Training and Research visa (subclass 402)
Training and Research visa (subclass 402) (closed)
This visa is closed to new applications.
Requirements
You might be able to get this visa if you are one of the following:
- an occupational trainee (Occupational Trainee stream)
- a professional, manager or government official (Professional Development stream)
- a professional academic (Research stream)
You must meet the requirements of the stream in which you apply.
Features
This visa allows you to:
- take part in structured workplace-based training to enhance your skills in your current occupation, area of tertiary study, or field of expertise (Occupational Trainee stream)
- participate in a professional development training program in Australia after being invited to do so Professional Development stream
- observe or participate in an Australian research project after being invited to do so (Research stream).
The Training and Research visa (subclass 402) is for people who want to come to Australia on a temporary basis to participate in occupational training, observe or participate in research as a visiting academic, or participate in a professional development program.
This is not a work visa.
This visa has three streams:
- Occupational Trainee stream: for people who need structured workplace-based training to enhance their skills in their current occupation, area of tertiary study, or field of expertise.
- Professional Development stream: for professionals, managers or government officials invited to participate in a professional development training program in Australia. The program must have been arranged by an employer outside Australia and usually lasts up to 18 months.
- Research stream: for professional academics invited to visit Australia to observe or participate in an Australian research project at an Australian tertiary or research institution.
To apply in the Occupational Trainee or Research stream: you and anyone included in your application can be in or outside Australia when you apply:
Applying in Australia: If you are inside Australia you must lodge your application in Australia.
Applying outside Australia: If you are outside Australia you must lodge your application outside Australia.
You may be in or outside Australia at time of grant regardless of where the visa has been lodged.
To apply in the Professional Development stream: you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted. Your sponsor can lodge the application on your behalf.
You might be able to get this visa if you:
- are sponsored by one of the following:
- a training and research sponsor who has lodged their sponsorship application or had it approved
- an approved professional development sponsor
- an approved visiting academic sponsor or occupational trainee sponsor (for sponsorship applications lodged before 24 November 2012)
- meet the requirements of the visa for the stream in which you are applying
- have a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia
- have adequate financial support for yourself and accompanying family members while in Australia
- have adequate arrangements for health insurance while in Australia
- meet health and character requirements.
- are at least 18 years of age (except in limited circumstances).
Financial support
You may be asked to provide evidence that you can financially support yourself and your accompanying family members while in Australia.
Health insurance
You are responsible for all your health costs while you are in Australia. You will not be covered by Australia’s national health scheme (Medicare) unless your country has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia.
You must have adequate health insurance unless you are covered by Medicare. You should ensure that your insurance will provide at least the level of coverage required for the purpose of your stay. Your health insurer could be in either Australia or your home country.
If you are not entitled to Medicare benefits, you can ask for an exemption from Australia’s Medicare levy in your end-of-year tax return.
Character requirements
You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.
This applies to you and all the dependent family members listed in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
Debts to the Australian Government
You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before this visa can be granted.
This also applies to all dependent family members in your application who are 18 years of age or older.
Occupational Trainee stream
To be granted this visa in the Occupational Trainee stream, you must intend to participate in occupational training for which:
- you were identified in an approved nomination by an Australian organisation (other than a Commonwealth agency)
- you were invited (if the training is being provided by a Commonwealth agency).
The training
The occupational training must be for at least 30 hours a week, of which at least 70 per cent is in the workplace, including:
- training or practical experience in the workplace required for you to obtain registration for employment in your occupation in Australia or in your home country
- a structured workplace-based training program to enhance your existing skills in an eligible occupation listed in the skilled occupations list.
- a structured workplace-based training program to enhance your skills and promote capacity building outside Australia.
You must have the English language skills you need for the training program and be able to meet occupational health and safety standards.
Occupational opportunities for Australian citizens or permanent residents must not be adversely affected if the visa is granted.
Payment
If this is not a volunteer position, you must be paid a salary or wages in accordance with Australian laws and practices. If there is no award covering the position, you must receive at least the minimum federal award rate.
If this is a volunteer position, you and your sponsor must complete the following forms.
When a student can apply for this visa
If you hold a Student visa in Australia or the last substantive visa you held was a Student visa, you might be able to apply for this visa if you intend to do workplace-based training closely related to your principal course.
You must also be able to show one of the following:
- you have completed the principal course at the diploma level or higher and you would complete the occupational training within 12 months, or
- you have completed the principal course and you must complete a period of practical employment to obtain registration in a profession as a prerequisite for the practice of this occupation.
Professional Development stream
To be granted this visa in the Professional Development stream, you must apply under one of the following arrangements (you will need a letter of offer):
- you are employed by an eligible registered business
- you are invited or employed by a foreign government agency, including provincial, territory or state governments of foreign countries
- you are invited or employed by an international multilateral organisation.
You must:
- be sponsored by an approved professional development sponsor who is already party to a professional development agreement
- have managerial or other professional skills relevant to the professional development program (your current manager must write a letter on company letterhead detailing your current position and duties)
- have the level of English language proficiency needed for the professional development program
- have a genuine intention to complete the professional development program
- be able to pay any costs you are liable to pay under the professional development agreement.
Your sponsor must write a letter to support your claims about your professional or managerial skills and your English language proficiency.
Research stream
To be granted this visa in the Research stream, you must have been invited to observe or participate in an Australian research project, usually for a period of up to 12 months:
- at the sponsoring Australian tertiary or research institution
- in collaboration with other academics employed by the sponsoring Australian tertiary or research institution.
You must:
- be employed or have been employed as an academic at a tertiary or research institution and hold or have held a senior academic title
- have the qualifications and experience required for the position
- have a significant record of achievement in your field
- not be paid for your participation, other than a contribution towards living and travel expenses.
Your invitation
If you are currently working, you will need a statement from your home institution confirming the invitation to visit an Australian tertiary or research institution and stating that you have leave from your usual academic appointment.
You will need a letter of invitation from the sponsoring Australian tertiary or research institution:
- written by the person with overall administrative authority in the institution (such as the registrar, chief executive officer or equivalent central administrative authority)
- showing an agreement to be your approved sponsor, and to sponsor any dependent family members who come with you
- including the period of the invitation, the details of the position, the job title, a duty statement and any proposed payments.
Health requirements
You must meet certain health requirements. The health examinations you need will depend on your personal circumstances, including your period of stay, country of citizenship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities in Australia. The results of your health examinations are generally valid for 12 months.
This information is for a person who wants to sponsor someone for a Training and Research visa (subclass 402).
If your application for sponsorship is approved, you will be:
- a Training and Research sponsor (for the Occupational Traineeand Research streams)
- a Professional Development sponsor (for the Professional Development stream).
You can use Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO for Organisations) to check the visa status and entitlements of people you have sponsored.
Sponsorship applications lodged before 24 November 2012
From 24 November 2012, the Occupational Trainee sponsor class and the Visiting Academic sponsor class have been closed to new sponsor applicants. The Training and Research sponsor class has been established in place of the closed sponsor classes. The Professional Development sponsor class is unchanged.
If your sponsorship application was lodged before that date and has been approved, you are one of the following:
- an approved Occupational Trainee sponsor and can sponsor current Occupational Trainee visa (subclass 442) holders or Training and Research visa applicants in the Occupational Trainee stream of this visa
- an approved Visiting Academic sponsor and can sponsor current Visiting Academic visa (subclass 419) holders or Training and Research visa applicants in the Research stream of this visa
- an approved Professional Development sponsor and can sponsor current Professional Development visa (subclass 470) holders or Training and Research visa applicants in the Professional Development stream of this visa.
You can use your existing sponsorship approval to sponsor new Training and Research visa applicants until the sponsorship expires. Your obligations as an approved sponsor continue to apply. When that sponsorship approval ceases, you will need to lodge a new sponsorship application as a Training and Research sponsor or a Professional Development sponsor if you want to sponsor anyone else. You should apply for approval at least two to three months before your existing sponsorship expires.
This information is for an approved sponsor who wants to nominate someone for the Occupational Trainee stream of the Training and Research visa (subclass 402).
The nomination process identifies the:
- details of the proposed workplace-based training
- position to be filled
- skills, qualifications and experience required for the position
- person who has been nominated to take part in the activity.
Occupational training programs should be for a minimum period of 30 hours a week. At least 70 per cent of this training is required to be workplace-based.
