Skill

Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)

You must provide documents to support your application for this visa. As part of the visa application process you or your Registered Migration Agent will need to use ImmiAccount.  You should provide high quality colour scans of the documents supporting your visa application in ImmiAccount. Documents not in English must be accompanied by accredited English translations. Information to help you prepare your application and guidelines on attaching documents to an online visa application may assist you in lodging a complete visa application.

In your visa application you will be asked for information about each member of your family unit even if they do not intend to migrate with you, for example dependent children or a partner.  Information about which family members are considered to be ‘members of your family unit’ for migration purposes is available by referring to including family members in your application. Use the following checklist to make sure your application is complete.  Lodging a complete application reduces processing times.

Travel documents
Biographical pages (photo pages) of the current passport(s) or travel documents of each visa applicant.  If your name has changed or the name of anyone included in your application has changed, include evidence of the name change.

Birth registration documents
Birth registration documents of each visa applicant, showing the names of both parents. Suitable documents include but are not limited to full birth certificates or family registration books showing both parents’ names.  If any child included in the application is adopted, include adoption papers.

Marriage and relationship documents
Marriage certificates or relationship registrations for you, your partner, or anyone else included in your application, even if they are not joining you in Australia. If you or anyone included in the application has been widowed, divorced or permanently separated, provide the death certificate, divorce decree absolute, or statutory declaration/separation certificate as applicable.

Genuine relationship evidence
If you are married or in a de facto relationship, evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner to the exclusion of all others. For de facto relationships this should include evidence that you have been in the relationship for at least 12 months at time of application. Evidence can include, but is not limited to, joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, and other evidence of cohabitation.

Details of dependent family member aged 18 years or over
For each dependent family member applicant older than 18 years of age, other than your partner, a Form 47A Details of Child or Other Dependent Family Member Aged 18 Years or Over (205KB PDF) with supporting documentary evidence of their dependency and relationship to you. Evidence of dependency may include, but is not limited to employment, financial, residential and academic documentation for each dependent family member.

Evidence of parental responsibility/custody
Evidence of parental permission to grant an Australian visa for applicants younger than 18 years of age where one of the child’s parents is not an applicant in this visa application. Evidence when the other parent is alive includes a court custody order or Form 1229 Consent to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years (242KB PDF) with an official identification document displaying the other parent’s signature. If the other parent is deceased, a death certificate or other official documentation. For assistance with the documentation required you can refer to the “ Parental responsibility (formerly custody)” section of the information about including family members in your application.

You and each “member of your family unit” are required to satisfy health and character requirements.  This requirement applies even if that person is not applying for a visa with you.  In most cases health and character assessments can be undertaken before your application is lodged.

Health requirements
Evidence of each person having undertaken the required health examinations. If you have lodged your application, click on the ‘Organise health examinations’ link in ImmiAccount.

Character requirements
Police certificates for each country each person has lived in for a cumulative period of 12 months or more, over the last 10 years, since turning 16 years of age. Military service record or discharge papers for each person who is/has served in the armed forces of any country. Police certificates are also required for the countries of service.

Additional Character requirements
Each person who is 18 years or older can complete and attach the following documents.  Providing this information with your application can reduce processing times.

Unless otherwise stated these requirements must be met at the time you were invited to apply for this visa.
Skills assessment
A suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation.  Information is available about Skills assessment and assessing authorities requirements.

Evidence of English language ability – Invited applicant
Evidence that at time of invitation you had at least Competent English. If you are relying on English language testing then provide a copy of your test results from a specified English language test undertaken in the three years immediately before you were invited to apply for this visa.

Evidence of English language ability – dependent applicant(s)
Evidence of Functional English for each dependent applicant who is 18 years or older at the time this application is lodged. Evidence of Functional English can be provided up until the time the application is decided. If you will not be providing evidence a dependent applicant has Functional English, you should advise that you will pay the second instalment of the visa application charge. This charge will be requested when required by the processing office.

You must provide evidence to support the claims you are making against each relevant criterion in the Points Test.  Unless otherwise stated these requirements must be met at the time you were invited to apply for this visa.

Age
Proof of age. This can be the scanned copy of your passport or birth certificate.

Superior or Proficient English language ability
A copy of the test results from a specified English language test undertaken in the three years immediately before you were invited to apply for this visa. Cambridge English tests can only be accepted if the test was taken after 1 January 2015.

Skilled employment
Evidence of any claimed skilled employment or self-employment in the 10 year period immediately before you were invited to apply, such as:

  • employment references
  • contracts, pay slips, tax returns, group certificates
  • evidence that you have been self-employed
  • any other documents that you provided to the relevant assessing authority to obtain your skills assessment, including any documents relating to your employment history.



Employment references must meet the following requirements

  • be written on the official letterhead of the company or government department providing the reference;
  • the letterhead should indicate clearly the full address of the company and any telephone, fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses;
  • the name and position of the person authorised to sign the employment reference should be typed or stamped below that person’s signature;
  • the contact telephone number of the person writing the reference should be included in the letter;
  • the letter should indicate the exact period of employment (including whether permanent or temporary, full or part-time), position(s) held, the duties undertaken and the salary earned – positions should not be described by generic titles (eg. research officer, public servant) but according to the nature of the duties undertaken (eg. research chemist, accounts clerk); and
  • a payslip from your current employment should also be included – this is especially important from applicants working in government departments.



Completion of a recognised professional year in Australia
Evidence of completion of a recognised professional year in Australia in the four years immediately before you were invited to apply for this visa. Professional years are provided by:

  • Australian Computer Society
  • CPA Australia
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia
  • Institute of Public Accountants (formerly the National Institute of Accountants); or
  • Engineers Australia.



Education qualifications Evidence of any degrees, diplomas, certificates, completion letters and course transcripts and any other documents you provided to the relevant assessing authority that support your education qualification claims.

Australian Study requirement
Evidence of qualification(s) satisfying the Australian Study requirement. You are strongly encouraged to read the relevant information about this criterion before claiming points.

Specialist Education Qualification
Evidence that you have received a Post Graduate Degree by Research through a course or courses taken for at least two academic years at an Australian educational institution.

Study in regional Australia
Evidence of qualifications satisfying the Australian Study requirement while living and studying in regional Australia/low population growth metropolitan areas:

  • Evidence of residence covering the relevant period – examples include documents such as rental agreements and gas, power and telephone bills; and
  • If your academic transcript does not identify the location of the campus which you attended provide evidence that you studied at a campus located in regional Australia or a low population growth metropolitan area.



Credentialled community language
Evidence of accreditation at the paraprofessional level or above for interpreting or translating by the National Accreditation Authority for Translation and Interpreters (NAATI).

Partner skills
Evidence that at the time you were invited to apply for this visa, your partner:

  • was under 50 years of age; and
  • had at least Competent English; and
  • had a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for their nominated occupation (which must be on the same skilled occupations list as your nominated occupation).


You will not be eligible for these points if your partner is or becomes an Australian permanent resident or an Australian citizen while this claim is being assessed.

Nomination
No evidence of nomination is required.

General Skilled Migration Visa

These visas are points tested visas available to those with a skilled occupation available for General Skilled Migration. A minimum of 65 points are required to apply.

Points are awarded on a variety of factors including:
● Age
● English Language
● Qualifications
● Work Experience

Those with qualifications and work experience from Australia can often achieve higher points.

Nomination from an Australian state or territory can also provide additional points. You must meet additional eligibility criteria of the nominating state or territory for your nomination to be successful.

To be eligible for General Skilled Migration, you must:

● Be invited to apply
● Be under 45 years of age
● Have competent English
● Have an occupation on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MTSSL) or on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL)
● Have a positive skills assessment
● Meet health and character requirements

There are three steps to obtaining a visa under General Skilled Migration.

1) Skills Assessment
2) Expression of Interest
3) Visa Application

You must pass each stage to move on to the next stage.

Skills Assessment
A positive skills assessment is required to lodge an Expression of Interest. A skills assessment is an assessment of your education and employment experience to ascertain if you meet the Australian industry standard in your profession. Each occupation has a dedicated skills assessing body that conducts these assessments.

Expression of Interest
Once you have obtained a positive skills assessment, you are able to lodge an Expression of Interest. This is an indication to the Department of Home Affairs that you would like to be considered for a visa under their skilled program. You must meet a minimum number of points in order to be eligible to lodge an expression of interest. Once your EOI has been lodged, it will be ranked against other candidates in the same occupation. Those with higher points will receive an invitation to apply for a visa faster than those with lower points.
We will try to find some ways to maximise your points on the EOI.

Visa Application
Once you Expression of Interest has been positively assessed, you will be invited to apply for a visa. The visa application is an assessment of the claims you made in the Expression of Interest. If you lodge this application whilst you are in Australia, you will receive a Bridging Visa to remain here during the processing period.

Temporary Skilled Shortage Visa

The Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa is is designed to assist Australian companies to fill current skilled staffing shortages in their business.

This is a temporary visa that permits the holder to work full time for their sponsoring employer in a nominated position.

The position to be filled must be an occupation on the Department of Home Affairs list of occupations eligible for this visa. There are three streams available in the visa subclass. The stream applied for will depend on if the occupation is on the Short-Term list or the Medium and Long-Term list.

1) Long Term Stream
A visa may be granted for up to 4 years. This is a renewable visa and offers a pathway to permanent residency. The occupation must be on the list of designated occupations available for long term sponsorship.

2) Short Term Stream
A visa may be granted for up to 2 years. This visa offers renewal only once if the need for ongoing sponsorship can be established. It does not offer a pathway to permanent residency. The occupation must be on the list of designated occupations available for short term sponsorship.

3) Labour Agreement Stream
This stream is available if there is a genuine need for the position and the occupation is not identified on the designated list of occupations eligible for the subclass 482 visa. The sponsoring company must have entered into an approved agreement with the Commonwealth to sponsor applicants under this stream.

Please book a consultation with Migration Services for further information regarding these streams.

There are three steps required for a TSS visa to be approved. This involves three separate applications. Two of these are the responsibility of the sponsoring employer, one of these is the responsibility of the visa applicant. Each application must be approved in order for the next step application to be approved. It is possible to lodge all three applications at the same time.

1) Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS)
The sponsoring business must become an approved Standard Business Sponsor. This requires a sponsorship application to be lodged. The basic requirements for a sponsorship to be approved require the sponsoring business to establish that they are lawfully operating a business with no adverse information against them.

If they have previously obtained approval as Standard Business Sponsor, they must evidence that they have continued to meet the sponsorship obligations in the most recent years of active sponsorship.

Once granted, the sponsorship is valid for a period of 5 years. This is renewable.

2) Nomination
The sponsoring company must lodge a nomination application for the applicant that identifies the position sought to be filled. There are several requirements to be filled in order to have the nomination approved.

Labour Market Testing
The position to be filled must have been recently advertised and attempts to fill this position must have been paid. Exemptions may apply.

Market Salary Rate
The employer must evidence that they will be paying their employee a salary that is commensurate with their skills and experience that is comparable to what an Australian citizen or permanent resident would be paid. The applicant must also be paid above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) of $53,900.

Training Levy
There have been recent changes to the training requirement for employer sponsored visas. The training levy has now been changed to a payment into the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF). This will be known as the SAF levy. The SAF levy is required to be paid at the nomination stage and will be one of the following:

● Small Business – businesses with less than $10M annual turnover will be required to pay $1200 for each year of nomination.
● Large Business – businesses with more than $10M annual turnover will be required to pay $1800 for each year of nomination.

Genuine Position
The sponsoring company must evidence that there is a genuine need for the position to be filled. They are required to establish that the position has not been created for the purpose of sponsoring the foreign worker.

NOTE: Further requirements may be applicable depending on the occupation and stream. Please contact Migration Services for further assessment.

3) Visa Application
The visa applicant must be able to evidence that they hold the required skills, qualifications and experience required of the role they are nominated to fill. The applicant must be able to evidence a minimum of two years recent work experience in their occupation.

The applicant must evidence that the meet the English language requirement for their stream.
If a skills assessment is required, the applicant must have either lodged the assessment or had the assessment approved at the time the application is lodged.
It is possible to include your family members in this application. All applicants must be able to pass a health and character assessment. Adequate health insurance is required to be held for the duration of your stay.

Applicants nominated for an occupation under the short-term stream must be able to pass a Genuine Temporary Entrant test. This means that they must evidence that they are not using TSS sponsorship as a way to extend their stay in Australia.
All applicants will need to pass the health and character test.

NOTE: Further requirements may be applicable depending on the occupation and stream. Your previous Australian immigration history will need to be considered before applying for this visa. Please contact Migration Services for further assessment

Our Registered Migration Agents are happy to assist you with the preparation and lodgment of your TSS application. We will review your documents and ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements before applying.

Please contact us to book an appointment for further information and assessment of your eligibility.

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa

The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa is designed to assist Australian companies in regional areas to fill current skilled staffing shortages in their business.

This is a temporary visa that permits the holder to work full time for their sponsoring employer in a nominated position. Family members can be included in the application.

The position to be filled must be an occupation on the Department of Home Affairs list of occupations eligible for this visa. The business must also be located in a regional area of Australia. Regional areas are defined as a location outside of the main cities of:

● Melbourne
● Sydney
● Brisbane

This is a 5 year temporary visa. The visa holder may apply for the Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa after 3 years on their 494 visa if eligibility criteria are met. General eligibility criteria for the permanent visa include:

● Abiding by the 494 visa conditions:
â—‹ Working in the nominated position
â—‹ Remaining in the nominated regional area
● Earning a minimum taxable income. This is expected to be $53,900 or more per year.

Employer nomination is not required to apply for the permanent visa.

The employee must have a positive skills assessment in their nominated occupation to be eligible for this visa.
A skills assessment is not an exam. A skills assessment is an assessment of the employee’s qualifications and work experience to ascertain if they meet standard of the occupation in Australia.

It is strongly recommended that employers confirm that their employee can obtain a positive skills assessment before proceeding with the nomination process.

In addition to the positive skills assessment, an employee must have a minimum of 3+ years full time employment in their nominated occupation, or closely related occupation.

If the employee cannot pass a skills assessment, or does not have the required work experience, we recommend using the Subclass 482 TSS employer sponsored visa in the interim. The 482 TSS visa can be granted for periods of up to 4 years. This may enable your employee to meet the skills assessment and work experience requirements for the 494 visa.

There are three steps required for a 494 visa to be approved. This involves three separate applications. Two of these are the responsibility of the sponsoring employer, one of these is the responsibility of the visa applicant. Each application must be approved in order for the next application to be approved. It is possible to lodge all three applications at the same time.

1) Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS)
The sponsoring business must become an approved Standard Business Sponsor. This requires a sponsorship application to be lodged. The basic requirements for a sponsorship to be approved require the sponsoring business to establish that they are lawfully operating a business with no adverse information against them.

If they have previously obtained approval as Standard Business Sponsor, they must evidence that they have continued to meet the sponsorship obligations in the most recent years of active sponsorship.

Once granted, the sponsorship is valid for a period of 5 years. This is renewable.

Sponsorship Obligations
If approved as a Standard Business Sponsor, the sponsoring company has the obligation to cover reasonable costs associated with a departing ticket from Australia if their employee ceases work and requests for departure assistance. This obligation extends to any dependent family members.

2) Nomination
The sponsoring company must lodge a nomination application for the applicant that identifies the position sought to be filled.

There are several requirements to be filled in order to have the nomination approved.

Labour Market Testing
The position to be filled must have been recently advertised and attempts to fill this position must have been paid. Exemptions may apply.

Market Salary Rate
The employer must evidence that they will be paying their employee a salary that is commensurate with their skills and experience that is comparable to what an Australian citizen or permanent resident would be paid.

The applicant must also be paid above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) of $53,900.

Training Levy
There have been recent changes to the training requirement for employer sponsored visas. The training levy has now been changed to a payment into the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF). This will be known as the SAF levy. The SAF levy is required to be paid at the nomination stage and will be one of the following:

● Small Business – businesses with less than $10M annual turnover will be required to pay $3000 for the nomination.
● Large Business – businesses with more than $10M annual turnover will be required to pay $5000 for the nomination.

Genuine Position
The sponsoring company must evidence that there is a genuine need for the position to be filled. They are required to establish that the position has not been created for the purpose of sponsoring the foreign worker.

Regional Certifying Body Advice (RBC Advice)
The sponsoring company will need to obtain confirmation of the market salary rate through an application with the local Regional Certifying Body. Your migration agent can assist you with this application.

NOTE: Further requirements may be applicable depending on the occupation and stream. Please contact Migration Services for further assessment.

3) Visa Application
You must be under the age of 45 to apply for this visa. Exemptions apply in limited circumstances.

The visa applicant must be able to evidence that they hold the required skills, qualifications and experience required of the role they are nominated to fill. The applicant must be able to evidence a minimum of ​three ​years recent work experience in their occupation.

A positive skills assessment in the nominated occupation is required for this visa subclass. Exemptions apply in limited circumstances. It is recommended that you make yourself aware with the skills assessment requirements and start your skills assessment application as soon as possible. Processing times for some skills assessments are up to 3 months. You will also need to prepare your skills assessment documents. The timeframe to prepare your skills assessment application depends on your level of organisation. If your visa will soon be expiring, we can recommend the Subclass 482 TSS temporary employer sponsored visa in the interim, if eligible. Our migration agents can assist you with your skills assessment application.

The applicant must evidence that they meet the English language requirement for their stream.

It is possible to include your family members in this application. All applicants must be able to pass a health and character assessment. Adequate health insurance is required to be held for the duration of your stay.

NOTE: Further requirements may be applicable depending on the occupation and stream. Your previous Australian immigration history will need to be considered before applying for this visa. Please contact Migration Services for further assessment

Our Registered Migration Agents are happy to assist you with the preparation and lodgment of your 494 Standard Business Sponsorship, Nomination and Visa applications. We will review your documents and ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements before applying.

Please contact us to book an appointment for further information and assessment of your eligibility.

Skill Assessments

A skills assessment is an assessment of your qualifications and work experience in your nominated occupation to ascertain if you meet the Australian industry standards.

Each occupation has a different designated skills assessing body that will conduct the assessment. Examinations are not required of most occupations, though some require a practical demonstration.

You may be required to evidence employment experience in your occupation in order to obtain a positive skills assessment.

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