Skilled work 457 and 482 visa holders can apply for Australia Permanent residency with age exemption from July 2022

Under new legislation to commence on 1 July 2022, certain temporary skilled work visa holders may be eligible for permanent residency in Australia by applying for a subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa.

These include some ‘legacy’ skilled 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa holders, who are ineligible to meet the age requirement under the employer sponsored 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition stream (TRT stream).

Under this measure, an exemption from the age requirement for specified persons (referred to as ‘legacy 457 workers’) applies if the below requirements are met.

‘Legacy 457 worker’ means a person who, for an employer sponsored 186 visa application:

• held a subclass 457 visa on or after 18 April 2017; and
• was in Australia for at least 12 months between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021

This means that this cohort is not required to be less than 45 years old at time of application for an employer sponsored permanent residency 186 visa in the TRT stream.

This is exceptional news for skilled work 457 and 482 visa holders who have not had the option to apply for Australian permanent residency until now.

3rd Australian skilled 482 work visa available for those accessing the new PR pathway

For everyone who has been closely following the permanent residency updates from Immigration over the past couple of weeks, well we have great news as Immigration is at it again with another positive legislative change as summarized below.

If the following applies to you:

• You are a skilled work 482 Visa holder who has changed employers AND
• You have insufficient time remaining on your visa to reach 3 years with your current employer AND
• You meet the residency requirement having been in Australia for at least 12 months between 01/02/20 – 14/12/21 on a 482 visa

You are now able to apply for a third skilled work 482 visa onshore in Australia. 

This is excellent news as the above skilled work 482 visa holders will have a clear pathway to permanent residency under the legislative changes announced on 18/03/22.

Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass Visa 186 General Requirements

Employer Nomination Visa 186 is a permanent resident skilled work visa with which you can live and work here in Australia.

The 186 visa is a permanent residency visa that requires the sponsorship of a nominating Australian employer/business.

There are three Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass Visa 186 visa streams:

• Direct Entry stream
• Temporary Residence Transition stream
• Labour Agreement stream

Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass Visa 186 General Requirements

• You should have the occupation included in the list of eligible skilled occupations.
• You should have a minimum of 3 years of experience in a job.
• You should have a positive skills assessment to apply for the Direct Entry Stream.
• For the Temporary Residence Transition Stream, you should have held a skilled work visa 482.
• For the Labour Agreement Stream, you must be under a Labour Agreement with your employer.
• Your nomination must be given by an Australian employer who has an active and operating business.
• You must also fulfill the health and character conditions.

If you are a skilled work 457 and 482 visa holder and you want to assess your eligibility for Australian permanent residency, book your FREE 20 Minute Discovery call to talk to our registered migration specialists about your 186 nomination and visa questions.

VISA LOUNGE AUSTRALIA is a boutique Australian migration firm, providing the highest standard of service, advice and assistance on visa and migration matters.

We excel in migration planning and strategy.

Document preparation can potentially begin now for your 3rd 482 visa and Australian Permanent Residency application using the new pathway available to skilled work 457 and 482 visa holders, please call our office directly or email info@visalounge.com.au