How to Sponsor an overseas worker in Australia?
Understand the 3 stages for an Australian business to sponsor an overseas worker and why this can be the ideal solution if your potential employee is not in the country or has visa work restrictions.
There are 3 Subclasses of visas that allow employers to sponsor overseas workers in Australia:
- Temporary Skill Shortage visa (TSS) – Subclass 482
- Employer Nomination Scheme visa (ENS) – Subclass 186
- Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa – Subclass 494
Stages to sponsor an overseas worker in Australia
There are also 3 stages a business must follow to sponsor an overseas worker in a temporary visa :
1 – Approval of the business as a sponsor
To be able to hire an overseas worker, the employer must obtain approval as a standard business sponsor (SBS). Here are some of the requirements:
- Business must be trading and operating – no minimum time required;
- In most cases, there is no limitation on business size, turnover, or profit – business must only be sustainable and able to take on expenses related to sponsored workers in the future
- Once approved, businesses can sponsor workers for the next 5 years.
2 – Approval of the position being offered (nomination)
After having the business approved, the employer also needs to identify and get approval for the position to be filled by the foreign worker. Some requirements are:
- The position must be on the right immigration list associated to the visa Subclass and be essential to the operations of the business and within its nature, scope, and scale;
- The position must be in line with overseas worker’s background;
- The employer must demonstrate that he could not find an Australian citizen or permanent resident to fill the position via Labour Market Testing – which requires employers to post job advertisements following strict immigration specifications and for a minimum period of time;
- The salary package being offered must meet the Minimum Salary established by the Department of Immigration and the average market rates for the role.
Since 12th August 2018, employers seeking to sponsor temporary or permanent overseas workers are required to contribute to the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF), which is used to train Australians via the creation of apprenticeships and other initiatives. The amount employers pay vary according to business turnover and the proposed period of the worker’s visa if applying for a temporary visa.
Only employers outside of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne have access to the Subclass 494 visa. If the job offer is for a position located outside of these 3 cities, the employer may be able to sponsor the employee under the Subclass 482 or 494.
3 – Approval of the Visa
Employees then make a visa application, and demonstrate they meet the visa requirements which vary according to the Subclass, but mainly involve:
- Demonstrate they have the minimum skills required for the role;
- Have at least 2 years of full-time work experience in the same position being offered if applying for the Subclass 482 visa;
- Have at least 3 years of full-time work experience in the same position being offered if applying for the Subclass 494 visa;
- If applying for the 494 visa, have a positive Skills Assessment in the nominated occupation;
- If the applicant is not from an English-speaking country: must sit for a test and show evidence of the minimum required English proficiency;
Applicants can include immediate family in the visa application.
Once approved, overseas workers are limited to work only for your business in the role approved, for th length of the visa.
The Employer Nomination Scheme visa (ENS) – Subclass 186 is a permanent visa and employers can choose to nominate employees after they have worked with them for a minimum of 3 years or they may choose to nominate them from the get go via the Direct Entry Stream.
In either case there are only 2 stages to this application (Approval of the position being offered (nomination) and Approval of the visa, but only employees with occupations in the Medium and Long Term Skills Shortage List can apply for this visa.
Work with us and ensure you will get fast approval!
Bravo Migration can prepare and lodge:
- Applications for approval of businesses to sponsor overseas workers;
- Applications for approval of nominations for all kinds of job offers;
- Applications for approval of 482 or 494 or 186 visas for workers and their families.
We have worked with corporate clients in a variety of industries: accommodation, food and beverages, technology, marketing, advertising, manufacturing, events, trades services, and many more.