General Skilled Migration & Employer Sponsored Visas

If you are considering migrating to Australia, you may consider several visa options. These include General Skilled Migration and Employer Sponsored visas. This article will explore these visa options so you can determine which is most suitable for you.

General Skilled Migration (GSM)

You can think of the GSM visa programme as ‘Independent’ visas. Here, you do not need an eligible Australian business to sponsor you. You may be eligible to live and work in Australia temporarily or permanently under the GSM programme if:

you are a highly qualified and experienced professional;
your occupation is in high demand in Australia (either in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List or Short-term Skilled Occupation List); and
you fulfil certain criteria to be eligible for a GSM visa.

Additionally, you may also be able to bring your immediate family to work and live in Australia with you. To apply, you will need to:

submit an expression of interest;
meet a minimum points threshold at the time of the invitation;
obtain a positive skills assessment;
obtain nomination by a State or Territory for the 190 and 491 visas;
have a competent level of English;
be less than 45 years old;
receive an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs to apply; and
meet certain health and character requirements.

The three types of general skilled visas are set out below. Before submitting an expression of interest, we recommend you ensure you can:

obtain a positive skills assessment;
State or Territory nomination (if applicable); and
have at least 85-95 points (depending on the visa and occupation).

Skilled Independent (Subclass 189):

This is a permanent visa. Your occupation must be in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List. However, you do not require nomination by a State or Territory government. This is a highly competitive category, and most applicants who receive an invitation have a minimum of 85-95 points, which will vary depending on your occupation. You need to check the outcome of each month’s skillselect round to get a better indication of your chances for an invitation.

Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190)

This is a permanent visa. Your occupation must be in either the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List or the Short-term Skilled Occupation List. It requires nomination by a State or Territory government. You will need a minimum of 65 points (potentially more, depending on the relevant State or Territory nomination requirements) to receive an invitation to apply. At present, States and Territories have a strict set of criteria to be eligible for nomination.

Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491)

This is a temporary visa. You must have an occupation on the relevant skilled occupations list. It allows you to live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia. To be eligible, you must also be nominated by a State or Territory. In some cases, an eligible relative may sponsor you instead of a State or Territory. Permanent residency is available via the subclass 191 visa.

Employer Sponsored Visas

Every business knows its success lies in the quality of its team. Sometimes a business can source excellent talent through foreign workers on temporary or permanent visas when it cannot find talent domestically. Businesses can look at sponsoring foreign workers through three main types of employer-sponsored visas:

Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa (subclass 482);
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa (Subclass 494); and
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186).

TSS Visa (Subclass 482)

Under this visa, employers must demonstrate that they have tried to recruit from the Australian labour market before they lodge a nomination application. The labour market testing (LMT) must be for a period of four weeks. Employers must provide evidence and documentation of their LMT efforts when they apply. In addition, they must pay a fee called the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy if they choose to nominate workers for temporary and permanent work visas.

This visa involves three stages.

1. Business Sponsorship

Australian businesses who wish to sponsor employees can sponsor under the Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS). Suppose a business is successful in becoming a business sponsor. In that case, they may also consider becoming an accredited business sponsor, which attracts certain benefits (such as faster processing times). Alternatively, foreign registered companies can sponsor employees if they satisfy certain conditions.

2. Nomination

The business must now nominate a position for the worker to fill. The business must select a recognised occupation from the list of occupations and pay an income that meets the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. For certain occupations, the employer may need to demonstrate evidence of LMT.

3. Visa Application

After the business has sponsored the worker and nominated an occupation and position, the worker can apply for a visa to fill the position. However, the worker will not automatically receive a visa. The worker must meet certain eligibility criteria including:

work experience;
English competency assessment; and
health and character criteria.

Requirements may change depending on nationality and occupation. If the visa is granted, it may be valid for up to four years.

SESR visa (Subclass 494)

This visa has a process largely similar to the TSS 482 visa. Employers must have SBS status, lodge a SESR 494 nomination application, show evidence of LMT, and pay the SAF levy. The critical difference is that this visa enables employers in regional areas to address labour shortages within their area by sponsoring skilled workers where they cannot source an appropriately skilled Australian worker. For this, your business must also obtain endorsement by a Regional Certifying Body.The worker must also meet certain eligibility criteria including work experience, skills assessment, English language requirements, be under 45 years of age, health and character criteria.

ENS (Subclass 186)

This permanent visa allows sponsored employees to work in metropolitan and regional areas if their Australian employer nominates them. The Australian employer does not need to be an SBS or accredited sponsor (although, in most cases, they are). The SAF Levy also applies to this visa. There are three pathways to this visa:

Temporary Residence Transition: The employee must have been on a 457 or 482 visa for at least three years in the same occupation and with the same employer. This pathway is also available to grandfathered and transitional applicants.
Direct Entry Stream: The employee will need to obtain a positive skills assessment and demonstrate they have been in the relevant occupation for at least three years.
Labour Agreement stream: This pathway is through a labour agreement. Labour agreements are developed between the Australian Government (represented by the Department of Home Affairs) and employers.

Whether you require assistance with general skilled migration visas or employer-sponsored visas, our immigration team has the experience and expertise to help you navigate the Australian visa application process quickly and cost-effectively.

Key Takeaways

If you have specific skills and work experience in high demand in Australia, you may be eligible for a GSM 189, 190 or 491 visa. Businesses can look at sponsoring foreign workers through three main types of employee-sponsored visas: TSS, SESR and ENS visas.

If you need help with visas, our experienced immigration lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.