Employer sponsored visas are ideal for applicants who cannot meet the Basic Requirements or Skilled Visa Points Test Pass Mark for General Skilled Migration or whom desire the certainty of a job upon arrival in Australia.
However, if you are aged less than 45 years, have qualifications/work experience that may enable you to gain a positive skills assessment in a skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupations List then you should first consider a skilled permanent residency visa with unrestricted work rights, which means you are neither restricted in your employment options nor reliant on a particular employer’s sponsorship.
Obviously success under the Business (Long Stay) Subclass 457 visa is subject to having an eligible business willing and able to sponsor your application in an eligible nominated position.
Shortly you will be able to submit your Resume to be held on file should any such sponsor be located.
The most common employer sponsored visa subclasses currently available are:
Permanent Employment Visas
Subclasses 121/856 – Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
Subclasses 119/857 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
Subclasses 120/855 – Labour Agreement
Temporary Employment Visas
Subclass 457 – Business (Long Stay)
The service allows for a professional assessment of your visa eligibility if you are an overseas skilled worker or business sponsorship eligibility if you are an employer operating in Australia and preparation of a written document containing advice, information, application forms and support to manage an employer sponsored visa or approval as business sponsor application.
This is our most popular service and many clients have successfully utilised this affordable alternative to traditional migration consultancy.
This service also comes with our ongoing email support and a free 30 minute telephone conversation. Our email support is now unlimited. It is our interest to ensure our clients are satisfied with our service, and if successful in migration know they can rely on us for any help and support they may need to make the transition to Australian life as easy as possible.
Visa Requirements
Every visa application and approval as a business sponsor application must meet the actual legal requirements for that particular visa subclass in order to be successful. These requirements are found in the Migration Act 1958, Migration Regulations 1994, as well as in the policy guidelines contain in the Procedures Advice Manual (PAMS) which DIAC Case Officers use to assess applications. MY AUSTRALIAN VISA.com can provide you with the migration law expertise to submit the best possible visa application.
All employer sponsored visa subclasses have requirements which attach to the employer, the nominated occupation and to the visa applicant himself/herself.
Whilst the sponsor does not itself apply for a visa, they must apply to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for approval as a business sponsor.
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (Subclass 121/856)
The ENS process has two stages:
1. nomination by an employer; and
2. the nominee’s visa application
1. Requirements for the employer
The employer must:
- be actively and lawfully operating a legitimate business in Australia
- have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a position in the employer’s business
- have a satisfactory record of compliance with immigration law and workplace relations law
- have made adequate provision for training existing Australian employees, or if a newly established business, be making adequate provision for future training of Australian employees.
The nominated position which is vacant in the employer’s business must:
- be full-time and available for at least 3 years
- be in accordance with the standards for working conditions provided under Australian industrial laws
- correspond to an occupation on the ENSOL
- attract a base salary that is at least the minimum salary that has been published in a Government Gazette Notice for the occupation.
2. Requirements for the nominee
The nominee (overseas skilled worker) must:
- has worked full-time in Australia in the occupation for which they have been nominated for the last 2 years, including at least the last 1 year working for the nominating employer
or
- has been nominated to fill a highly paid senior executive position with a salary of more that $165,000 per annum
or
- has had their skills assessed as suitable by the relevant skills assessing authority (published in a Government Gazette Notice) and, unless exceptional circumstances apply, has at least 3 years experience in the occupation
- Be able to satisfy any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements
- unless exceptional circumstances apply, be aged less than 45 years
- unless exceptional circumstances apply, have vocational English language ability
- meet mandatory health and character requirements.
Exceptional circumstances
Where a position is so unusual or highly specialised that the employer is unlikely to find any Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident who meets the established criteria to fill the vacancy, exceptions to the 3 years experience, age or English language requirements can be made.
The visa applicant must include a submission with their visa application which demonstrates the special skills required and/or the difficulties their employer experienced finding a nominee who does meet the experience, age or English language requirements.
Business (Long Stay) Temporary (Subclass 457)
There are generally 3 steps involved in employing a person from overseas to work in Australia on a temporary basis.
The 3 stages involve:
Stage 1:
The employer must first be approved as a sponsor and this involves lodging an employer sponsorship application
Stage 2:
After the employer has been approved as a sponsor, the actual position vacant (nominated position) must be approved. This involves the employer lodging a business nomination that provides details of the position to be fulfilled;
Stage 3:
Only after Stage 1 & 2 has been approved by DIAC, can the actual visa applicant (the overseas skilled worker) lodge the visa application.
Stage 1 – Employer Requirements
The employer must provide evidence to demonstrate the following:
- Company is lawfully and actively an operating business;
- Company will be the direct employer;
- Company has a sound business record and abides by immigration laws;
- Company can show the employment will bring economic benefit to Australia;
- Company will advance employee’s skills with training.
Stage 2 – Employer Requirements
The employer needs to provide the following information about the position:
- Company is an approved business sponsor;
- The position relates to an occupation which meets a minimum skill set;
- The position is to be paid at or above the minimum salary level.
Stage 3 – Employer / Employee Requirements
The employer needs to show the following:
- Company has an approved and current business sponsorship;
- Company has the nominated position approved.
The employee needs to show the following:
- That he/she has the required skills for the position;
- That he/she is qualified for the position.
The service allows for a professional assessment of your visa eligibility and preparation of a written document containing advice, information, application forms and support to manage a employer sponsored visa application.
This service also comes with our ongoing email support and a free 30 minute telephone conversation. Our email support is now unlimited. It is our interest to ensure our clients are satisfied with our service, and if successful in migration know they can rely on us for any help and support they may need to make the transition to Australian life as easy as possible.
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (Subclass 121/856)
The ENS allows Australian employers to fill ‘highly skilled positions’ they have been unable to fill a vacancy from within the Australian labour market or through their own training programs by recruiting, on a permanent basis, highly skilled workers from overseas or temporary residents currently working in Australia.
The employer must demonstrate that:
- The vacancy requires the appointment of a ‘highly skilled person’
- The highly skilled person is eligible for any mandatory licensing, registration or professional body membership where required
- The employer has a satisfactory training record
- The employer will usually be required to locally and advertise the position as evidence that the position could not be filled through the Australian labour market
The visa applicant must:
- Have the skills relevant to the nominated position
- Have vocational English language ability
- Meet the definition of a ‘highly skilled person’
- Satisfy any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements
- Be under 45 years of age (unless the appointment is exceptional
- Meet health and character requirements along with any other relevant legislation
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (Subclasses 119/857)
This visa subclass provides the opportunity to Australian companies with businesses operating in regional areas of Australia (anywhere except the Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Perth metropolitan areas) to employ skilled persons permanently to fill skilled positions within their organisations.
The employer must meet the following requirements:
- Provide a genuine full-time vacancy, one that requires the skills of a person educated to at least Diploma level
- Demonstrate that the position cannot be filled from the local labour market
- Make the position available for a minimum period of 2 years
- Ensure that remuneration and conditions of employment are in accordance with Australian industrial laws
Generally, the visa applicant must, be under 45 years of age, have a diploma level qualifications and ‘functional’ English language ability.
However, as with the ENS there are exceptions including if the position is of an exceptional nature a waiver of these core criteria can be requested. The applicant must also satisfy health and character requirements.
Labour Agreement (Subclass 120/855)
A Labour Agreement is a formal agreement negotiated between the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIAC) and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), and an employer or industrial association. Labour agreements enable Australian employers to recruit a specified number of workers from overseas in response to identified or emerging skill shortages in the Australian work market.
Business (Long Stay) Temporary (Subclass 457)
Businesses unable to meet its skill needs from within the Australian labour force, may be able to sponsor personnel from overseas on a temporary basis, to work in Australia for up to 4 years.
The Level 1 Service allows for a professional assessment of your visa eligibility and preparation of a written document containing advice, information, application forms and support to manage a employer sponsored visa application.
This is our most popular service and many clients have successfully utilised this affordable alternative to traditional migration consultancy.
This service also comes with our ongoing email support and a free 30 minute telephone conversation. Our email support is now unlimited. It is our interest to ensure our clients are satisfied with our service, and if successful in migration know they can rely on us for any help and support they may need to make the transition to Australian life as easy as possible.
Employer Nomination Scheme Occupation List (ENSOL)
To apply under the ENS an overseas skilled worker must have been nominated by an Australian employer to fill a position in an occupation that appears on the ENSOL. In addition he/she must be able to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills/qualifications/work experience for the nominated position.
There are numerous ways this can be done including:
- Working in the nominated occupation for 2 years prior to applying for the ENS visa (the last 12 months of which must have been with nominating employer) OR
- Gaining a positive skills assessment for migration purposes from the appropriate Skills Assessing Body for the nominated occupation (must provide original positive skills assessment letter with ENS visa application). In addition he/she must also hold at least 3 years post qualification work experience in this nominated occupation OR
- Or be nominated for a position which has a base salary of AU$165,000.00 (excluding superannuation and allowances)
Certain nominated occupations for ENS purposes also require the visa applicant to hold a licence or registration in order to work in Australia. In such cases an applicant can provide evidence that he/she is eligible to unconditionally hold that licence or registration with the visa application instead of gaining a positive skills assessment in the nominated occupation.
The ENSOL can be be found here http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/ensol.pdf
The Service allows for a professional assessment of your visa eligibility and preparation of a written document containing advice, information, application forms and support to manage a employer sponsored visa application.
This is our most popular service and many clients have successfully utilised this affordable alternative to traditional migration consultancy.
This service also comes with our ongoing email support and a free 30 minute telephone conversation. Our email support is now unlimited. It is our interest to ensure our clients are satisfied with our service, and if successful in migration know they can rely on us for any help and support they may need to make the transition to Australian life as easy as possible.
Eligible Occupations for Subclass 457 Business (Long Stay) Visa
The Australian Government has prepared a list of occupations to identify specific skill shortages in Australia. Business (Long Stay) subclass 457 visa applicants must be able to demonstrate work experience and/or qualifications which match an occupation that is on the gazetted 457 Eligible Occupations List.
If you would like a detailed job description to confirm if your qualifications/training and tasks for your occupation meet the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) requirements, please don’t hesitate to contact me at[email protected].
For a list of the current 457 eligible visa occupations please see
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/occupations.pdf
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstrument1.nsf/0/137D6FCFCDC032D0CA257729000DBB6C?OpenDocument
The Service allows for a professional assessment of your visa eligibility and preparation of a written document containing advice, information, application forms and support to manage a employer sponsored visa application.
This is our most popular service and many clients have successfully utilised this affordable alternative to traditional migration consultancy.
This service also comes with our ongoing email support and a free 30 minute telephone conversation. Our email support is now unlimited. It is our interest to ensure our clients are satisfied with our service, and if successful in migration know they can rely on us for any help and support they may need to make the transition to Australian life as easy as possible.
