186 Visa Transition stream

186 Visa Transition stream

The Subclass 186 ENS visa Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) Direct Entry stream lets skilled workers, who are nominated by an employer, live and work in Australia permanently.

Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme Visa: Temporary Residence Transition Stream

The purpose of the subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) is to allow Australian employers to fill highly skilled positions with suitably qualified migrants. The scheme is designed to assist employers who are unable to meet their skilled Australian workforce needs from the local labour market. The requirements for the Temporary Residence Transition stream of this visa are set out below:

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE TRANSITION STREAM

Employer

The business seeking to employ you must:

· still be actively and lawfully operating in Australia

· genuinely need you to work in the nominated position under its direct control, and have the capacity to employ you in this position for at least two years

Position

The position to be filled must:

· be full-time and available for at least 2 years from the time your visa is granted

· be an occupation on the current Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)

NOTE: Certain occupations on the MLTSSL will be subject to additional requirements (e.g. salary, type of business operated by employer, nature of position). Please contact us for further details based on your particular circumstances.

MLTSSL exemptions for certain visa holders

The nominated position is NOT required to be on the MLTSSL IF:

· on 18 April 2017 you held (or had applied for, and were subsequently granted) a subclass 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa; OR

· you are currently employed by an Australian business, and you:

§ hold a subclass 482 TSS visa in the Short-term stream (OR a subclass 457 visa that you applied for after 18 April 2017); AND

§ were in Australia for at least 12 months between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021

NOTE: This exemption is available only for applications lodged before 1 July 2024.

· have a salary that is:

o at least AU$73,150 per year (excluding any non-monetary benefits) AND

o at least the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for your nominated occupation

NOTES: the AMSR for your nominated occupation (excluding non-monetary benefits) must also be no less than AU$53,900 per year. The AMSR is the salary that an Australian earns (or would earn) for performing equivalent work on a full-time basis for a year in the same workplace at the same location. You will be exempt from this requirement if your salary is more than AU$250,000 per year.

· be subject to conditions of employment (other than earnings) that are no worse than those that apply (or would apply) to Australians performing equivalent work in the same location.

Visa Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must:

· have held one of the following visas to work on a full-time basis in the nominated position (or a very closely related position) for the nominating employer in Australia for at least 3 years during the last 4 years:

o subclass 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (not granted under the Labour Agreement stream) OR

o subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa in the Medium-term stream OR

o subclass 482 TSS visa in the Short-term stream, if:

§ on 18 April 2017 you held (or had applied for, and were subsequently granted) a subclass 457 visa OR

§ you were in Australia for at least 12 months between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021, and you are currently employed by an Australian business

NOTE: This exemption is available only for applications lodged before 1 July 2024.

COVID-19 concessions

Concessions may apply where COVID-19 has disrupted your period of employment in the nominated position. For general purposes, if at any time during the previous 4 years you were employed in the nominated position, but due to COVID-19 you were not working full-time or were on unpaid leave, this time may be deducted from your required 3-year work period.

Employed period reduction for certain subclass 457 visa holders

If on 18 April 2017 you held (or had applied for, and were subsequently granted) a subclass 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa, then you only need to have been employed full-time in the nominated position (or a very closely related position) for the nominating employer in Australia for at least 2 years during the last 3 years.

NOTE: The COVID-19 concessions also apply to this reduced employment period.

· be genuinely performing the tasks of your nominated occupation

· have competent English i.e.

o hold a valid passport issued by the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland (and you are a citizen of that country) OR

o an IELTS test score of at least 6 in EACH test component OR

o an OET test score of at least B in EACH test component OR

o a TOEFL iBT test score of at least 12 for listening, 13 for reading, 21 for writing and 18 for speaking OR

o a PTE test score of at least 50 in EACH test component OR

o a CAE (C1 Advanced) test score of at least 169 in EACH test component

NOTES: In each case, the test must have been undertaken within the last three years.

· be under 45 years of age (unless exempt from this requirement)

NOTE: If on 18 April 2017 you held (or had applied for, and were subsequently granted) a subclass 457 visa, then you must only be under 50 years of age

· meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements

· satisfy the relevant health and character criteria

Am I eligible for a 186 visa?

Changes to Temporary Residence Transition stream

Applicants can count all periods of sponsored employment towards their 2-year work experience requirement. This does not just apply to employment with their sponsor.
Applicants who have been employed in a related field or received a promotion can count this work towards the work experience requirement.
Applicants are required to provide evidence they meet the work experience requirement, rather than the nominating employer.
The Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) replaces the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT). This is the same amount of AUD73,150, indexed annually.
Age exemptions under the Temporary Skill Shortage visa still apply under the Skills in Demand visa. These include exemptions for regional medical practitioners and high income applicants. Without an exemption, applicants need to be younger than 45 at the time of application.
Changes to the Temporary Residence Transition stream do not extend to the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187). This visa closed in 2019, except for certain transitional groups who can access the program in limited circumstances. This access continues for those eligible.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Stage 1: Nomination Application

This application is lodged with the Department of Home Affairs (the DOHA) on behalf of your employer, and relates to the skilled position that you have been offered, which must meet the requirements referred to above. Your employer is required to supply documents to the DOHA in support of this application, the nature and extent of which will vary depending upon the circumstances of the business.

Skilling Australians Fund Levy

Employers must pay a one-off Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy for EACH subclass 186 nomination lodged with the DOHA. The amount payable varies based on the employer’s annual turnover:

· For employers with an annual turnover of LESS THAN AU$10 million, the SAF levy is AU$3,000 per nomination.

· For employers with an annual turnover of AT LEAST AU$10 million, the SAF levy is AU$5,000 per nomination.

The SAF levy must be paid upfront, at the time that the nomination is lodged.

Please contact our office for further information regarding the SAF levy.

Stage 2: Visa Application

Your visa application is lodged with the DOHA either at the same time as the nomination application, or within six months of the DOHA’s approval of the nomination. The main criterion is that you fulfil the above requirements, including the standard health and character checks.

Once the DOHA has approved both applications, you will be granted a permanent subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme visa. You may be in Australia or outside Australia when your visa is granted.

PLEASE NOTE: We estimate that it may take several weeks to prepare and lodge your application, with the time taken largely dependent on how promptly you and your employer provide us with the necessary supporting information and documents.

The time that it takes the DOHA to process your application is dependent upon its processing time service standards, and may also vary due to a number of other factors, including the complexity of your case, perceived risk factors and processing priorities. Please contact us for current information regarding likely processing timeframes for this type of application.

The Department of Home Affairs has set 25 November 2023 for implementing changes to the employer-sponsored permanent residency program. Once the ENS reforms have been implemented, short-term Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 visa holders will gain access to permanent residency under the 186 Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the ENS visa program.

All Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) SC 482 visa holders will be eligible for ENS visas sponsored by their employers.

Applicants will need to continue to work in the occupation nominated for their TSS visa(s).

Sponsored visa holders will be eligible for ENS TRT after two years (down from three years) of sponsorship on a TSS by their employer.

Applicants will need to meet all other nomination and visa requirements for the TRT stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme visa.

The limit on Short Term stream TSS visa applications that can be made onshore has also been removed in the interim.

From 1 July 2022, eligible 457 and TSS – short term stream visa holders will be able to apply through the TRT stream. The pathway will be accessible for two years from its commencement on 1 July 2022, see eligibility for details