This information is intended to assist Registered Nurses in the decision as to what visa to apply for and provide an overview of the various criteria of each employer sponsored visa type. Registered Nurses are defined by the ANZSCO Group 2544 as those that provide nursing care to patients in hospitals, aged care, and other health care facilities, in the community. Registered Nurses are currently on the Medium Term List for the TSS Visa.
Subclass 482 TSS Visa
Subclass 482 Visa is a temporary skill shortage visa that enables employers to fulfil labour market shortages with skilled migrant workers where they are unable to find an appropriately skilled Australian worker.
Snapshot of Subclass 482 TSS Visa
Fees and Costs
There are various costs and fees associated with the visa application. These costs are different for the Employer Sponsor and the Visa Applicant.
Employer Sponsor Fees
The cost to a Sponsor Employer to nominate a visa applicant for the TSS 482 Visa is $330.00.
It should be noted that it is prohibited for a visa applicant to pay the Employer Sponsor to sponsor them for their visa. This includes the following situations:
- Person pays the employer
- Deduction is made from salary
- Person provides any other benefit to employer
Visa Applicant Fees
The cost to the Visa Applicant to apply for a TSS 482 Visa consists of the following:
- $2,690.00 for the Main Applicant
- $2,690.00 for each dependent over 18 years old
- $675.00 for each dependent under 18 years old
There may be other costs associated with the visa application including English Language Tests, health checks, police certificates and biometrics. This will depend on the requirements of the visa application.
Labour Market Testing
Labour Marketing Testing is a requirement for Employer Sponsors for some visa types. It requires employers to demonstrate to the Department of Home Affairs that they have attempted to find a suitable Australian worker prior to nominating an overseas worker. This involves advertising the position in Australia first. There are specific requirements relating to the type of advertisement and time frame dependent on the visa type.
Labour market testing is mandatory for TSS 482 Visa unless international trade obligations apply.
Subclass 494 Visa
Subclass 494 Visa is a regional employer sponsored visa that works to address labour shortages within a specific regional area. This visa type has 10,000 places allocated per year. Subclass 494 visa requires sponsorship from a regional employer and the position must be likely to exist for 5 years. There are age requirements and English language requirements that the visa applicant must meet.
Snapshot of Subclass 494 Visa
Fees and Costs
There are various costs and fees associated with the visa application. These costs are different for the Employer Sponsor and the Visa Applicant.
Employer Sponsor Fees
There is no cost to a Sponsor Employer to nominate a visa applicant for the 494 Visa. However, the Skilling Australians Fund levy applies to this visa type and is dependent on the size of the business.
- Small Business Size (Annual Turnover of less than $10m) = $3,000.00
- Other Business Size (Annual Turnover of more than $10m) = $5,000.00
It should be noted that it is prohibited for a visa applicant to pay the Employer Sponsor to sponsor them for their visa. This includes the following situations:
- Person pays the employer
- Deduction is made from salary
- Person provides any other benefit to employer
Visa Applicant Fees
The cost to the Visa Applicant to apply for a 494 Visa consists of the following:
- $4,115.00 for the Main Applicant
- $2,060.00 for each dependent over 18 years old
- $1,030.00 for each dependent under 18 years old
There may be other costs associated with the visa application including English Language Tests, health checks, police certificates and biometrics. This will depend on the requirements of the visa application.
Labour Market Testing
Labour Marketing Testing is a requirement for Employer Sponsors for some visa types. It requires employers to demonstrate to the Department of Home Affairs that they have attempted to find a suitable Australian worker prior to nominating an overseas worker. This involves advertising the position in Australia first. There are specific requirements relating to the type of advertisement and time frame dependent on the visa type.
Labour market testing is mandatory for the 494 Visa.
Subclass 186 Visa
Subclass 186 Visa is an employer nomination visa that provides applicants who are sponsored by a nominated employer with a permanent residency visa. The Subclass 186 Visa is available to Registered Nurses if they meet the English language requirements, age requirements and other criteria dependent on the stream of Subclass 186 Visa.
Snapshot of Subclass 186 Visa
Fees and Costs
There are various costs and fees associated with the visa application. These costs are different for the Employer Sponsor and the Visa Applicant.
Employer Sponsor Fees
The cost to a Sponsor Employer to nominate a visa applicant for the 186 Visa is $540.00.
It should be noted that it is prohibited for a visa applicant to pay the Employer Sponsor to sponsor them for their visa. This includes the following situations:
- Person pays the employer
- Deduction is made from salary
- Person provides any other benefit to employer
Visa Applicant Fees
The cost to the Visa Applicant to apply for a 186 Visa consists of the following:
- $4,115.00 for the Main Applicant
- $2,060.00 for each dependent over 18 years old
- $1,030.00 for each dependent under 18 years old
- $4,890.00 charged as a second instalment for any family member aged 18 years or older who applies for the visa AND has less than functional English
There may be other costs associated with the visa application including health checks, police certificates and biometrics. This will depend on the requirements of the visa application.
Labour Market Testing
Labour Marketing Testing is a requirement for Employer Sponsors for some visa types. It requires employers to demonstrate to the Department of Home Affairs that they have attempted to find a suitable Australian worker prior to nominating an overseas worker. This involves advertising the position in Australia first. There are specific requirements relating to the type of advertisement and time frame dependent on the visa type.
Labour market testing is recommended for the 186 Visa.
Jamie Lim
Jamie is an Australian Regulated Migration Advisor (RMA 1799460). Jamie has extensive immigration services experience across multiple visa subclasses and specialises in employer sponsored visas. He has a wide range of experience in corporate migration, including employer-sponsored visas and immigration compliance, and has managed small to large multinational corporate clients. Jamie also has specific experience with medical professionals, skills assessments, state sponsorships as well as partner visas. Book a time with Jamie here.
Jamie holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Monash University. Jamie speaks Mandarin Chinese as a second language.
His specialities include but not limited to:
Recent News
Medical Practices and hospitals are involved in the immigration process as they sponsor or are seeking to sponsor overseas trained medical professionals to address labour shortages they may be experiencing.
The Employer Sponsored Visa Types available to International Medical Graduates (IMGs) include subclass 482 TSS Visa, Subclass 186 Visa and Subclass 494 Visa.
Subclass 482 – Temporary Skills Shortage
The Subclass 482 Visa is a visa pathway for businesses who wish to sponsor a skilled worker where they cannot source an Australian citizen or permanent resident to perform the required work duties. Prior to the visa applicant making an application for the Subclass 482 Visa they are required to be nominated. The Department of Home Affairs requires that the skilled worker/visa applicant works for an Employer Sponsor, either an Australian Business Sponsor or an Overseas Business Sponsor.
Therefore, Employers must lodge a nomination application for the visa applicant prior to prospective employees initiating their visa application. An employer must be an approved sponsor to do this, and the employer/sponsor must provide the visa application with the Transaction Reference Number for the Department to cross-reference the two applications.
Standard Business Sponsorship
To be eligible to become a Standard Business Sponsor, businesses must meet the following criteria:
Cost and Length of Sponsorship Application
There are costs associated with becoming an approved Standard Business Sponsor. There is an application fee of $420.00 to the hospital/medical practice.
Once approved, the Standard Business Sponsor status is valid for 5 years from the date of approval.
Standard Business Sponsor Obligations
As a Standard Business Sponsor, there are obligations that apply to the operation of your hospital/medical practice. To maintain or renew your status as a Standard Business Sponsor, you must ensure that your hospital/medical practice continues to uphold the sponsorship obligations. It should also be noted that some of these obligations extend beyond the term of sponsorship i.e. more than 5 years.
The Department of Home Affairs monitors the Standard Business Sponsor and their compliance with the sponsorship obligations throughout the approval period and up to five years after their sponsorship status ends. The Department of Home Affairs has the power to take enforcement action against businesses that fails to meet their sponsorship obligations.
Employer Sponsored Visas for Medical Professionals Seeking Permanent Residence in Australia
Medical Professionals who are seeking to remain in Australia through a permanent residency pathway can do so through an employer-sponsored pathway.
Age Requirement Exemptions
All general skilled migration categories require that visa applicants are under 45 years of age at the time of invitation to apply. However, there are two exemptions that may be relevant to health practitioners: Regional Medical Practitioner Exemption and High Income Exemption.
Regional Medical Practitioner Exemption
Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme Visa allows for an exemption to the age limit requirement for Regional Medical Practitioner Applicants if they meet the following criteria:
- Nominated in a position in a regional area of Australia
- Medical Practitioner in the ANZSCO Minor Group 253
- Must have been employed as a medical practitioner for the three years prior to lodging the application
- Must have spent at least two years during the three years above employed as a Medical Practitioner in a regional area of Australia
- The two years are not required to be consecutive; this can be made up of several periods
- Must have held a subclass 457 or subclass 482 visa for most of the time throughout the three-year period
High Income Exemption
Visa holders of Subclass 482 who earn an income that is above the High Income Threshold are exempt from the age requirement. The current high-income threshold for 2022 is $158,500. The earnings that contribute to the high-income threshold are wages, fringe benefits and salary sacrifice amounts. This does not include superannuation. The following criteria must be met for the visa applicant to meet the high income exemption:
- Throughout the three years prior to making the visa application the person was employed by the employer who made the nomination AND in the nominated occupation
- In each of those three years, the persons’ earnings were equal to or greater than the high income threshold
- Must have held a subclass 457 or subclass 482 visa for most of the time throughout the three-year period
Jamie Lim
Jamie is an Australian Regulated Migration Advisor (RMA 1799460). Jamie has extensive immigration services experience across multiple visa subclasses and specialises in employer sponsored visas. He has a wide range of experience in corporate migration, including employer-sponsored visas and immigration compliance, and has managed small to large multinational corporate clients. Jamie also has specific experience with medical professionals, skills assessments, state sponsorships as well as partner visas. Book a time with Jamie here.
Jamie holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Monash University. Jamie speaks Mandarin Chinese as a second language.
His specialities include but not limited to:
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