Employer Sponsored Visas

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If your business is experiencing a skill shortage, the Employer sponsored visas allow businesses in Australia and overseas to sponsor skilled workers who have recognised qualifications and skills in particular occupations required in Australia.
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To make sure you avoid costly mistakes you need timely, accurate and relevant migration advice that is clear, practical and affordable.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS 187)
​Permanent Visa  

The RSMS visa requires a job offer in a regional area. The position needs to be approved by a Regional Certifying Body based in the regional area. The resulting RSMS visa is a permanent visa, but is subject to cancellation if the employee leaves employment within two years of obtaining the visa.

REad More about rsm 187

In general there are three stages to an RSMS Subclass 187 application:

1. RCB Certification: the Regional Certifying Body will ensure that the position is genuine and in many cases require that the position has been advertised.
2. Nomination: review of the business and position by the Department of Home Affairs
3. Visa application: there are three pathways, and generally the skill level is lower than for the ENS program. Applicants must be aged under 45, unless exceptional circumstances apply and satisfy English language testing, health and police checks.

 
Application Pathways
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There are three possible application pathways for an RSMS visa:

• Temporary Residence Transition Stream: where applicants have worked with the employer on a 457/482 visa for at least 2 or 3 years subject to when their visa was granted. In this case, no RCB certification is required and an English level equivalent to IELTS 5 is required.
• Direct Entry Stream: the position will need to be certified by an RCB, and the employee will need English level equivalent to IELTS 6. Applicants in trade occupations may require a formal skills assessment. Applicant is required to have 3 years relevant experience post qualifications.
• Agreement Stream: where the employer has a Labour Agreement

In order to be granted an RSMS visa, the employee must be offered a position in a ‘regional area’. The regional areas are specified by postcode by the Department of Immigration.

The following are considered Regional areas for the purposes of RSMS sponsorship:

• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• ACT
• Northern Territory
• New South Wales (NSW) – all areas excluding: Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong
• Victoria – all areas excluding Melbourne
• Queensland- all areas excluding Brisbane

 
The requirements for RSMS are more straightforward than ENS in a number of important ways:

• The employer does not need to meet the training requirement for the Direct Entry Stream, however a new Skilling Australia Fund fee is due to come into effect between July - September 2018. 
• The visa applicant requires a lower level of skill for the Direct Entry Stream – most applicants do not require a skills assessment.
• It is possible to apply for RSMS in a wider range of occupations than ENS
• RSMS is the highest priority visa in the skilled migration stream

 
The main difficulties employers face when obtaining RSMS visas are as follows:

• Identifying the correct eligibility stream
• Obtaining an RCB approval – each RCB has different criteria and an approval may need to be individually negotiated with the RCB
• Meeting the Labour Market Testing Requirements and demostrating the genuine need for the position.
• Showing exceptional circumstances where visa applicants would not meet the usual requirements for Age, English language ability and skill level

 
Labour Agreements

• Labour agreements are individually negotiated between the employer and the Department of Immigration and can be used to sponsor employees on a larger scale.
• Due to the complexity of the submissions and evidence required, labour agreements are only recommended where a large number of workers are to be sponsored.

Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS 186) Permanent Visa

The Employer Nomination Scheme is a permanent visa for skilled foreign national workers from outside Australia or skilled temporary residents who live and work in Australia. 

read more about ens (subclass 186)  scheme

The Employer Nomination Scheme is a permanent visa, and requires the nominating employer to be operating in Australia. 

In general there are two stages to the ENS Subclass 186 application:

1. Nomination: involves review of the business’ operations as well as the position offered to the employee.
2. Visa Application: there are three possible pathways which may require a skills assessment, English language testing and health and police checks.

Application Pathways.

There are three possible application pathways for an ENS 186 visa:

• The Temporary Residence Transition Stream for 457/482 visa holders who have worked for two/three years and whose employer wishes to offer them a permanent position. In this case, no skills assessment is required and an English level equivalent to IELTS 5 is required.
• The Direct Entry Stream. This is for foreign nationals who have never, or only briefly, worked in the Australian labour market. The employee will need to provide a formal skill assessment in their occupation, and show that they have worked in their occupation for three years. The required English level is IELTS 6 equivalent.
• The Agreement Stream. This is for foreign nationals who are sponsored by an employer through a labour or regional migration agreement.

Difficulties which can be encountered in applying for ENS visas include:

• Obtaining skills assessments – each skills assessing authority has different criteria, but in some circumstances this requirement can be avoided.
• Demonstrating that the employer meets the “satisfactory record of training” requirement.
• Showing exceptional circumstances where visa applicants would not meet the usual requirements for Age, English language ability and skill level.

Temporary Skills Shortage Visa (482) Temporary Visa

Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) 482 visa, allows businesses based either in Australia or overseas to sponsor workers for a temporary work visa. This is the most common visa used by businesses to obtain foreign national workers. It allows these persons to work for up to 2 or 4 years under the sponsorship of their employer.  Visa work holders have to work in their nominated position within the business and cannot work for any other employer whilst on this visa. In most cases businesses will have to demonstrate the following;

• they have tested the local labour market
• meet the Annual Market Salary Rate for the nominated position
• Salary must be a minimum TSMIT $53,900 
• Pay the Skilling Australia Fund levy - due to be implemented between July - Sept 2018.
• the visa applicant meets the skill requirements for the nominated position and;
• Only certain occupations are eligible on either the STSOL or MLTSSL Occupation Lists.

read more about tbs (457)

In general there are three stages to the Subclass 482 application:

1) Standard Business Sponsorship
In order to sponsor employees for a temporary 482 work visa, most businesses need to be approved as a Standard Business Sponsor.
 
To obtain the approval, you need to show:

• There is a properly established business structure – such as a company, trust, partnership or registered business name; and
• The business must be in a sound financial position; ​and
• The training activities of the business must meet the Department of Home Affairs benchmarks (businesses not operating in Australia are exempt from this requirement)

Once obtained Sponsorship approval is generally valid for five years. 

2) Business Nomination

• The position must be on the approved list of occupations and;
• Salary for the position must be at the market rate, and must be above of the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT);
• the terms and conditions for the position must meet the minimum standards set out by Australian employment law.
• Labour Market Testing is conducted and recruitment process demonstrated. 

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3) Visa Application

• The 482 visa is valid for two or four years. There is no such thing as an extension on a visa however a visa applicant can apply again for another 482 visa if they continue to meet the requirements.
• The 482 visa is subject to a condition 8107 work restriction where the visa holder can only work for the sponsoring employer, unless a different employer lodges a new nomination for the employee.
• The visa can be cancelled if the employee ceases employment for more than 60 days.
• The employee must also maintain their health insurance cover.
• All applicants for 482 visa must meet the English language requirement and have the appropriate qualifications and experience for the nominated occupation they are being sponsored under. There are exemptions available from the English language requirement for certain passport holders and courses of study.