ENS - 186

Employer nomination

scheme

186.jpg
 

Duration of stay - Permanent

Location at time of lodgement: you can be inside or outside Australia when you apply for the visa. You can be inside or outside Australia when the visa is granted. When applying as a family, applicants can be in different locations.

There are two Employer Nomination Scheme (186) streams:

  1. TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

    TRANSITION Stream

    (TRT)

Main visa criteria

  • You must be nominated by your employer

  • For applications lodged on or after the 25/11/2023: You must hold or have held a 457 or 482 visa for at least two years (with the same sponsor)

  • You have Competent English (at least 6.0 in all parts of IELTS or an equivalent test score)

  • You have been paid at least at the minimum threshold salary (currently at $70,000)*

  • You are under 45 years of age*

    *You are not bound by this requirement if any of the following conditions apply to you:

    1. You receive a nomination as an academic (university lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level B, C, D, or E) from an Australian university.

    2. You receive a nomination as a scientist, researcher, or technical specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 from an Australian scientific government agency.

    3. You are a nominated medical practitioner and have worked in that occupation in a designated regional area of Australia for at least 2 years in the 3 years immediately preceding your application, as a subclass 457 or 482 visa holder. The nominated position must be in a designated regional area of Australia.

    4. As a subclass 457 or 482 visa holder, you have worked in the nominated occupation for the nominating employer for a minimum of 2 years during the 3 years ending immediately before your application. Moreover, your earnings for each year in that period were at least equal to the Fair Work High Income Threshold.

TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS:

If you held (or applied for and later received) a subclass 457 visa on April 18, 2017, you can still submit an application for this visa, provided you are under the age of 50 at the time of application.

During the period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024, legacy subclass 457 visa holders meeting specific criteria can benefit from an age exemption when applying through the TRT stream. To qualify, the visa holder must:

  1. Have held a subclass 457 visa on or after April 18, 2017.

  2. Have resided in Australia for a minimum of one year between February 1, 2020, and December 14, 2021.

  3. Fulfill all other nomination and visa requirements.

2. DIRECT ENTRY (DE)

Stream

If you have a nominating employer you can apply for this visa regardless of the visa you hold (with some exception) and even from offshore. 

Main visa criteria

  • Your occupation must be in the MLTSSL

  • You need to have a positive the skill assessment in your nominated occupation

  • You need to have at least three years post-qualification work experience in your nominated occupation.

  • You must be younger than 45

  • You have Competent English (at least 6.0 in all parts of IELTS or an equivalent test score)

  • You have been paid at least at the minimum threshold salary (currently at $70,000)