The Department of Home Affairs · is “More Willing” to Approve

Employer-sponsored migration currently holds one of the highest processing priorities among all “skilled” visa subclasses.

For example, the Department of Home Affairs has specifically noted that they are actively working to improve processing speeds for the Subclass 186/187,and applicants who have been waiting a long time (over 12 months) will be asked to reconfirm employer details, position information, and whether documents such as police clearances and medicals have expired.

For example, the official processing time benchmarks for the Subclass 482 are:

-Subclass 482 nominations: of applications approved last month, 75% were completed within 62 days, and 25% within a single day!

-Subclass 482 long-list occupation visa processing: of applications approved last month, 75% were completed within 3 months

Compare that to the Subclass 190/491/189 — and that’s not even counting whether invitations are issued and how long you’d wait for one

As the pandemic recovery phase has progressed, employer-sponsored migration — particularly the onshore Subclass 482 — has seen processing speeds continuously accelerate. Sponsorship approvals and nominations for the Subclass 482 onshore typically receive an outcome within 6 months, with some receiving decisions in as little as 2 months. The visa itself is also fast compared to other work visas, with processing within around 3 months being very common.

Some recent

employer-sponsored migration success stories from the Newstars team

Accountant Subclass 482 granted with spouse,lodged before Christmas last year, visa granted in under 2 months!

Accountant Subclass 186 nomination approved,went through 2 rounds of additional document requests and still received approval within 6 months!

Accountant Subclass 482 granted,lodged in July last year, nomination approved in August, visa granted in December

Marketing Specialist Subclass 482 granted,lodged mid-last year, nomination received in October, visa in hand in under a month!

Marketing Specialist,lodged mid-2021, nomination approved in October of the same year!

Technical Sales Representatives,nomination and visa lodged in March last year, nomination received in mid-October this year, and just today — less than a week later — the visa was granted!

Chef Subclass 482,visa granted in two business days!

IT Business Analyst Subclass 186 — a family of three all successfully granted,offshore applicants!

Employers During the Pandemic Recovery Period· More Willing to Sponsor

After the pandemic, industries across Australia have allfaced serious labour shortages, with staffing shortfalls widespread, and employers more willing than ever to provide sponsorship,so it’s well worth raising the topic with your employer.

The Reasonableness of an Employer Sponsoring Your Occupation

A company must not only meet the most basic sponsorship requirements (genuinely offering the nominated position, having a sound operating history, healthy financial standing, and a reasonable organisational structure).

It also needs toconsider the reasonableness of providing sponsorship, including but not limited to: whether the company’s core business is related to the nominated position; whether the position is newly created or existing; whether the company’s finances allow for nomination; the ratio of Australian citizens and permanent residents to temporary visa holders within the company; and whether the company has any adverse record with the Department of Home Affairsand so on.

Applicants · More Qualified + More Willing to Choose

In some respects, compared to the increasingly competitive state nomination pathway and the Subclass 189 that rarely issues invitations, the pressure of applying for employer-sponsored migration may actually be comparatively less than for the Subclass 189/190/491.

For popular fields like IT and accounting,

under the intense competition for the Subclass 189/190, even though relevant work experience may not be a hard requirement,it is widely regarded as a strong points-boosting advantage for most state nominations, so compared to a few years ago, moreinternational graduates now have relevant work experience, accumulating it while waiting for an invitation,and without realising it, they have been gradually meeting the requirements for employer-sponsored migration.

If you work in a trade occupation such as chef or automotive mechanic,

many occupations require relevant work experience to pass the skills assessment, so transitioning to employer-sponsored migration can serve two purposes at once,and the English language requirements for employer-sponsored migration are comparatively lower than for the traditional Subclass 189/190/491 skilled migration pathway.

English Language Requirements:For the Subclass 189/190/491, the mantra is “secure sevens, aim for eights” — the conservative threshold is four sevens in IELTS, with everyone striving for four eights.For employer-sponsored migration, the Subclass 482 for short-list occupations requires an overall band score of no less than 5 and no individual component below 4.5; the Subclass 482 for medium-and-long-list occupations requires no less than 5 overall and no individual component below 5. The basic requirement to transition from the Subclass 482 to the Subclass 186 is four 6s.

Most Occupations Do Not Require a Skills Assessment:For the majority of occupations, a skills assessment is not mandatory, applicants simply need to demonstrate sufficient skills, for example through their relevant qualifications and work experience. For certain occupations and nationalities, the Subclass 482 does require a skills assessment, which must be completed before the visa is lodged — for example, Chinese nationals applying for a chef position

Additionally, the many visa policy relaxations Australia introduced from late last year have made it even more beneficial for applicants to accumulate work experience,with the Subclass 485 work visa for coursework master’s graduates extended from a minimum of 2 years to 3 years; and temporary residents onshore with employment can apply for a free 6- or 12-month Subclass 408 visa, both with full work rights.

Qualifications and the Position

Applicants must hold qualifications relevant to the nominated occupation. ANZSCO sets the baseline requirements for each occupation in Australia and New Zealand, and applicants’ qualifications must meet the requirements specified under ANZSCO. For example, accounting generally requires a bachelor’s degree or above, while some trade occupations require a Certificate III or above.

Relevant Work Experience Requirements for Applicants:

-Subclass 407 requires 1 year of work experience (if you accumulate two years of relevant work experience while waiting for your visa to be granted, you can transition directly to the Subclass 482)

-Subclass 482 requires two years of work experience

-Subclass 186 requires 3 years of work experience