Religious Work Stream 408 Visa

Religious Work Stream 408 Visa

Temporary Activity Visa – Subclass 408 – Religious Work Stream

Subclass 408 – Temporary Activity Visa Religious Work stream allows religious workers to do full-time religious work for a religious institution in Australia for up to 2 years. With this visa, you can:

Work full-time for a religious institution in Australia
Travel to and from Australia
Bring the members of your family unit in your visa application.

To be eligible for this visa:

You must be employed by a religious institution to perform religious work.
If you intend to stay for more than three months, you will also need to have a sponsor. If you are staying for less than three months, you will need to have a supporter.
Have the right qualification and experience to perform the work.
Meet health and character requirements.
Have adequate health insurance.

Sponsorship test

The sponsor must be a religious institution. The institution must apply to be an approved temporary activities sponsor. They must agree to sponsor the visa applicant and any dependents applying for the same visa. In addition, the sponsor must not have adverse information about them.

Support test

The support must be a religious institution. The religious institution must provide a letter of support. The letter should include:

The institution’s letterhead
The visa applicant and any dependants
The work the applicant will undertake
The duties of the applicant
When and where the applicant will be working

What is a religious institution?

For the purpose of this visa, religious institution is a body that promotes a religious aim, and the member’s beliefs and practices must constitute a religion. Religious institutions will have activities in place to encourage religious objectives, and these activities can include conducting religious services, regular meetings for fellowships, and counselling and pastoral services.

What is religious work?

The work undertaken by the applicant must be full-time (Usually 38 hours), predominately non-profit in nature and serves a religious objective.

Usually, religious work does not include secular activities such as administrative works. Religious work is devotional in nature. It may involve providing spiritual leadership, conducting worship, providing pastoral care, proselytising, teaching, or offering guidance on religion.

For example, work done by priests, monks, imans is usually considered religious work.

Costs: $310

Processing times: Not available