If you are an employer or have an employer to sponsor you, please contact us for a thorough assessment of your eligibility and requirements for sponsorship.

There are multiple visa options for employer sponsorship. Below, we highlight some of the most common pathways. Please note, beyond the options listed, applicants may qualify for additional visas that include work rights. For precise advice tailored to your situation, arrange a migration assessment with one of our Registered Migration Specialists to determine the best visa option for you.

Temporary Work Short Stay Specialist visa (subclass 400) visa – Temporary Residency

• The applicant must be supported by an organisation to be engaged in short-term, highly specialized, non-ongoing work, usually related to specific projects.
• The applicant must have specialist skills or experience to undertake the work
• Visa duration usually 3 to 6 months and can be renewed in some cases
• the option to apply for another visa subclass before this visa expires is usually available

Skills in Demand Visa (Subclass 482) visa  – Temporary Residency

• Visa duration up to 4 years depending on occupation and duration of employment contract with the option to renew indefinitely
• No age limit for primary applicant
• Skills requirement – at least 1 year of related full-time employment experience, or equivalent period of part-time or casual work , within the last five years from Australia or outside Australia
• English requirement – equivalent English IELTS score of 5 in each component *exemptions apply in some cases
• A skills assessment is required for some occupations
• Additional evidence and information will be required from both the employer and applicant relevant for each particular case
• A SID 482 visa holder in all streams (Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement streams) has a pathway to PR under the ENS 186 TRT
• The 482 visa consists of 3 different streams as follows:

Core Skills Stream

• 456 skilled occupations available for nomination from the relevant skilled occupation list
• Applicant must prove relevant skills
• Employer must pay market salary rate for full time employment, 38 hours per week 
• Base salary must meet Core Skilled Threshold (CST) base salary of at least $73,150 indexed annually + superannuation

Specialist Skills Stream

• any OSCA occupation can be nominated within OSCA groups 1, 2, 4,5  and 6 (excluding occupations from groups 3, 7 and 8 which encompasses trade workers, machinery operators, drivers and labourers)
• income threshold base salary of at least $135,000 indexed annually + superannuation
• involves priority processing

Labour Agreement Stream and Essential Skills pathway

• more info to be provided as soon as related legislative instruments are released

482 Application Process

1. Stage 1 Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) application – Approval required for employer to sponsor foreign workers. This is like a ‘license’ to sponsor foreign workers and will be valid for a 5 year period.
2. Stage 2 Nomination application – The employer must prove the genuine need for the proposed worker and the skilled occupation within the company
   
3. Stage 3 Visa application – Personal details of proposed employee required including medical and character information. The employee needs to prove relevant  skills for the nominated skilled occupation

Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa – Permanent Residency

• English requirement – equivalent IELTS 6 in each component
• Age limit under 45 unless exemption applies
• Applicant must prove relevant skills
• Additional evidence and information will be required from both the employer and applicant relevant for each particular case
• The ENS186 visa consists of two streams as follows:

ENS186 Temporary Residence Transition stream – Permanent Residency

• No specific occupation list.
• All 482 nominated occupations are eligible to apply once an applicant has held a 482 visa for at least 2 years within the last 3 years under the same nominated occupation. Related employment with multiple employers is acceptable.
• Employer must pay relevant salary considering base salary paid under the 482 visa

ENS186 Direct Entry stream – Permanent Residency

• 456 skilled occupations available for nomination from the relevant skilled occupation list
• Applicant must prove relevant skills
• Skills requirement – at least 3 years of related recent full-time employment experience, or equivalent period of part-time work from Australia or outside Australia
• English requirement – equivalent English IELTS score of 6 in each component
• A skills assessment is required for the nominated occupation
• Employer must pay relevant salary considering base salary paid under the 482 visa
• Additional evidence and information will be required from both the employer and applicant relevant for each particular case

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 494) – Temporary Residency

• Specifically for regional areas – the place of work must be located in a regional area, the sponsoring employer can be located in a regional area or metropolitan area
• Occupation must be listed on relevant skilled occupation list
• Age under 45 unless exempt
• process consists of SBS, Nomination and visa stages similar to the 482 visa
• nomination approval from region required
• 5 year duration – position must be likely to exist for 5 years
• Salary must not be less than $73,150 + superannuation, overtime additional
• applicant requires competent English, exemptions may apply in some cases
• positive skills assessment required
• at least 3 years skilled work experience

Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (Subclass 191) – Permanent Residency 

• applicants must have held a subclass 491 or 494 visa for at least 3 years and must have complied with visa conditions including living, working or studying
  in a regional area and met minimum taxable income requirements
• applicants must have earned the TSMIT level income of $70,000 for three financial years whilst holding the Subclass 491 visa in order to apply for the Permanent Residence Skilled Regional Subclass 191 visa
• no maximum age limit

Training visa (subclass 407) – Temporary Residency

• available for full-time work and and on the job training
• applicant requires recent skills or work experience – 1 year of full time work experience related to the nominated occupation -or- evidence of recent graduation from course related to nominated occupation
• English score of equivalent IELTS 4.5 average is required
• employer must provide a training plan
• visa duration is normally for 12-24 months with a possibility to renew or apply for another visa
• read more about the Training 407 visa

Australian Job Search

If you are a prospective visa applicant and seeking an employer to sponsor you, read more about how to find a job the Australian way!

Self Sponsorship for visa applicants

*Please note, it is possible to arrange self-sponsorship if you can prove that you have an actively trading business and can show strong financials and the ability to employ at least 3-5 full-time Australian citizen employees.

What’s Next?
To ensure you obtain precise information for your specific situation please arrange an appointment with one of our Registered Migration Specialists. We will conduct a full migration assessment and advise which visa option or pathway is best for you. Please call our office on 02 8964 5880 for full info. Find out more about what a migration assessment involves.