482 TSS (formerly 457)
The 482 is designed to quickly address staff shortages in your business. Depending on which occupation you need filled, the visa can be granted for up to 2 or up to 4 years. There are some obligations that come with sponsoring a foreign worker. We don’t find any of them too offensive but certainly if you talk to a lawyer/agent and they don’t bring them up, please proceed with extreme caution.
A 482 visa holder who works with their sponsor for 2 years may be able to be sponsored for permanent residency by their employer.
A candidate must have at least 2 years’ work experience to qualify for this visa, sometimes more.
The TSS visa has a minimum salary of $70,000 p.a. + super (some occupations require a higher salary).
407 – Training Visa
We primarily refer to the 407 visa as the training visa although there are other streams. On face value the visa looks quite simple but in reality we see countless refusals from inexperienced agents. The training plan is the crux of the application.
The training visa has no minimum salary but employers are still bound by employment law entitlements. A candidate for this visa only needs one year of full time experience (work or study) making this visa particularly popular after the introduction of work experience requirements on the 482 (formerly 457).
The idea of this visa is that the business is helping the candidate develop their already existing skill set.
408 – Religious Worker
There are many different streams to this visa subclass but we specialise in the religious worker stream. Religious workers can be sponsored for up to two years (renewable). There is no direct PR path from this visa. An indirect PR paths can include labour agreements.
Labour Agreement / DAMA
Labour agreements are very different to a typical visa application. It is not a case of those meeting specific criteria being granted a visa but rather it involves a negotiation process with the Department. A DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreement) is a type of labour agreement.
Labour agreements should fill very genuine needs in the labour market and can access positions at a lower skill level than any other visa stream. Labour agreements offer concessions that the standard visa program doesn’t e.g. create pathways to PR for those over the age of 45, those with lower English language skills, for occupations not catered to by other visa streams.
If you do not have months of time to negotiate with the Department the labour agreement stream is likely not suitable for you.
186
There are two streams for this permanent residency visa – direct and transition.
Transition stream applicants must have been working for their sponsoring employer for 2 years as a 482 visa holder. The Department assess compliance with conditions on their 482.
Direct entry stream requires 3 years skilled work experience and a positive skills assessment. Occupation must be listed on the medium to long term skilled list.
Minimum salary of at least $70,000 p.a. + super (sometimes more) applies.
6 in each category of IELTS (or equivalent test) is required for both streams.
494
Businesses in regional areas can access a larger list of occupations vs. metropolitan areas. All of W.A, S.A, ACT, Tasmania and N.T. are considered regional. Much of NSW, Vic and QLD is considered regional (even some postcodes within 17km of the CBD). As with the 186 direct entry visa, requirements include, minimum $70,000 p.a. + super salary (sometimes more), 3 years skilled full time experience, skills assessment, 6 in each category of IELTS (or equivalent test).
494 visa holders cannot apply for PR more quickly than waiting 3 years after visa grant, however, they have access to Medicare.
For some occupations 494 can be a cheaper yet longer pathway to PR. For those about to turn 45, the 494 might be their only pathway to PR.
400
Short stay business visas can be suitable when trying to bring in international talent to train Australian staff or work on other short projects. Workers must be highly skilled e.g. agricultural machinery technicians for the busy harvest season but not a fruit piker for the busy harvest season.