Employee Sponsorship - Benefits & Details

Contents

• Employee Sponsorship Benefits
• Employee Sponsorship Drawbacks
• Common Types of Sponsorship
  - Visa Subclass 482 – Temporary Skills Shortage Visa
  - Visa Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa
  - Visa Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme Visa
  - Visa Subclass 407 – Training Visa
• Next Steps

Employee Sponsorship Benefits

• Immediate need - Deal with staff shortages to fill in vacancies
• Increased talent pool - Attract skilled workers that may not be available locally
• Retention confidence - Medium to long-term certainty with employee retention as sponsored employees will be obligated to work with the designated employer for a number of years as per visa grant conditions / contract.

Employee Sponsorship Drawbacks

• Cost - In most circumstances employers are legally forbidden to pass on to the visa holder, any costs associated with becoming a sponsor and nominating and sponsoring an applicant. This includes direct visa application cost and indirect cost such as legal / agency fees if you engage assistance
• Extensive application process - It may involve lengthy processing times and delays
• Approval requirements - Some degree of uncertainty on whether a sponsorship or visa application will be successfully approved.

Common Types of Sponsorship

Below we provide a general overview of common visa subclasses that may be suitable for you in sponsoring staff.

Visa Subclass 482 – Temporary Skills Shortage Visa

This visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where employers can't source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.

Generally the worker must have at least 2 years relevant work experience.

This is a temporary visa. There are three streams to the visa subclass 482, each with its own visa length of stay:

• The Short-Term stream – The occupation is on the short-term skilled occupations list. Visa lasts up to 2 years.
• The Medium-Term stream – The occupation is on either the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List or the Regional Occupation List. Visa lasts up to 4 years.
• The Labour Agreement stream – ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The employer has to have a labour agreement with the Australian government in effect. Visa lasts up to 4 years.

You can select the stream that applies to you by referring to the occupation list on the Department of Home Affairs’ website.

There are three stages involved in the application process. The first two relate to the business, and the last stage relates to the employee / visa applicant.

1. Become a Standard Business Sponsor

The employer needs to apply to become an approved Standard Business Sponsor in order to sponsor someone for visa subclass 482 (and visa subclass 494 – discussed below).

To be an approved Standard Business Sponsor, your business must be legally established and currently operating, either in or outside of Australia. For businesses located in Australia, there is an additional requirement to show a strong record or commitment to employing local labour.

Further eligibility criteria are listed here.

Once approved, your business will be an approved Standard Business Sponsor. This sponsorship lasts 5 years starting from the date of approval.

Cost: $420

You may also consider apply for accredited status in order to receive priority for the Department of Home Affairs to process your visa applications.

2. Nominate a Worker

The business then needs to submit a nomination application to nominate a worker.

There are a number of requirements for the nomination to be approved, including but not limited to:

• Prove that you will pay the annual market salary rate (AMSR) or that you are exempt
• Prove that you have fulfilled the labour market testing requirements
• Prove that the position is genuine

Further information on how to nominate a worker is listed here.

Cost: $330 plus $1,800 Skilling Australians Fund levy per year (or $1,200 if the annual business turnover is less than $10 million).

3. Visa Application

The worker can then apply for the visa subclass 482.

After the visa is granted, the worker can commence employment in Australia for the business. The visa lasts up to 2 – 5 years, depending on the visa streams applied for and the worker’s passport status.

Visa Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa

This visa specifically enables regional employers to address identified labour shortages within their region by sponsoring skilled workers where employers can't source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.

For migration purposes, most locations of Australia outside major cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are classified as designated regional areas. You may check whether your business is located in a regional area here.

Of note is that this visa subclass has a broader occupation list than visa subclass 482. However the relevant work experience requirement is longer at 3 years instead of 2 years.

This is a temporary visa. There are three streams to the visa subclass 494 – Employer Sponsored Stream, Labour Agreement Stream and Subsequent Entrant. Visa lasts up to 5 years for all three streams.

The application process is similar to the visa subclass 482 discussed above. For the full process please refer to the Department of Home Affairs’ website.

Cost: One-off Skilling Australians Fund levy of $5,000 (or $3,000 if the annual business turnover is less than $10 million).

Visa Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme Visa

This is a Permanent Residence visa. This visa lets skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, live and work in Australia permanently.

The employer must offer a skilled position that is full time and ongoing for at least 2 years.

Generally the applicant must have at least 3 years relevant work experience. The position must also be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations which may or may not be the same as the occupation lists for the temporary visas.

There are three streams to the visa subclass 186:

• The Temporary Residence Transition stream – This is for employees holding a visa subclass 482 (discussed above) who has worked with the employer full time for at least 3 years.
• The Direct Entry Stream – This is for applicants who have never (or briefly) worked in Australia.
• The Labour Agreement stream - The employer has to have a labour agreement with the Australian government in effect.

Applying for this visa is a two stage process.

1. Nominate a Worker

The business needs to submit a nomination application to nominate a worker.

There are a number of requirements for the nomination to be approved, including but not limited to:

• Show that the employment contract contains terms and conditions that are no less favourable than the conditions that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• Prove that you will pay the annual market salary rate (AMSR) or that you are exempt
• Prove that the position is genuine

Further information on how to nominate a worker is listed here.

Cost: $540 plus $1,800 Skilling Australians Fund levy per year (or $1,200 if the annual business turnover is less than $10 million)

2. Visa Application

The worker can then apply for the visa subclass 186.

After the visa is granted, the visa holder is able to live, work and study in Australia indefinitely.

Visa Subclass 407 – Training Visa

This visa allows the applicant to take part in workplace-based occupational training activities to improve their skills for your job, area of tertiary study, field of expertise or in a professional development training program in Australia.

This is a temporary visa. The visa might be granted for up to 2 years.

There are three stages involved in the application process.

1. Become a Temporary Activities Sponsor

The employer needs to apply to become an approved Temporary Activities Sponsor in order to sponsor someone for visa subclass 407.

To be an approved Temporary Activities Sponsor, your business must be an Australian organisation lawfully established and operating in Australia (other than a sole trader or individual). You must also be able to show you can directly provide training, unless you have an exemption.

Further eligibility criteria here.

Once approved, your business will be an approved Temporary Activities Sponsor. This sponsorship lasts 5 years starting from the date of approval.

Cost: $420

2. Nominate a Position

The business then needs to apply for approval of the nominated training position.

There are a number of requirements for the nomination to be approved, including but not limited to:

• Training program nominated must be either for the purpose of occupational registration, to improve skills, or for overseas capacity building
• Training be in the occupation list
• Training program is a genuine training opportunity
• Training program will not prejudice employment and training opportunities for Australians
• Training program is workplace-based comprising of at least 30 hours a week of training with the majority of training being conducted in the workplace (generally 70% on-the-job and 30% classroom training)
• The nominee must have recent and suitable prior experience for the training.

Further information on how to apply for a nomination is listed here.

Cost: $420

3. Visa Application

Once the nomination is approved, the nominee can then apply for the visa subclass 407.

After the visa is granted, the nominee can commence the training program / temporary activity in Australia for the business.

Next Steps

Dealing with employee sponsorship by yourself can be daunting, as there can be a lot of complexities involved in terms of eligibility and the application process.

If you do decide that sponsoring staff is right for you, we suggest sitting down with your migration lawyer and adviser to go through the sponsorship process in detail so you know what to expect.

If you don't have a trusted lawyer or adviser, please talk with us. Our team at BLG Business Advisers, who are Wollongong Accountants that service right across Australia, can take you through the process and put you in touch with a migration lawyer. We are happy to liaise with your lawyer in order to provide you with the best chances of success.

Whatever you decide we wish you every success!