The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) results in a permanent residence visa for the sponsored employee and any dependant family members. This visa is for Australian employers who want to sponsor highly skilled workers for a permanent visa to work in their business in Australia. The employee can be either a highly skilled worker from overseas or a highly skilled temporary visa holder currently in Australia.

ENS Pathways

There are three possible pathways for an TSS/457 visa holder:

1. Temporary Residence Transition:where applicants have worked with the employer on a 457 visa for the last 2 years (or 3 years if the 457 was lodged on or after 18 April 2017). In this case, no skills assessment is needed.
2. Direct Entry Stream: Full skills assessment is required by the applicant in their occupation, and to prove that the applicant has worked on an MLTSSL occupation for at least three years.
3. Agreement Stream:This is where there is a Labour Agreement in place

If you held a 457 visa (or had applied for and were subsequently granted) before18 April 2017, then you are eligible to apply for Permanent Residence via the TRT stream if the below requirements are met:

• You have worked full-time for the same sponsor for at least two years on the 457 visa
• You have worked in the same nominated occupation for the two years on the 457 visa
• You have at least Competent English
• You have been paid annual salary same as on your 457 nomination letter
• You are under 45 years of age at the time of visa lodgement

Sponsoring Employer Requirements

To sponsor a worker through the ENS, the employer must:

• be actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia
• have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a position in their business
• have met training benchmark requirement for the underpinning 457 visa (is applicable)
• provide the employee with an offer of permanent full-time employment that is ongoing and for two years or more

Nominated Position Requirements

The nominated position must be:

• be full-time, ongoing and available for at least 2 years or more
• provide working conditions that are no less favourable than provided for under the relevant Australian awards
• be a highly skilled occupation that is on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
• been paid annual salary same as on the 457 nomination letterNote:If you lodged a 457 visa on or after 18 April 2017 in an occupation on the MLTSSL occupation list, then you will be eligible to apply for PR if the below requirements are met:
• you have worked for the same sponsor for three years on a 457/TSS visa
• you have worked in the same nominated occupation for the three years
• you have been paid at least the salary on your nomination letter
• you have Competent English Score (unless you are exempt)
• you are under 45 years of age

The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme or RSMS visa is a permanent employer sponsored visa which requires a job offer in a Regional Area of Australia.

The RSMS results in a permanent residence visa for the sponsored employee and any dependant family members. This visa is for Australian employers who want to sponsor highly skilled workers for a permanent visa to work in their business located in regional areas of Australia. The employee can be either a highly skilled worker from overseas or a highly skilled temporary visa holder currently in Australia.

RSMS Pathways

There are three possible pathways for a TSS/457 visa holder:

1. Temporary Residence Transition:where applicants have worked with the employer on a 457 visa for the last 2 years (or 3 years if the 457 was lodged on or after 18 April 2017) (No RCB certification required).
2. Direct Entry Stream:In this pathway, the position will need to be certified by an RCB. Full skills assessment may be required from some trade or general occupation applicants. The applicant must have at least three years of full-time experience in the occupation.
3. Agreement Stream:This is where there is a Labour Agreement in place.

RSMS Application Stages

There are three stages to an RSMS application:

1. RCB Certification:This involves obtaining a certification from the relevant Regional Certifying Body to ensure that the position being sponsored is genuine
2. Nomination:This involves a thorough review of the regional sponsoring business and the nominated position by the Department of Home Affairs
3. Visa application:Here the skill level requirement is lower than for the ENS program. Applicants must be aged under 45 years, unless exceptional circumstances are applicable

The RSMS is a more advantageous sponsored visa than the ENS due to:

• RSMS is the highest priority visa in the skilled migration program designed to service regional Australian businesses with critical need for skilled workers
• The employer does not need to meet any such training requirements
• The visa applicant requires a lower level of skill for the Direct Entry Stream – most applicants do not require a skills assessment (although skills assessment is required for some occupations and we can assist you with that)
• Large range of occupations available as compared to the ENS
• Generally faster visa processing than ENS, however dependent on DHA processing times

Temporary Work Visa (457)
This is the popular temporary work visa which has been replaced by the Temporary Skills Shortage Visa (TSS) as on 18 March 2018.

The 457 visa was for employers who wanted to employ overseas workers to fill nominated skilled positions in Australia for a period of up to four years.

This visa program is no longer in place.

As the name suggests, the Short Stay Specialist visa is a short stay visa for skilled professionals undertaking highly specialised work or work that is in Australia’s national interest.

Two visa streams:

1. Highly Specialised Work Stream
   This requires the applicant to demonstrate that they have skills not readily available in Australia, for example: in demand skills particularly relating to STEM industries; or if there are limited resources available in a specified skill set in Australia.The work must be likely to be completed within 3 months and must not be ongoing in nature. Six months duration can be considered where there is a strong business case. If there is a requirement for the position to be filled for longer duration than 6 months, a TSS (482) visa should be considered.Note: Paid work in the entertainment industry is specifically excluded from the 400 visa, unless if the production will not be broadcasted in Australia or the visit is purely for promotional purposes.
2. Australia’s Interests Stream
   This stream normally involves demonstrating compelling circumstances which affect Australia’s interests, such as during major disasters or emergencies, impact on Australia’s diplomatic, trade or business interests. How this applicant can bring significant benefit due to their contribution to Australia.For both the streams, the applicant needs to have access to sufficient funds to support themselves in Australia and have personal attributes consistent with the proposed activity. They must genuinely intend to stay temporarily for the purpose in Australia and meet health and character requirements.
   Sponsorship or nomination is not needed for this visa.

The Training Visa is a temporary visa for graduates and skilled workers to obtain occupational training or professional development in Australia.

Two Visa Stages:

1. Temporary Activities Sponsor (TAS): Sponsorship by a Temporary Activities Sponsor that is the sponsoring Australian business, is required.
2. Visa Application: This visa can be applied for whilst you are in Australia or overseas at time of lodgement. The visa is generally valid for stay in Australia for 2 years. Condition 8102 must be attached to this visa which forbids work apart from the training specified in the visa application. You must also maintain appropriate health insurance whilst in Australia.

Two Visa Streams:

Occupational Trainees
This stream requires a nomination by the Australian sponsor to do one of the following activities in Australia:

• Training required to obtain registration, membership or a licence to work in Australia or in-home country
• Training in a gazetted occupation – in this case, the applicant must have already worked full time in the occupation for at least 12 of the last 24 months
• Up to 6 months of practical experience, research or observation has been taken/required to obtain the overseas tertiary qualification
• Training supported by a government agency or the applicant’s home government
• Occupational training generally requires at least 70% of the training to be on-the-job versus in the classroom

Professional Development

This stream requires the applicant to be working overseas in a professional or management position. Training is primarily classroom based and would need to be skills relevant to your overseas position.
For both the streams, the applicant needs to have access to sufficient funds to support themselves in Australia and have personal attributes consistent with the proposed activity. They must genuinely intend to stay temporarily for the purpose in Australia and meet health and character requirements.