The Selection Decision
The Minister has the authority to set the minimum number of points required of a skilled worker. People also refer to this commonly as the ‘pass mark’. This is in accordance with the provisions specified under R76 (2). At present, the pass mark is 67 points.
Visa officers would need to make a final selection decision for applications. This is especially so for applications assessed by the Centralised Intake Office (CIO) as meeting the pass mark prescribed by the Minister. The visa office would need to review the application in detail. In addition, it would need to review the case analysis provided by the Centralised Intake Office (CIO). Thereafter, it would need to make the final selection decision. Typically, it would make this decision based on the total points earned by the applicant for the selection factors.
Therefore, if the applicant’s total score is equal to or greater than the pass mark established by the Minister, then the visa officer would need to make a positive selection decision. After this, the visa officer would need to proceed towards determining admissibility (refer to Appendix A).
In case the applicant’s total score is less than the pass mark prescribed by the Minister, then the visa officer would need to:
- Make a negative selection decision,
- Record the outcome and the reasons in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) and,
- Send a letter to the applicant notifying the applicant that the authorities have refused the application for insufficient number of points
Note:
- It is worth noting that officers have the option of exercising their authority for substituted evaluation in respect of:
- The points assessment and,
- The final selection decision
Source: Citizenship and Immigration
