Visa Options for Skilled Workers

Source: Department of Immigration & Citizenship, November 2007

Australia is seeking more than 100,00 skilled migrants in 2007-08. If you are a skilled worker who wants to live and work in Australia, several visa options are available to you.

Employer Sponsored Visas

Employer sponsored visas help skilled migrants to start working in a job in Australia. There are a number of temporary and permanent options that allow you to be employed by Australian businesses.

Temporary Business Long Stay -Standard Business Sponsorship (subclass 457)

The Temporary Business Long Stay (subclass 457) visa allows employers to sponsor you to work in Australia for up to four years.

The features of the subclass 457 visa program are:

• temporary sponsorship - allowing you time in Australia before deciding if you would like to apply to migrate permanently, or no longer remain in Australia
• skill requirements may be reduced if your job is in regional Australia
• an online visa application service which provides priority processing

To obtain an employer sponsored visa, you will firstly need to find an Australian employer who is willing to sponsor you. Once you have found an employer, they should lodge a sponsorship and nomination for the position they want you to fill. You can then apply for a visa.

For more information got to the Department of Immigration & Citizenship website, temporary visas.

Employer Nomination Scheme & Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme

You can be sponsored by an employer to work permanently in Australia under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) or the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS).

Features of the ENS and RSMS programs are:

• you can apply for either scheme while you are outside Australia or in Australia on a temporary work visa (such as the Temporary Business (subclass 457) visa)
• you may access reduced skill requirements under RSMS for jobs in regional Australia
• regional Australia for RSMS covers all of Australia except Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Perth

For more information got to the Department of Immigration & Citizenship website, permanent visas.