Over the past two years, with the continued downturn in skilled migration, more and more skilled migration applicants have had to choose onshore visa renewals in Australia to buy more time while waiting for an invitation. Others choose to accumulate further work experience to apply for an employer-sponsored visa, taking a longer route to PR. While this approach extends the migration timeline, it has to be acknowledged that it is the most effective way of dealing with the current landscape — even if you can’t reach the destination in a single step, you are making steady, step-by-step progress.

The importance of migration to Australia’s development goes without saying. The Prime Minister, the Minister for Immigration and State Premiers have all emphasised on many occasions that since the start of this financial year, signs of a gradual recovery in the migration landscape have become visible. For many people, what they really need is more time. Today we’ll talk about a perfect transition visa — the 407 Training Visa — which can both buy you more time and let you accumulate 482 employer-sponsored work experience. And of course, it won’t stop you from waiting for state nomination or even a 189.

The 407 visa in brief

Let’s first introduce what the 407 visa is. The 407 is a Training Visa — a training-category, temporary visa valid for up to 2 years. The visa was originally designed to allow applicants to undertake workplace-based training in Australia to improve their professional skills.

The 407 visa has many advantages

01 Wide occupation coverage: Although the 407, like traditional employer-sponsored visas, has its own occupation list and only occupations on that list can apply, the 407 list is long and comprehensive, covering hundreds of occupations — essentially any occupation you can think of can apply. For example, accounting, engineering, IT, healthcare, trades and more.

02 Paid on-the-job training: The training is conducted on the basis of actual work, so it can be full-time and paid. It comfortably outperforms renewal options such as a student visa, 408 pandemic visa or tourist visa.

03 No mandatory skills assessment: No occupation requires a skills assessment.

04 Secondary applicants allowed: If your spouse and children are in Australia, you can include them in the application.

05 Long validity: Valid for up to two years — the ones we are currently obtaining are all 2 years, which is more than enough time whether you’re waiting for an invitation or accumulating 482 work experience.

06 Work experience counts towards a 482 employer-sponsored visa: In the worst case, if the skilled migration landscape continues to be weak, applicants can use their 407 work experience to apply for the 482, then — after accumulating enough work experience — apply for the 186 to obtain PR.

07 Low cost: Unlike traditional employer-sponsored visas such as the 482 or 186, which require thousands or even tens of thousands of AUD in levies and visa fees, the 407’s third-party costs are only a little over AUD 1,000. Extremely affordable.

08 No special industry restrictions: Unlike the 482 employer-sponsored visa, which imposes restrictions on turnover, employee numbers and salary for certain industries, the 407 visa imposes no such limits.

There are many more advantages to the 407, which we won’t list one by one here. Next, let’s talk about the basic requirements for applying for a 407.

For the applicant: one year of relevant work / study

– In the two years prior to lodging the 407 application, you must have at least one year of full-time work experience or study relevant to the nominated occupation. Relevant work experience of no less than 20 hours per week can also be used on a pro-rata basis.

– IELTS 4.5 (or equivalent English test score)

– No health or character issues

For the employer: a training plan

– Apply to become an approved temporary activities sponsor: the basic requirements for sponsorship include being a lawfully operating Australian business, with no adverse information, and the ability to directly provide workplace-based training.

– Apply for and be granted an approved nomination: the nominated occupation must be on the 407 occupation list.

– A reasonable training plan; a genuine and reasonable nominated position; and the financial capacity to provide sponsorship, etc.

Ready to start preparing?

If I currently hold a relevant job, can I start preparing now?

First, although the 407 is only a training-category visa of up to 2 years, the application process is almost identical to that of the traditional 482 employer-sponsored visa. Sponsorship application, nomination application and visa application — not one can be skipped — and there is the additional, relatively time-consuming task of drafting a training plan. We therefore recommend assessing your case early and, if feasible and necessary, making the relevant adjustments as soon as possible.

Second, although the threshold in terms of company size is lower than for the 482, that does not mean there is no threshold. We usually recommend that applicants or employers come to us in advance for a basic eligibility assessment. We have encountered many clients who excitedly tell us their employer is willing to sponsor them for a 407 visa and want to lodge it immediately because their current visa is about to expire. But once we see the employer’s financial statements and staff list, we find that the financial position is poor and there is no qualified mentor to provide training. Pushing ahead with a lodgement would only result in refusal, forcing them to apply for other visas instead.

Although the 407 visa does not have a direct PR pathway (unlike the 482-to-186 route), it dovetails well with a range of migration pathways and does not stop you from continuing to wait for an invitation or accumulate points.