Employer Visa
Apply for an Employer Sponsored Visa and accelerate your career in Australia. Speak to a registered migration agent about your case requirements and the arrangements under your selected visa. Discover eligible occupations and discuss your goals with a professional today.
Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482)
If you would like to be sponsored between one day to four years, you may be eligible for the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa.
The Temporary Skill Shortage Visa has 3 Streams
- Short Term Stream
- Medium Term Stream
- Labour Agreement Stream
- Your employer must be approved as a sponsor and nominate your position before you can be granted your visa.
- The visa is designed to enable employers to address labour shortages by bringing in genuinely skilled workers where they cannot find an appropriately skilled Australian.
- You can find the list of occupations which identify the different streams on the department’s website
The 482 visa is the most common programme used by employers to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia on a temporary basis. The overseas worker can be employed for up to 4 years on this visa.
482 Visa Benefits For Overseas Workers
- Work in your nominated position in Australia for up to four years
- Bring eligible family members with you to work or study in Australia
- Travel in and out of Australia as often as you want, subject to your employer’s approval.
- As the holder of the medium-term stream visa, you may be eligible to apply for a permanent visa after three years of employment in Australia if you satisfy particular criteria.
The 482 Visa
When you apply for the 482 visa, there are three stages which you need to go through:
- Sponsorship
- Nomination
- Visa application
Sponsorship :
- Sponsor someone for a 482 visa, your business must first apply and be approved as a Standard Business Sponsor.
- Your business will need to satisfy certain requirements prescribed by the Migration Act and regulations, including:
- You must have applied in the correct manner. This means you must have completed the correct form and paid the correct fee
- You must be lawfully operating a business in or outside Australia
- You must indicate the number of positions you wish to nominate over the term of your approved sponsorship
- If you are lawfully operating a business in Australia and you have traded for 12 months or more you must meet the prescribed training benchmark
- If you are lawfully operating a business in Australia and you have been trading for less than 12 months, you must have an auditable plan to meet the prescribed training benchmark Temporary Work
- If you are lawfully operating a business in Australia, you must attest, in writing, that you have a strong record of, or a demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour
- If you are lawfully operating a business in Australia, and have previously been approved as a standard business sponsor, that you have fulfilled any commitments you made in meeting the training requirements during the period of your most recent approval as a standard business sponsor
- You must not have recovered, transferred or taken any action that would result in another person paying costs associated with you becoming a sponsor or recruiting a proposed visa holder.
- Please note that the above list is not exhaustive and other criteria may apply
- if you are lawfully operating a business overseas but not in Australia, you must be seeking to be approved as a standard business sponsor with the intention of sponsoring a person under the subclass 457 visa programme to either: –
- Establish, or assist in establishing, on your behalf, a business operation in Australia with overseas connections, or
- Fulfill, or assist in fulfilling, your contractual obligation
- There is no adverse information known to the department about you, or a person who is associated with you. The department may disregard any adverse information if it is satisfied that it is reasonable to do so
Once your business’ application to become a Standard Business Sponsor has been approved, the Sponsorship agreement with the Department of Immigration is generally valid for five years.
- Start-up businesses will only be approved for 18 months and will need to renew their agreement prior to the expiration of their agreement if they wish to continue sponsoring an overseas worker.
- A company can also sponsor an overseas worker by entering into a Labour Agreement with the Australian Government.
- Please consult us for more details regarding Labour Agreements.
Nomination :
Nominating a position is the process by which an approved sponsor identifies a position to be filled by an overseas skilled worker.
- The Sponsor must then nominate the overseas worker in an occupation from the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List.
- The Nomination application must satisfy prescribed criteria, including that:
- There is a genuine need for the position to be filled within the business
- The position offered is usually required to be full-time
- The base salary offered is not less than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) which is currently A$53,900/year, and is at market rate
- The terms of employment are no less favourable than those that would apply to an equivalent Australian worker
- The employer must pay the Australians Fund (SAF) levy
- If the occupation is not exempt, the Sponsor must demonstrate that they have undertaken labour market testing for the nominated position.
Please note that the above list is not exhaustive and other criteria may apply. Please consult us for more details.
Visa Application:
The person nominated to work in the nominated occupation applies for the visa. This is the final step to obtaining a subclass 482 visa.
- You can apply for this visa from outside Australia, and from inside Australia so long as you do not have a ‘No Further Stay’ condition on your Australian visa and you meet any other requirements for your onshore application.
You must demonstrate that you satisfy prescribed criteria, including that you:
- Possess the necessary skill level to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the nominated position, including being able to meet any required registration or licensing requirements to work in your nominated occupation
- Meet English language requirements, unless you meet certain exemptions
- Must have health insurance as the holder of this visa
- Meet health and character requirements.
- Please note that other criteria may apply hence please consult us for more details.
- If you include a family member in this application, they must also show that they will have health insurance as the holder of this visa in Australia and meet health and character requirements.
Benefits and common issues with a 482 visa application
- This visa is a popular option for employers because it allows overseas workers to be recruited relatively quickly and at low cost.
- However, the requirements to obtain this visa are prescriptive and there are numerous obligations for a business that sponsors someone.
- It is important to seek advice about whether this visa is the right fit for your business and your employees.
- We can assist you with many of the common issues that arise when applying for a 482 visa including showing that:
- Labour Market Testing
- The offered salary is at market rate
- The overseas worker has the qualifications, experience and English level for the nominated position.
- Our experienced Registered Migration Agents can ensure that you successfully obtain a 482 visa within the time that it is required.
- Please contact us to speak with our consultants today.
Employer Nominated Visa Streams
Temporary Residence Transition Stream: For the primary holder of a 457/482 visa who has been working full-time in Australia with the employer them for at least 2 years (457) or 3 years (482) and has been offered a permanent contract in their nominated occupation with the sponsoring company.
Direct Entry Stream: For someone who is ineligible for the Transition stream or who is applying from outside Australia, and who can demonstrate that they satisfy the requisite Skill and English levels for this visa (which are higher than for the Transition stream). The person has also been offered a permanent contract for two years or more in their nominated occupation with the sponsoring company.
Agreement Stream: For a person sponsored by an employer through a Labour Agreement. Please consult us for more details regarding this stream.
Employer Nominated Visa – 2 Stages
Nomination
Transition and Direct Entry streams – common criteria
A subclass 186 Nomination application in the Transition and Direct Entry streams must satisfy prescribed criteria, including that:
- The sponsoring company has met certain training requirements
- The nominated position is full-time, available for at least 2 years after the grant of the 186 visa
- The terms of employment are no less favourable than those that would apply to an equivalent Australian worker, including the base salary at market rate
- The sponsoring company is actively and lawfully operating in Australia
- There is no relevant adverse information against the sponsoring company
Direct Entry stream – additional criteria
If nominating within the Direct Entry stream, the sponsoring company must also:
nominate the overseas worker in an occupation from the current CSOL List
- Show there is a genuine need for the position
- Show that the position is under the direct control of the business.
- Please note that the above lists are not exhaustive and additional criteria may apply
Visa Application
Transition and Direct Entry streams – Common Criteria
A visa applicant in both the Transition and Direct Entry streams must demonstrate that they satisfy prescribed criteria, including that they:
- have not turned 45, unless certain exemptions apply
- Meet, or are eligible to meet, the registration, licensing or membership requirements if same is required for their position in Australia
- Meet English language requirements, unless certain exemptions apply
- Meet health and character requirements.
Direct Entry stream – additional criteria
If you are applying within the Direct Entry stream, you must also:
- Have a skills assessment for your nominated occupation and at least 3 years’ experience in your nominated occupation, unless certain exemptions apply
- Note that the requisite English level is higher than for the Transition stream
- You are able to include family members in your 186 visa application if they satisfy particular criteria.
- Please contact us for more details.
The 186 Visa
Benefits And Common Issues 186 Visa
- A 186 visa is often used where an overseas worker is already employed in the business on a subclass 457/482 visa, but it should also be considered for hiring new staff because a 186 visa does not impose sponsorship obligations on the sponsoring employer.
- The requirements to obtain the permanent 186 visa can be quite onerous. It is important to seek Migration advice to ensure you meet the requirements for an ENS visa as an application refusal will result in significant wasted time and costs.
- Some of the common difficulties that you may face with a 186 visa application include:
- Showing that the business meets the training requirements, particularly if you are applying in the Temporary Residence Transition stream
- Obtaining a positive skills assessment for an applicant in the Direct Entry stream, as each skills assessing authority has different criteria
- Where an applicant does not meet the usual requirements for age, skill level and English, demonstrating that exemptions apply.
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 494)
- Live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia for 5 years
- Travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid
- If eligible, apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted
- You can live, work and study only in a designated regional area. Designated regional areas include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
You must
- Be nominated to work in an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list
- Have at least 3 years relevant work experience in your nominated occupation
- Have a relevant skills assessment, unless an exemption applies
- Work only for your sponsor or associated entity, unless an exemption applies
- Be under 45 years of age, unless an exemption applies
- Meet minimum standards of English language proficiency
