Employer Sponsored Visas
Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482)
TSS visa holders need to work in their nominated occupation, but have the allowance of working under their approved sponsor under one of three streams:
- the Short-Term stream
- the Medium-Term stream
- the Labour Agreement stream
Eligibility Criteria
- You might be able to get this visa, as an overseas worker, if you have been nominated for a position by an approved sponsor.
- You should be able to meet English language requirements.
- You are required to have a job offer, with a two years’ relevant work experience in the last 5 years
- You should be able to meet health and character requirements.
- If you’re in Australia while filing your application, you must hold a substantive visa – Bridging A, Bridging B) or Bridging C to stay in Australia as a legal entrant.
- There is no age limit for the TSS visa however, age is a bar when you’re applying for a Permanent Residency. If you are granted a visa in an MLTSSL occupation and intend to apply for permanent residency after two years of working for the same sponsor, you will need to be under 45 at the time of lodging your application.
Length of Stay
With this visa, a person can stay in Australia for one to four years, depending on his nominated occupation, visa stream, and circumstances.
Employer Nomination – ENS (Subclass 186)
The ENS consists of 2 distinct stages
Stage 1 – Nomination by an employer
Stage 2 – Nominee’s application for a visa
The ENS List of Occupations is a list of skilled occupations, detailed on a government Gazette Notice. The major occupational groups in this category are:
- Managers and Administrators
- Professionals
- Associate Professionals
- Tradespersons
Prerequisites for nomination of an employee by an employer
The procedure of nomination is based on a certain set of rules. To nominate a position under the Employer Nomination Scheme, the employer must:
- Be actively and legitimately operating in Australia
- Genuinely need a paid employee from overseas to fill a position in his business
- Have a satisfactory record of compliance with immigration law and workplace relations law
- Fulfill his commitment to training existing Australian employees
- Must be providing the immigrant with a full-time position of at least 3 years
- The job must be in accordance with the standards for working conditions provided under Australian industrial laws
- The position must correspond to an occupation on the ENS List of Occupations
- The position must attract a base salary that is at least the minimum salary stated in a government Gazette Notice for the occupation
Prerequisites for filing a Nominee’s Application
If you are aspiring for a permanent residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme 186, you must:
- Be nominated by an Australian employer to fill a position that meets the nomination requirements
- Under the age of 45 years
- Be able to converse in English language
- Meet health and character requirements
- You must have the necessary skills and qualifications required for the job you’re applying for
Types of streams for the Employer Nomination scheme 186
Direct Entry stream
The Direct Entry Stream allows skilled workers, who are nominated by an employer, to live and work in Australia for an indefinite amount of time. There are certain conditions that you need to follow to be able to obtain the ENS visa under the Direct Entry Stream.
- you must be nominated by an Australian employer
- your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations.
- you must have at least Competent English Processing Time
- 75% of applications: 16 months
- 90% of applications: 19 months
Labour agreement stream
The Labour Agreement Stream welcomes skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, to come to Australia and live and work here for an indefinite amount of time. The Labour Agreement stream is for you if you work for an employer who is party to a labour agreement. Processing Time The processing time cannot be determined because of low volume of applications
Temporary Residence Transition stream
The Temporary Residence Transition Stream allows skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, to live and work in Australia on a permanent basis, if they adhere to the following conditions.
- You must hold a 457, TSS or a valid bridging visa A, B or C
- You must have worked as a full-time employee for your employer for a period of at least three years
- You must be nominated by your employerr
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (Subclass 187)
The different application stages of the RSMS visa 187 are:
- RCB Certification: Under this category, the Regional Certifying Body ensures that the position the worker is nominated for is genuine and legitimate. In many cases, it is required that the position should be advertised.
- Nomination: Under this category, the business and the position, the worker is nominated for, is reviewed by the Department of Immigration
- Visa application: There are three pathways, and generally the skill level is lower than for the ENS program. Applicants must be aged under 50, unless there are any exceptional circumstances in the scenario.
There are 3 Application Pathways to obtaining this visa. These are as follows:
Direct Entry Stream
Under this category, a skilled worker, nominated by an employer, can live and work in Australia on permanent basis. If you want to apply under this stream, you have to meet a certain criterion, which is
as follows:
- you must be nominated by an Australian employer
- you will work for your nominating employer in regional Australia
- your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations
- you must have at least Competent English
Temporary Residence Transition Stream
This visa lets skilled workers, nominated to work in regional Australia, remain in Australia for an indefinite amount of time. The conditions that you need to follow to be able to obtain this visa are
as follows:
- You must hold a 457, TSS or a valid bridging visa A, B or C
- You must have worked for your employer as a full-time employee for at least three years
- You must be nominated by your employer
Processing Time
- 75% of applications: 64 days
- 90% of applications: 10 months
Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) (Subclass 400)
Some reasons for which you can obtain this visa include:
- Performing short-term, highly specialized, non-ongoing work which cannot be found in Australia
- Participating in an event on a non-ongoing basis if you’re invited by an Australian organization
- Participating in an activity or work relating to Australia’s interest
Common Visa Criteria
As an applicant, you must be able to show that you:
- Have access to sufficient funds to support themselves and their dependents in Australia
- Have a job lasting not more than 3 months
- Have personal attributes consistent with the proposed activity
- Genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia for the intended purpose
- Meet health and character requirements
Highly Specialized Work Stream
As an applicant, you must be able to show that the work you are going to perform is highly specialized. You many need to demonstrate to clarify that you have skills that are not readily available in Australia.
For Instance;
- Skills relating to overseas technology
- Areas where there is limited supply of the required skill set
Certain types of work are excluded from the 400-subclass including work in the entertainment field unless the production will not be broadcasted in Australia or the visit is purely for promotional purposes.
Temporary Activity Visa (Subclass 408)
Common Visa Criteria
There are several eligibility pathways for the visa. All applicants must however prove that they;
- Hold private health insurance
- Have access to sufficient funds to support themselves in Australia
- Genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia for the intended purpose
- Meet health and character requirements
For these situations, sponsorship shall be provided by an authorized Temporary activity provider, unless the applicant is overseas and wishes to remain in Australia for 3 months or less. If there is no requirement of a sponsorship, then in most cases the application must be supported by an organization or an Australian citizen or a permanent resident.
Application Pathways
There are a number of streams under which you can apply for the Temporary Activity Visa.
1.Invited Participants
This stream requires the applicant to be invited by an Australian or an overseas organization to participate in an event in Australia
2.Sports Activities
This covers situations where the applicant is either:
- Receiving training from a team operating at the national level; or
- Working as an elite player, coach or adjudicator with an Australian team, and has the endorsement of the national peak body for the sport in Australia
3.Religious Worker
Where the applicant must work full time for a religious organization in Australia
4.Domestic Worker
Where the applicant will work as a domestic worker for a person holding either a Temporary Work (International Relations) Subclass 403 or Temporary Work (Skilled) Subclass 457 visa.
5.Superyatch Crew
This visa allows you to serve as a crew member on Superyacht in Australia
6.Research Activities
- Observing or participating in a research project with an Australian tertiary or research institution
- Students from overseas educational institutes coming to research in Australia closely related to their course
7.Exchange Arrangements
Where there is an agreement between an Australian business and an overseas business, to exchange staff for certain projects.
8.School Exchange
This involves a school to school exchange or School Language Assistance Program activity.
9.Special Program
This visa will allow you to stay in Australia to participate in a special program such as youth exchange, cultural enrichment or community programs, School language assistants or “gap year school volunteering”.
10.Australian Government Endorsed Events.
This would generally require the event to be specified by legislative instrument (e.g. Commonwealth Games), and a particular class of people to be identified (e.g. coaches or competitors). Unlike the other streams, this option does not require sponsorship and results in a visa of up to 4 years’ duration.
11.Entertainment Activities
If you’re a performer or an artist, you can apply for this visa. However, the criteria may differ depending on whether the performance is in relation to film or TV, is for non-profit purposes, or for productions purely for overseas markets.
Training Visa (Subclass 407)
Common Visa Criteria
The Occupational Training Visa can be acquired via two eligibility pathways. However, you must be able to prove that you:
- Have turned 18 (or can demonstrate exceptional circumstances)
- Have vocational as well as written English language skills
- Hold a private health insurance
- Have sufficient funds to support yourself in Australia
- Genuinely intend to stay in Australia for the intended purpose and required time period
- Meet health and character requirements
Eligibility
In addition to the above mentioned criteria, you must have a prior record of working for at least 12 months in the occupation that would be nominated
Nomination by an employer
As an applicant, you must prove that you have been nominated by your employer (and they ca not be a sole trader or individual)
Procession Times
A Training and Research (Subclass 407) Visa – Occupational Trainee Stream is processed in approximately 3 – 4 months