Employer Sponsored Visa

There are a number of visa subclasses available for employers who want to sponsor an overseas worker in their business. The type of visa subclass depends on the location of the worker as well as their experience and occupation.

Generally applying for an employer sponsored visa is broken up into three-stages.

Standard Business Sponsorship Application

Before a business can go out and sponsor foreign worker under an employer sponsored visa scheme, they have to first get approval from the Department of Home Affairs to be a ‘Standard Business Sponsor’.  When applying for sponsorship approval the Australian company must demonstrate to the Department of Home Affairs, amongst other requirements, that they are in a sound financial position and have the capacity to meet their sponsorship obligations.

Nomination Application

Once a company has applied to be approved as a sponsor, they are then able to nominate a position to be filled by a foreign worker. This is referred to as nomination application.  In order for the nomination to be approved, the Australian company must be prepared to pay the foreign worker a salary that is above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold and in line with the Annual Market Salary Rate (ie what an Australian in the same position would expect to receive in renumeration).
‍
For several employer sponsored visas, unless an international trade obligation applies to the prospective nominee the nominator or sponsor must undergo what is known as Labour Market Testing. This is essentially showing that they had advertised the job and made it available to the local labour market before committing to sponsor the nominee.

Visa Application
‍
The third stage is to apply for the visa itself. This part of the application is focused on the nominee or visa applicant. Depending on the applicant’s location, occupation, salary, and experience it may be necessary to provide a skills assessment and evidence of English proficiency.