Subclass 186 Permanent Resident Visa

When a Visa is absolutely & positively important.

The sc186 Visa is a permanent residence visa that is not points-tested.

A NOMINATION FROM AN APPROVED AUSTRALIAN EMPLOYER IS A PREREQUISITE FOR THE sc186 Visa. Only online applications are accepted and may be made onshore or offshore. The visa may be granted wherever the applicant is (excluding detention). Applications involve a two-step process: firstly, a nomination application must be lodged. Secondly – after the department’s system detects a valid nomination application – a visa application may be lodged under one of the 3 streams: Temporary Residence Transition (sc457); Direct Entry or Labour Agreement.

Skills assessment is not required for the sc457 Transition Stream but may be required for the others. Family members can be included in this visa but must be included at the time of the application or in limited circumstance after the application is made but before the department’s decision. This visa has a high processing priority of between 6 and 12 months – more or less, depending on the quality of the application and the issues involved.

Note the criteria differs for each stream but the nominated occupation must be on the Consolidated Skills Occupation List.

Key Requirements

Validly nominated by an Australian employer who is an Standard Business Sponsor
Application is lodged within the six months of the nomination approval
Applicant is under the age of 50 at the time of application, unless you are exempt
Satisfy the English language requirement or eligible for exemption
Evidence the achievement of the required skills and qualifications for the position & hold relevant licensing/registration required.
Applicants in the Temporary Residence Transition stream, completed 2 years of full-time work as a 457 visa holder
Applicants for Direct Entry stream, have positive skill assessment and have 3 years of relevant work experience.
Meet health and character requirements
Apply under the correct stream and meet the additional requirements of the stream in which you apply
Salaries received are at least at the market rates for the nominated occupation and above the prescribed threshold.
Employer satisfies training requirements.
Both employer and employee show commitment to 2 years work in the nominated occupation after the grant.

Key Challenges

Failing to deal with these challenges can lead to refusals & cancellations.

Employer demonstrating that they meet the sponsorship and nomination criteria including ‘market salary’ determination and ‘training benchmark’ payments
Employee demonstrating skills and qualifications for nominated positions including holding mandatory registration, license or professional membership, or achieving a successful skills assessment by the relevant assessing body
Demonstrating relevant work experience
Aligning nominated occupation to the CSOL and ANZSCO job descriptions
Obtaining age exemption for those above 50 years of age
Obtaining English Language threshold level exemption
Meeting Health & Character requirements or obtaining waivers

Tough Cases We Can Help With

New company with no historical records needing foreign workers.
Small company with low turnover requiring foreign skills.
Companies seeking multiple foreign workers for short-term projects.
Nominating the right occupation and the appropriate visa class.
Demonstrating skills and work experience
Dealing with refusals, cancellations or Employer audits.

Temporary Residence Transition Stream

This stream is for sc457 visa holders who have worked for their employer:

for at least the last 2 years* and
the employer offers a permanent position in that same occupation.
and guarantees permanent employment in the occupation for a further 2 years from the visa grant.

*Note the following cannot be counted toward the 2 year requirement:

Employment with a different 457 visa sponsor
Employment while holding a different visa
Employment in a different role other than the one nominated
Non full-time employment – extended leave periods, part-time work and employment beyond 3 years from the date of application are not counted.
Employment under 2 years – therefore you cannot apply before completing the 2 years as this is a time of application criteria.)

The key requirements for this stream include the following:

Valid nomination lodged & approved before the grant of the visa.
Applications made online but applicants can be onshore or offshore.
Onshore applicants hold a substantive visa or BVA, BVB or BVC and cannot have ‘no further application‘ conditions; ans48 bar or any other statutory bar on applying for the visa.
Both nomination and visa application connected
- to the same stream.
- the same position as their current 457 visa; and
- the same position and occupation identified in an associated nomination.
Once a nomination application has been approved, there can be no substitution of the person identified in the nomination.
Visa Application must be made within 6 months of nomination approval.
Employment contract of the visa applicant shows the applicant is being appointed to perform the nominated occupation specifically.
If registration, licensing or professional membership is mandatory in the occupation at time of visa application, then the applicant must hold, or be eligible to hold, the relevant registration, licence or membership.
At time of application, the applicant must have been under 50 years of age or be a person in any of the six classes of persons specified in the 186.221(b) legislative instrument.

Visa Applicant is exempt from the age requirement if:
- they have been working for the nominating employer as the holder of a sc457 visa for at least 4 years immediately prior to applying for the visa; AND
- throughout that 4 year period, their annual earnings have been at least equivalent to the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT) which at 2014-2015 is AUD 133 000.
At time of application, the applicant must have been under 50 years of age or be a person in any of the six classes of persons specified in the 186.221(b) legislative instrument.
If registration, licensing or professional membership is mandatory in the occupation at time of visa application, then the applicant must hold, or be eligible to hold, the relevant registration, licence or membership.
Employment contract of the visa applicant shows the applicant is being appointed to perform the nominated occupation specifically.
Visa Application must be made within 6 months of nomination approval.
Once a nomination application has been approved, there can be no substitution of the person identified in the nomination.
Both nomination and visa application are connected
- to the same stream.
- the same position as their current 457 visa; and
- the same position and occupation identified in an associated nomination.
Onshore applicants hold a substantive visa or BVA, BVB or BVC and cannot have ‘no further application‘ conditions; an s48 bar or any other statutory bar on applying for the visa.
Applications made online but applicants can be onshore or offshore.
Valid nomination lodged & approved before the grant of the visa.
At the time of application, the applicant must have vocational English or have been a person in any of the three classes of persons specified in the 186.222(b) legislative instrument, namely:
- Ministers of Religion nominated by a religious institution
- persons nominated for a position in respect of which their nominated earnings will be at least equivalent to the current ATO top individual income tax rate
- persons who have completed at least 5 years of full-time study in a secondary and/or higher education institution where all the tuition was delivered in English.
No skills assessment applies to the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The visa applicant is taken to have demonstrated their skills in the nominated occupation through having worked as a sc457 visa holder in the nominated occupation for the nominating employer for at least 2 years (not including any period of unpaid leave) in the 3 year period immediately before the ENS nomination application was made.

Government Visa Charges

At May 2015 the following Government Visa Application Charges apply:

Nomination Application Charge: AU$540
Visa Application Charge: AU$3520
Secondary Applicant Charges: AU$1760 (for each adult above 18yrs)
Secondary Applicant Charges: AU$880 (for each applicant under 18 yrs.)
Secondary Visa Application Charge for primary applicant without functional English language ability: AU$8,520.
Secondary Visa Application Charge for each adult dependent without functional English language ability: AU$4,520.

Corporate Rates

We offer special rates to employers.

If you are an employer or a company we offer corporate rates. This is reserved for companies with multiple-employee processing needs. It is best for your company representative to discuss this with us directly.

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