Intra-Corporate Transfers on a 482 Visa: Assignment Letters, LMT and Caveats

Multinational groups often move experienced staff from an overseas office to their Australian business. The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) has several concessions for an intra-corporate transfer, but they only help if the paperwork is set up correctly.

Two ways to sponsor a transfer

Sponsor	Key point
Australian associated entity with standard business sponsorship	The worker can be employed by the sponsor or an associated entity, under a written contract or assignment letter
Overseas business sponsor (no Australian operation yet)	The worker must be a direct employee of the overseas business. Placement with an associated entity is not allowed

Read more about overseas business sponsorship and working for an associated entity.

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Assignment letters

An assignment letter can do the job of an employment contract. Under the Department’s policy, it must be on company letterhead and include at least:

• a statement that the worker is engaged under a contract of employment;
• the name of the employing company, and of the sponsoring company in Australia where relevant;
• salary for the Australian assignment, including base salary and allowances;
• the occupation in Australia, as defined in ANZSCO;
• the length of the assignment;
• the signature and date of a company representative, and of the worker accepting the terms.

The salary in the letter must still meet the annual market salary rate and income threshold rules.

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Labour market testing for transfers

There are two main routes that avoid standard advertising:

• Trade agreements: the worker is a current employee of an associated entity in certain trade partner countries, such as Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, the UK, New Zealand or the ASEAN nations, or is an executive or senior manager from an associated entity in any WTO member country who will run all or a large part of the Australian operations;
• Select position: the worker is an employee of a company with an established overseas business, nominated by its Australian associated entity. A written submission replaces the ads, and should explain the need for the transfer and include documents such as the assignment letter.

See when labour market testing is not required for the full list.

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Caveats and transfers

Some occupations have caveats, such as minimum salaries or business size rules. The Department’s occupations policy says caveats that refer to international trade obligations do not apply where the worker is an intra-corporate transferee currently working for an overseas business in a WTO member country. Occupations this can affect include Chief Executive or Managing Director, Corporate General Manager, Corporate Services Manager, Sales and Marketing Manager and Supply and Distribution Manager. See our page on caveats on occupations.

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What you should do now

• Map the group structure: confirm the overseas employer and the Australian sponsor are associated entities, and keep evidence of the link.
• Prepare the assignment letter: check it has every required item and is signed by both sides.
• Choose the LMT route: check the worker’s nationality and role against the trade agreement list, or prepare a select position submission.
• Check caveats: confirm whether any caveat on the occupation applies or is switched off for a transferee.