WORK Visa program
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What is the work visa program in Australia?
It is important that you have the right support when seeking to sponsor an employee or be sponsored by an employer on an employer sponsored visa.
Our experienced migration lawyers can assist businesses and individuals in preparing and lodging employer sponsorship, nomination and work visa applications to Australia.
Australia’s migration program currently offers the following work visa options:
- The Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa
- The Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa
- The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa
We are experienced in dealing with the rapidly changing legal criteria and you can be assured that our advice will remain accurate throughout your work visa application process in Australia.
How do I apply for a work visa in Australia?
Applying for an employer sponsored visa in Australia involves several steps for both businesses and individuals.
Regardless of the work visa pathway you select, the application process essentially involves the following critical steps:
- The employee and employer must assess whether they are eligible under the work visa program. Our experienced migration lawyers can assist businesses and individuals in understanding the requirements of the subclass 482 visa, subclass 494 visa and subclass 186 visa pathways;
- Under the subclass 482 visa or the subclass 494 visa pathways, an employer must start the process by becoming an approved Standard Business Sponsor which requires them to lodge an application for approval with the Department of Home Affairs (Immigration);
- Once the employer has been approved as a Standard Business Sponsor, or if the employer is seeking to apply under the subclass 186 visa pathway, a nomination application must be lodged identifying the employee you wish to nominate; and
- Finally, the employee can lodge their visa application, either once the employer’s standard business sponsorship and/or nomination applications have been lodged or approved.
How can Stone Group Lawyer assist you?
We work with businesses and individuals in preparing and lodging Standard Business Sponsorship applications, nomination applications and work visa applications to Australia.
Our experienced migration lawyers will ensure that you are fully aware of the visa process and requirements before proceeding.
The service we provide includes the following critical work:
- Reviewing your eligibility and prospects under the work visa program;
- Advising of the work visa program requirements across all stages, including any risks associated with your application process;
- Advising and guiding you through the key evidentiary requirements for your chosen visa pathway, including labour market testing requirements for employers and work experience requirements for employees;
- Preparing and lodging Standard Business Sponsorship applications for employers;
- Preparing and lodging employer nomination applications for employers;
- Preparing and lodging visa applications for employees; and
- Monitoring sponsorship, nomination and visa applications up until a decision is rendered by the Department of Home Affairs (Immigration).
As an all-service law firm, we can also assist you with your other legal needs as and when required. We provide a variety of legal services for businesses and individuals and you can find out more about our other legal services here: Stone Group Lawyers other services
What is a skills assessment?
Skills assessments are mandatory if you wish to undertake any of the following visa processes / pathways:
- Subclass 189 skilled independent visa
- Subclass 190 state nominated visa
- Subclass 491 skilled work regional (provisional) visa
- Subclass 485 temporary graduate visa, under the Graduate Work stream.
Skills assessments are issued by the relevant assessing authority which governs your skilled occupation. You can confirm the relevant assessing authority for your skilled occupation by reviewing the skilled occupation list here: Skilled Occupation List.
Each assessing authority is different and will expect you to satisfy different requirements. Therefore, the requirements, costs and processing time for your skills assessment process will depend on your nominated skilled occupation.
What is the processing time for a work visa in Australia?
Employees seeking to apply for a work visa in Australia will be subject to the following processing times:
- Between 5 and 12 months depending on the visa stream selected under the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa pathway;
- Between 6 and 9 months if you apply under the direct entry stream, 12 and 21 months if you apply under the temporary residence transition stream and between 6 and 24 months if you apply under the labour agreement stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa; and
- Between 3 and 5 months if you apply under the employer sponsored stream of the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa
How long does it take to sponsor a worker from overseas to Australia?
Employees seeking to sponsor an employee on a work visa, will be subject to the following processing times:
- Between 5 and 12 months depending on the visa stream selected under the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa pathway;
- Between 6 and 9 months under the direct entry stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa pathway; and
- Between 12 and 21 months under the temporary residence transition stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa pathway.
How much does a work visa in Australia cost?
The cost of a work visa in Australia will vary depending on the visa subclass you are applying under and whether you include immediate family in the visa application. Currently, the following visa application charges apply to the main visa applicant for a work visa to Australia:
- Either AUD $1,290 or AUD $2,690 depending on the stream you apply for under the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa pathway;
- AUD $4,115 if you apply for either the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass) 494) visa.
If you include immediate family members in your application, they will incur additional application fees depending on their age and potentially their English language ability.
If you apply for a subclass 186 visa or a subclass 494 visa and include family member 18 years of age and older, they will need to prove that they have at least functional English language ability, they will need to pay a second visa application charge of AUD $4,890.
In some cases, the main visa applicant may also be required to pay a second visa application charge if they are unable to prove that they have at least functional English language ability and, in these case, the second visa application charge is AUD $9,800.
How much does it cost to sponsor an employee to Australia?
If you are an employer seeking to sponsor an overseas skilled worker in Australia, you will need to pay certain sponsorship and nomination fees depending on the visa pathway undertaken, including:
- Standard Business Sponsorship application fee of AUD $420.00
- Nomination application fee for subclass 482 visa applicants of AUD $330.00
- Nomination application fee for subclass 186 visa applicants of AUD $540.00
- There is no nomination application fee for subclass 494 visa nominations.
Employers seeking to hire overseas skilled workers will also need to donate to the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) at the time of lodgement of the nomination application. The amount required to be paid differs depending on the visa pathway undertaken and the turnover of your business:
- Under the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa pathway employers must donate AUD $1,200 per year or part thereof if their annual turnover is less than AUD $10M and AUD $1,800 per year or part thereof if their annual turnover is more than AUD $10M; and
- Under the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa pathway and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa pathway, employers must donate a one-off payment of AUD $3,000 if their annual turnover is less than AUD $10M and a one-off payment of AUD $5,000 if their annual turnover is more than AUD $10M.