So many recent wins for employer sponsorship! As an employer, can I sponsor my employee for PR? Free self-assessment, worth saving!

The May immigration reform meeting marked the beginning of a golden era for employer sponsorship.

Unlike previous articles, today I will analyse and answer the following questions from an employer’s perspective:

• What has changed in employer sponsorship policy?
• What does this mean for me and my company?
• Can I also sponsor my employees to get PR?
• What conditions must my business meet in order to provide sponsorship?
• What obligations and costs come with sponsoring an employee?

The answers are all in this article.

01. What has happened with employer sponsorship? Three wins

1. All occupations on the short-term list can now pursue the 186 PR pathway after applying for the 482.
2. After holding a 482 and continuing to work for 2 years, you can apply for the 186 PR — previously this required 3 years.
3. 482 processing times have sped up significantly; nomination approvals within 2 weeks are now very common, and some are even approved instantly.

For example, a common role like marketing specialist used to be on the short-term list, so it could only access the 482 temporary visa and could not continue on to the 186 permanent residency. From now on it has a PR pathway, and you only need to work for the employer for 2 years to be eligible! There are many similar occupations, including finance, HR, design, chef, and more — this means you can sponsor employees in far more role categories to obtain PR.

02. I have an employee who needs sponsorship — can my company do it?

The qualification requirements for sponsoring an employee may not be as high as many people imagine. There are only two basic requirements: the company must be a legal entity registered in Australia, and it must have business activity.

Obtaining sponsorship qualification is the first step of a 482 sponsorship; the application is made in the company’s name and is valid for 5 years, during which it can be used to sponsor different employees.

The second step is the nomination stage. At this stage, the nomination must be reasonable. For an existing employee, the nomination requirements are very likely to be met — provided the supporting documentation is done properly, nominations are generally not a problem. For a newly created position, the company needs to provide some supporting evidence for the genuineness of the role and for its financial capacity.

One important note: certain nominated positions have specific requirements. For example, to nominate an accountant, the company must have 5 or more employees, an annual turnover of more than AUD 1 million, and the role must genuinely be at accountant level. Another example: a company sponsoring a restaurant manager cannot operate takeaway only, and the employee’s duties must be at management level. We call these requirements caveats, but not every nominated position has them, so they need to be confirmed specifically before nominating. Feel free to contact us for an assessment.

The third stage of the 482 employer sponsorship is the visa application itself. At this stage, the employee only needs to meet the 482 visa application requirements themselves. These include 2 years of work experience and an IELTS score of 5, or an equivalent language result (such as PTE 36). Worth noting: the 482 does not require a related qualification or a skills assessment (only a small number of trade occupations require a skills assessment), and combined with the low English requirement and no age limit, the visa conditions are very easy to satisfy!

The 482 is a 2–4 year work visa that allows the employee to work full-time, but it is not yet PR.

03. After sponsoring the 482, how do you help the employee get PR?

After the 482 is granted, the conditions for the employer to sponsor the employee for the 186 PR include:

1. The employee must be under 45 years of age
2. IELTS 6 across all four components, or an equivalent language result
3. Continue working for the employer for 2 years. The 2 years of work experience during the 482 must be maintained in the nominated position, and the employee must not change employers midway. If they do change employers, they must restart the 2-year accumulation for the 186 transfer, and the departing employee must secure a new sponsor’s nomination within 90 days — otherwise the 482 visa is at risk of being cancelled.

Can I skip the 482 and help my employee apply directly for the 186 PR in one step?

Yes, you can! If the employee has more than three years of work experience, a skills assessment for the nominated occupation, and IELTS 6 across all four components or an equivalent level of English, you can nominate them directly for the 186 PR! Going direct will significantly shorten the time the employee has to wait for PR.

However, compared to the pathway of transitioning to the 186 after 2 years on the 482 (the TRT stream), the one-step 186 PR (DE stream) comes with some additional restrictions. First, not every occupation can apply directly for the 186 permanent residency — for example, finance, HR, and design mentioned above; second, the employee generally needs a related qualification and must pass the skills assessment.

Overall, if the conditions for the one-step 186 are met, that is usually the preferred option; otherwise, the employee can first apply for the 482 and then apply for the 186 PR later on.

04. When my company sponsors an employee, what obligations do I have?

As the sponsoring entity, the obligations mainly include promptly notifying the Department of Home Affairs of changes to company information and to the

employment status of the sponsored employee, not engaging in discriminatory hiring, paying the fees required for sponsorship and nomination, and cooperating with the Department of Home Affairs’ monitoring activities.

Overall, as long as the sponsorship is compliant and reasonable, the employer does not need to worry about taking on excessive obligations.

05. How much does it cost to sponsor an employee?

Before 1 July 2023, for sponsoring an employee on a 482 visa, the fees the employer needs to bear are as follows (not including the secondary applicants’ visa fees):

Before 1 July 2023, for sponsoring an employee on a 186 visa, the fees the employer needs to bear are as follows:

06. I am willing to sponsor and my employee meets the conditions — how do we start?

My employee meets the conditions — how do I get started with the sponsorship?

If applying for the 482, the steps are as follows:

1. Assess the sponsorship qualification. If you need to sponsor a 482, you must first apply for sponsorship qualification.
2. Prepare the documentation and employment contract, and lodge the nomination application. Some sponsored persons who do not hold a Chinese passport need to complete labour market testing — if this is required it needs to be prepared in advance.
3. The employee lodges the visa application.

If applying for the 186, the sponsorship qualification stage is not required — you can go straight to nomination and visa application.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. My financial situation is only average, or not very good — does that mean I cannot sponsor?

This requires a case-by-case analysis. If losses during specific periods are in line with industry characteristics or are otherwise reasonable, there is still a chance to continue with the sponsorship.

Q2. My company has fewer than 5 employees, or its turnover does not reach AUD 1 million — can I still sponsor my employee?

Not every nominated position is subject to these caveat requirements; each case needs specific analysis.

Q3. Is there a specific required ratio of PR to TR employees in my company?

This depends on the industry and the actual circumstances of the company; there is no strict requirement.

Q4. My employee has not worked for me before and gained their experience elsewhere — can I still sponsor them?

Yes, you can. Before applying for the 482 or the 186, it does not matter where the work experience was accumulated. However, during the 482-to-186 transition, if going via the TRT stream, the employee must continue working for the 482 sponsoring employer.

Q5. How much salary do I need to pay the employee?

This is determined by the market — it must be around the average salary for that role in that region. At the same time, for applications lodged before 1 July 2023, the minimum cannot be lower than 53,900; for applications lodged on or after 1 July 2023, the minimum cannot be lower than 70,000.

Q6. The employee wants to include their family members in the application — is that possible?

No problem.

Q7. The employee has a refusal history — can they still apply for employer sponsorship?

Generally speaking, a refusal history will not directly cause a 482 refusal. However, a refusal history may affect whether the employer sponsorship visa can be lodged onshore in Australia — please contact us for a detailed assessment.

In fact, employer sponsorship is not as difficult for either the employer or the employee as many people imagine. With 2 years of work experience and working under a legal and compliant employer — or finding such a job — the chances of being able to apply for a 482 are quite reasonable.

At the same time, compared with the 189/190/491, the employer sponsorship application process is more complex and detailed, and the documentation varies more from person to person.

Also, for an applicant, exploring the possibility of employer sponsorship does not affect their ongoing efforts toward the 189 / state nomination pathways.

Some case studies of approved sponsorship qualifications and nominations

For your reference!