Employer sponsored visa service

Employer Sponsored Visa Sub-class 186

The 186 visa is available to employees seeking permanent residency on the basis that the employer can offer them at least 2 more years of employment in an occupation on the Medium and Long- Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).

The process of applying for the 186 visa is divided into 2 parts:

• A nomination by an Australian employer

• A visa application for the visa applicant.

The 186 visa has three streams:

1. The Temporary Residence Transition stream (TRT) is for subclass 482 visa holders who have worked for three years for the employer while the holderof a subclass 482 visa. The advantage of the TRT pathway over the DE pathway, is that generally speaking, no formal skills assessment is required. Skills assessments can be costly, expensive and hard to gain. Formany people they present a formidable barrier to migration. Applicants must generally be under 45 years of age at time of application*

2. The Direct Entry stream (DE) is for applicants who have never worked in Australia or have worked for less than the required three- year TRT period.Applicants must have a positive skills assessment at the time they apply for the visa. Applicants must be under 45 years of age at the time of application.

3. Agreement Stream. This is only available to employers who hold a Labour Agreemen

All 186 visa applicants must pass English Language, Health and Character checks. Passport holders from the U.K, New Zealand, the U.S.A, Ireland or Canada, will generally be exempt from the language requirement.

In the Nomination application the employer must demonstrate its’ need for a full-time employee in the role. It will also have to pay a SAF contribution of between $3,000 and $5,0000 depending on turnover. The employer will have to show thatit has the financial viability to offer the proposed employment. The proposed payand other terms of employment will also be scrutinised.

The visa application considers the skills, age, health and character of the visa applicant. Concessions are available to New Zealand citizens.

*Age exemptions are available to highly paid workers and those working in certain occupations

The Skilled Regional visa (Subclass191)

This visa is the permanent part of the regional provisional visa stream comprising the subclass 491 and 494 visa.

The visa will commence on the 16th November 2022 and more details will be available in the lead up to the launch.

The visa is available to people who have lived, worked and studied in a designated regional area as the holder of a subclass 491 or 494 visa for at least three years and who have earned at least The Temporary Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) during each year of employment. The TSMIT is currently $53,900.

As a visa holder you can work or study anywhere in Australia and remain here
permanently.

The Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) Visa Sub class 400

Imagine that your company has won a contract to provide short term, specialist services in Australia and that you need to get your staff to Australia quickly to start that work.

The sub-class 400 visa is the perfect visa in this scenario. It suits entities with short term objectives in Australia.

Holders of sub- class 400 visas are generally allowed to work in Australia for up to 3 months although visas of up to 6 months can be granted where a real need for the additional time can be demonstrated.  Time runs from first entry into Australia.

This visa can only be applied for from outside Australia.

Details:

• The 400 visa is a single stage application- only a visa application is needed.

• Visa applicants must have highly specialised skills, knowledge or work experience, that can’t be found in the Australian workforce. Visa applicants will be required to provide their CV and copies of their qualifications.

• The visa holder will be asked to provide a letter of invitation, job offer or employment contract confirming that they will be employed in Australia. Overseas employers can remain to manage all payroll and business expenses.

• Applicants must meet health and Character requirements

The Temporary Activity Visa Sub-class 408

This visa allows applicants to come to Australia to do specific types of work on a short-term, temporary basis. Visa lengths can be from a few days up to four years depending on the visa purpose.

This is the visa that bands, football teams, actors and classical musicians use to come to Australia for tours (large or small) and promotional events.

Apart from sportsmen, actors and musicians, the visa is open to those attending cultural and youth exchange events, academic researchers, superyacht crews and an array of other purposes.

This visa has two parts

1. Sponsorship- an Australian organisation, government agency or eligible individual applies to become a Temporary Activities Sponsor. The current cost for sponsorship is $420.

2. Visa application. Spouses and dependants may apply in addition to the primary applicant.

Once granted the visa holder and family can remain in Australia for the visa termto undertake the work specified in the application and can travel to / from Australia as often as they want.

The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 visa

Imagine that you need to get a staff member to Australia to fulfil a medium to long- term contractual obligation or that you want a staff member to join your business in Australia. The Temporary Skilled Shortage (TSS) sub-class 482 will probably be the most suitable visa. This visa process is relatively quick.

The length of the visa available depends on the occupation of the visa applicant. The visa may be for an initial term of either two or four years. Repeat applications could allow for a holder to remain in Australia for a maximum of 12 years. There are two occupation streams for the sub-class 482 visa:

1. Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) provides an initial visa of up to 4 years with an option to apply for permanent residency in the future.

2. Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) provides an initial visa of up to 2 years.

The occupation lists can be found in the following link: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list

There are no age limits for visa applicants.

The visa applicant may bring their families with them for the duration. Spouses of visa holders can work or study in Australia without restriction and their children can attend schools. Fees for schooling in state schools may be payable depending on the state that they live in.

This process of applying for a 482 visa is divided into 3 separate parts:

1. The Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) application

2. The Nomination application

3. The Visa application.

1. All businesses that wish to employ 482 visa holders must be approved before they can proceed. The business can be in Australia or overseas.  An overseas business might decide to do this where it needs to service a long- term Australian service contracts or it intends to open a business in Australia. The business must demonstrate that it is actively trading and that it does not have adverse findings against it. Special arrangements apply to start-up companies that can’t show a trading track record.

2. In this part the department examines the requirement for the role to be filled. Is there a genuine need for the role to be filled and does the role fit within the scope and scale of the existing business?  A case officer will generally consider:

• The tasks and responsibilities of the proposed visa holder

• The terms and conditions on offer to the proposed visa holder.

• The employers’ efforts to find a suitable local employee. (In most situations there is a mandatory 4-week advertising period before a Nomination application can be lodged).

3.The third part of the application is the part in which your staff member / prospective employee puts themselves forward for the 482 visa as having the skills and work experience, character and health needed to successfully fill the role.

Applicants must have at least 2 years work experience in their chosen occupation. Some occupations require a formal assessment of skills be carried out before the visa application can be lodged, but for most occupations the case officer will assess the skills based on the documents that are lodged with the visaapplication, including copy references and qualifications.

In addition to skills, all applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have the English Language skills needed. If you are a passport holder from the U.K, New Zealand, the U.S.A, Ireland or Canada, you will be accepted as meeting this requirement.

All applicants must pass the health and character requirements.

494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)

This visa is for business located in regional Australia who are seeking to employ overseas workers with a view to them remaining in regional Australia for up to 5 years. There is a possibility of applying for permanent residency (PR) after a qualifying period of 3 years with the sub class 191 visa.

Regional Australia is broadly defined. In simple terms it’s anywhere outside the major conurbations. The Gold Coast falls within regional Australia for this visa. A list of designated regional areas can be found here;

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/regional-migration/eligible-regional-areas

Applicants can be accompanied by their immediate family members who can work or study without restriction.

Visa applicants:

• Must not have turned 45 at time of application

• Must have a skilled occupation on an applicable list AND have a valid, suitable skills assessment

• Must have been employed in the occupation for at least three years on a full-time basis.

• Must have competent English at time of application.

This visa is often applied for by applicants who came to Australia on sub class 482 visas with occupations not on the MLTSSL list and who are seeking a pathway to permanent residency.

Sub class 494 visa holders can generally only obtain PR using the sub class 191 visa pathway. They are not able to apply for Partner visas or most other skilled permanent visas.