sea service letter for international seafarers.
For some occupations, you also need to provide additional documents.
All documents must be:
To apply, you need to:
When we receive your application, we'll email you instructions on how to pay the fee. Find out more about application fees.
We won't start assessing your application until:
We will contact issuing authorities and employers to verify your certificates and sea service. If we can’t verify your documents, we cannot assess your application and it will be closed without refund.
If you are applying as an engineer, master or ship’s officer and your application meets the requirements, we'll send you a provisional assessment letter. The provisional assessment letter is valid for 3 years.
Marine surveyors don't need to complete an oral exam.
If you are applying as a marine surveyor, go straight to step 5.
You need to use this provisional assessment letter to book and complete an oral exam.
Learn about oral exams and how to make a booking.
Once you pass the oral exam (if applicable), we’ll send your final migration skills assessment letter.
Your letter is valid for 3 years.
You need an outcome letter to apply for your visa with the Department of Home Affairs.
If your letter expires before you finish your migration application:
If you have a higher-level certificate you want us to assess, you’ll need to make a new application and sit a new oral exam.
Once you have your visa, you can apply for a certificate of recognition.
If you want to work as a seafarer or marine surveyor in Australia, you need this certificate. It is separate to your skills assessment.
Find out more about certificates of recognition and how to apply.
It can take up to 3 months to assess your application, starting from the day we confirm we've received your complete application and payment.
We cannot assess your application if:
In these cases, your application will be closed and your fee will not be refunded.