Australia Work Visas

Australia welcomes skilled migration, particularly in occupations which are deemed to be in shortage in Australia. Australia is particularly keen to attract skilled migrants in a range of key professions including nurses and doctors as well as IT specialists and engineers.

You can take the first step towards living and working in Australia now by visiting the Global Visas online assessment area. Enquire today by completing one of our assessment forms and a specialist Australian immigration consultant will respond to you.

Living and Working in Australia - Australian Work Permits

Australian work permits are often referred to as ‘457 visas’, due to their visa subclass however, they are officially known as the Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457). Like work permits in many destinations, the 457 visa is designed to assist Australian companies in bringing skilled employees from overseas to fulfil a specific position. The 457 visa is based upon a candidate having a specific offer of employment in place before the application is submitted.

Making a 457 Visa Application

As an Australian work permit, the 457 visa is issued as a temporary immigration service and is granted on the understanding that the candidate will return to his or her country of residence once the visa grant has expired. Australian work permits are granted for anything up to four years, based on the projected length of employment, and are not transferable between employers or between roles. Candidates will be obliged to remain with their sponsoring employer in the position specified. As multiple entry permits 457 visas allow candidates to travel in and out of Australia repeatedly. Furthermore, although intended as a temporary work visa, a candidate may switch, subject to qualifying, into one of the longer term Australian work visa services. 457 visas make provision for spouse and dependent immigration and the immediate family members of a candidate will be permitted to remain in Australia for the same period granted to the principle applicant.

Permanent Australian Immigration Services

Australia offers a range of permanent employment based visas. In some cases, long-term work visas require a job offer to be in place before a candidate applies, however in other categories a candidate may obtain the right to seek and undertake employment as they see fit. For all permanent visas, candidates must undergo Australia’s strict health and character requirements. A Global Visas immigration consultant will be able to discuss the exact requirements of your application in your initial consultation.

Australian Skilled Independent Visa

The Australian Skilled Independent visa is also known as General Skilled Migration and aims to attract the most highly skilled and experienced candidates to Australia. Unlike an Australian work permit, and some of the other long-term schemes for those who wish to live and work in Australia permanently, the skilled independent visa does not require a job offer, although having an offer in place may help the application.

Skilled independent visas follow a points based system which assesses candidates on a range of key factors. Candidates will be reviewed on their age, their qualifications and their occupation, and if successful will be permitted to seek and undertake employment as they choose. As a permanent Australian immigration option, general skilled migration is issued for a five-year period; however, after 4 years of normally residing in Australia, a candidate may apply for Australian citizenship.

Australian Skilled Independent Visa – Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet the criteria outlined above, and crucially they will be required to meet or exceed the 120-point pass mark. All applicants must be competent in the use of the English language and an age limit for applications of 45 years is imposed. Whilst the majority of a candidates’ score will be made up from the criteria outlined above, points may also be added for a prearranged job offer (though this is not mandatory), time already spent living, working or study in Australia and the qualifications and experience of the applicant’s spouse.

However, the key requirement is that candidates must nominate a profession which is featured on the Critical Skills List. The applicant’s skills must be assessed by the relevant body for their profession and the candidate must have already been employed in the nominated field for at least 12 of the 24 months directly preceding the application.

Australian Skilled Sponsored Visa

The Australian skilled sponsored visa may be based upon state or territory sponsorship or upon sponsorship from a family member. In the former, the candidate must secure sponsorship from one of the 8 Australian states and territories which currently participate in the programme, for the latter a candidate must be sponsored by an existing Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or qualifying New Zealand resident.

Successful candidates will receive a 5-year visa and after 4 consecutive years of living and working in Australia, a candidate may apply for Australian citizenship. In either case, skilled sponsored visas provide a route to permanent immigration to Australia, and like the skilled independent visa, they require a minimum points threshold, though this is lower at 100 points.

The same basic requirements as the skilled independent visa are present in either version of the skilled sponsored visa. Applicants must nominate a profession which appears on the Critical Skills List; they must be proficient in the English language and must be under the age of 45. Once again, extra points may be awarded for the applicant’s experience of working or studying in Australia, for their partner’s experience and qualifications and for the bonus of already having a job in place.

Skilled Sponsored Visa – Family

Where a candidate is applying for an Australian skilled sponsored visa through the family sponsorship option, their sponsor must be a qualifying citizen, resident, or qualifying New Zealand citizen who is over the age of 18 and related to the applicant, or to the applicant’s partner, as a non-dependent child, parent, sibling or niece or nephew. In all cases, this immigration service is also open to adoptive or step equivalents of these relationships. The sponsor must agree to take financial responsibility for the applicant for two years.

Skilled Sponsored Visa – State/Territory

Where applicants are following the state or territory sponsored route, applicants are selected according to the specific needs of the state in question and candidates will be required to spend the first 24 months of their residency in Australia living in their sponsoring state.

Australian Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)

Like a work permit, the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) is an employer led visa service which depends upon a candidate being sponsored with an offer of employment. However, unlike a work permit the ENS leads directly to permanent residency in Australia. The ENS places the same basic requirements on the candidate as the permanent visa outlined above, however although the age limit is once more set at 45 years exceptions may be made for applicants with outstanding skills or experience or where a position is on the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL)

Applying for the ENS - Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply for the ENS, applicants must have either;

Been working in Australia for the two years prior to their application on a temporary residence permit, such as a 457 Australian work permit.
Have been offered a position with a salary of at least $AUD 167,000 + superannuation of 9%
Been assessed by the relevant authority for their nominated profession and have at least three years of directly relevant work experience.

Australian Distinguished Talent Visa

The Distinguished Talent Visa applies to candidates who can demonstrate exceptional ability in the field of the arts, research and academia or sporting endeavours. Unlike other permanent routes, no age limit is in place though a greater burden of proof with regard to self-sufficiency is placed up those under 18 and over 55 years of age. The chief concern of this visa category is that the candidate must be of exceptional benefit to live in Australia.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate exceptional ability and must be nominated by one of the following:

An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen
An Australian organization of international standing.

Visit the Global Visas online assessment are now to set your Australian work visa application in motion today.