Permanent ResidencyThrough Your Employer

Yes. Becoming an approved Standard Business Sponsor is part of the process. If your employer is not already approved, we prepare and lodge the sponsorship application before or alongside the nomination. The employer must meet the sponsorship requirements, including being a lawfully operating business with no adverse compliance history.

We handle the sponsorship application as part of the overall 186 engagement so there is no additional complexity for you or your employer.

Not necessarily. The age limit of 45 applies at the time the nomination is lodged, not when the visa is granted. There are also a number of exemptions that may apply, including for academics, scientists, researchers, technical specialists, and people earning above a certain income threshold.

We assess whether any exemption applies to your situation as part of the free eligibility consultation. Do not assume you are ineligible based on age alone before speaking with us.

The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is the minimum annual earnings that must be offered to the nominated worker. As of July 2024, the TSMIT is $70,000 per year before tax.

For the 186 nomination to be approved, the position must offer at least the TSMIT or the annual market salary rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. If the salary offered is below the threshold, the nomination will be refused regardless of how well-prepared the rest of the application is.

Yes. Your spouse or de facto partner and any dependent children can be included as secondary applicants in your 186 application. If granted, they will also receive permanent residency and be entitled to work and study in Australia without restriction.

All secondary applicants must also satisfy health and character requirements. Government fees apply per applicant. We can provide a detailed fee breakdown during the consultation.

Generally, a formal skills assessment is not required for the TRT stream. The logic is that your time working for the nominating employer on a 482/457 visa already demonstrates your skills are genuine and relevant.

However, certain occupations may still require a skills assessment even under the TRT stream, and there are situations where providing one voluntarily strengthens the application. We advise on this during the eligibility assessment.

Processing times vary significantly depending on the stream and the Department's current workload. TRT stream applications have recently taken between 6 and 12 months. Direct Entry applications can take longer, sometimes 12 to 18 months or more.

The Department does not provide priority processing for the 186. The best thing you can do to avoid delays is ensure your application is complete, accurate and well-documented at lodgement, which is exactly what we focus on.

No. The Direct Entry stream requires your occupation to be on the MLTSSL. If your occupation does not appear on that list, Direct Entry is not available to you.

However, if your employer holds a Labour Agreement that covers your occupation, the Labour Agreement stream may be an option. It is also worth checking whether your occupation is eligible under the TRT stream if you have been sponsored by the same employer under a 482 or 457 visa.

The employer must demonstrate that the position is genuine, that the terms of employment are at or above market rate, and that the nominated occupation matches the role being offered. Supporting documents typically include an organisation chart, payroll records, financial statements, the employment contract, and a detailed position description.

We provide your employer's HR team with a clear checklist and work through the documentation with them. Most employers find the process straightforward when we are guiding it.

Once a valid 186 application has been lodged, you receive what is known as a bridging visa. If your 482 visa expires before the 186 is granted, the bridging visa allows you to remain in Australia and continue working for your sponsoring employer.

The bridging visa conditions generally mirror those of your substantive visa. It is important that the 186 application is lodged before your 482 expires to ensure continuity of status. We monitor the timing carefully for every client.

Yes. Once the 186 visa is granted it is a permanent visa and you are free to work for any employer in any occupation in Australia. You are not tied to the nominating employer after the visa is granted.

The nominated position must be genuine at the time of the application, but there is no ongoing obligation to remain with that employer once permanent residency is obtained.

The minimum requirement is Vocational English, which generally means a minimum IELTS overall score of 5.0 with no band below 5.0 (or the equivalent in PTE, TOEFL, Cambridge or OET).

Citizens of the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Republic of Ireland are exempt from the English requirement. There is also an exemption if you have completed a minimum 5 years of study in English in certain countries. We can advise which exemption, if any, applies to you.

Yes. The 186 visa is a permanent visa and counts towards the residence requirements for Australian citizenship. Generally, you can apply for citizenship after 4 years of residence in Australia, including at least 1 year as a permanent resident.

The citizenship application is a separate process handled by the Department of Home Affairs. We can provide general guidance on timing and eligibility, though citizenship applications fall outside our standard migration work.

Yes, with an important caveat. The 186 visa includes an initial travel facility that allows unlimited travel for 5 years from the date of grant. After that period you can still enter Australia as a permanent resident, but re-entering as a permanent resident requires a valid Resident Return Visa (RRV) or Australian citizenship.

We brief every client on this at the time of grant so there are no surprises when the initial travel facility expires.

Requests for further information (sometimes called a Section 56 request or a PIC request) are relatively common, particularly where the Department wants clarification on an aspect of the employment arrangement or the nominated occupation.

We handle all communication with the Department on your behalf and prepare thorough, well-reasoned responses to any such requests. A prompt and comprehensive response significantly improves the chances of a positive outcome. You do not need to do anything except provide us with the underlying information we request from you.

The Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) is for employers and workers in metropolitan and regional Australia generally. The Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) was specifically for employers and workers in regional and low population growth areas.

The Subclass 187 visa was closed to new applications on 16 November 2019. Workers and employers previously using the 187 pathway now use the 186 visa or the Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional) and then 191 (Permanent Residence Regional) pathway instead.

Government fees for the 186 visa change each July. As a guide, the base application charge for the primary applicant is approximately $4,640 (as at July 2024). Additional applicants over 18 pay a secondary applicant charge of approximately $2,315 each, and additional applicants under 18 pay approximately $1,155 each.

There is also a Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy payable by the employer at the nomination stage. The SAF levy is $3,000 for small businesses (turnover below $10 million) and $5,000 for all other businesses. These government fees are separate from our professional fees.

If the nomination or visa application is refused, the options depend on the reason for refusal and whether it applies to the nomination, the visa, or both. In many cases there is a right to seek review at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), formerly the Migration and Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The review timeframe is typically 21 to 28 days from the date of the refusal notice. Acting quickly is critical. If you receive a refusal, contact us immediately so we can assess your options. If the refusal was due to an error on our part, our No Visa No Fee policy applies.

Yes, an employer can withdraw a nomination. If this happens while the visa application is still being assessed, it is likely to result in the visa application being refused as there is no valid nomination supporting it.

This is an unfortunate but real risk in employer-sponsored migration. We encourage open communication between employers and employees throughout the process, and we can flag early if we see any indicators that the nomination may be at risk. If you are concerned about your employer's commitment, speak with us as early as possible.

Our professional fees depend on the stream, the complexity of your occupation, whether skills assessments are required, and the number of applicants in the application. We provide a written fee agreement before any work begins so there are no surprises.

We are transparent about what government fees and third-party costs (skills assessment fees, health examination charges, police certificate fees) will apply on top of our professional fees. The best way to get an accurate quote for your specific situation is to book a free consultation.

Yes. Up until early January 2026, sponsors for the Subclass 186 visa did not need to maintain their status as a Standard Business Sponsor. However, moving forward, applicants for the Subclass 186 visa will be required to demonstrate that they were employed by a Standard Business Sponsor holder during their eligibility period (the two years the applicant held a Subclass 482 visa).