Benefits of Employer Nomination Scheme Visa (Subclass 186)

• There are a number of benefits associated with this visa. Some of these are listed below:
• This visa allows you to live, work and stay in Australia for an indefinite period of time.
• With this visa you will have complete access to Medicare to take care of your health expenses.
• You can also apply for Australian citizenship with the help of this visa.
• In case your relatives wish to travel to Australia then this visa allows you to sponsor them provided they meet the eligibility criteria.
• For a period of five years from the visa grant date, you can travel to and from Australia multiple times if you hold a 186 visa.
   

Employer Nomination Scheme Visa (Subclass 186) Requirements

• In order to be able to apply for a visa, an eligible employer who operates legally in Australia must nominate the applicants. In this nomination, the employer will have to mention the details of the appointment or position offered. Along with this, the employer should also identify the nominee.
• The applicant must be under 50 years of age to be able to apply for this visa unless they are exempt from the age requirement.
• You must submit your visa application within a period of 6 months of your receiving the nomination.
• You should have the required qualification, skills and experience for the position nominated by your employer.
• Proof of English language proficiency is a must for an applicant unless exempt from it.
• The applicant must satisfy the health and character checks. Medical examination certificates as well as Police clearance certificates that demonstrate no criminal records are necessary for specific time periods.
• You must meet the specific requirements of the visa subclass stream that you are applying for.

186 visa Australia Streams

The Employer nomination scheme has three streams which are as follows:

• Direct Entry stream

In this stream the employer will nominate you for a 186 visa provided you are working full time for a minimum of three years in that role. With this visa, you can directly move from your home country to Australia. Eventually this visa will act as a pathway to getting a permanent residency in Australia.

• Temporary residence Transition stream

The employer will nominate you for a job that is mentioned on the list of skilled occupations. This can be applied only if you hold a valid bridging visa. After you successfully transition through the visa application process, you will receive a permanent residency in Australia.

• Labour Agreement Stream

This visa is for the employers who are having a labour agreement with the Australian government. Your employer will nominate you for one of the occupations mentioned in the skilled occupations list in Australia. With the help of this visa you can enjoy a permanent residency in Australia.

Cost & Fees

The nomination application fee is $540.
The 186 visa application fee is $4,770 for the primary applicant. For an adult dependent, the fee is $2,385 and if the dependent is a child, then the fee is $1,190.

• Apart from this, the 186 Visa Skilling Australian fund (SAF) levy  is to be paid by the businesses for nomination.
• Other potential costs which are involved are Skill assessment charges, English Proficiency tests, Health examination fee, Police checks etc may be applicable and will vary for individual cases.

Eligibility criteria for nominating employers

• The employer must be legally and actively operating in Australia.
• You must genuinely be in the need of filling a skilled position full time for at least 2 years.
• The employer must be following the Australian immigration laws and workplace laws.
• Employer should be offering salary as per industry norms.
• The employer must make sure that there is no information mismatch regarding you and your business.
• You must meet the criteria of the stream under which you are nominating the employee, i.e. Temporary residence Transition, Direct entry, etc.

The role of an employer in 186 Visa (Employer Sponsored Visa)

The role of an employer varies depending upon the type of stream of the subclass 186.

1. The employer will nominates you for a Direct Entry Visa stream if you have been working full time for a minimum of three years in a specific role. This type of visa is you will need for acquiring a permanent residency. It allows you to move directly move from your home country to Australia.
2. If your occupation is mentioned in the skilled occupations list then the employer nominates you to work for him in a specific role as per your occupation. This happens in case of a Temporary Residence Transition Stream visa. There are more than 200 occupations mentioned in the skilled occupations list.
3. Employers should have a labour agreement with the government to be able nominate an employee via Labour Agreement stream.

Apart from the above mentioned points, there are some generalized points that all employers should pay attention to. These are:

• The employer has to ensure that business is actively and lawfully operating in Australia. No misleading information should be there about the business as well as the ones running it.
• Employer should be able to demonstrate that a skilled worker is genuinely needed for his business. The employer should be able to provide a full time position to the employee for a minimum of two years.
• The market salary offered by the employer should be justified and in accordance with the market trend.
• Employer must follow all the immigration laws and workplace laws.
• A onetime charge known as the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy must be paid to the Australian government.
• The employer has to ensure that position is available for a minimum of two years.
   

Employer Nomination Scheme Visa (Subclass 186) Processing Time

The processing time may vary depending upon the type of Employer Nomination Scheme. There are three streams that come under this scheme. These are as follows:

• Direct Entry Stream: This stream targets those skilled workers who have no work experience in Australia. The visa processing time is approximately 6-8 months.
• Labour Agreement: In this stream, the worker is nominated by the employer who is under an agreement with the government. The processing time for this type of visa stream depends upon the complexity of the agreement.
• Temporary residence transition: This targets those individuals who have been already employed by their nominating employer in Australia for at least three years before being offered a permanent position. Processing time is approximately 6 to 8 months for this visa.

Employer Nomination Scheme Visa (Subclass 186) Application Process

The process for applying for the Employment Nomination Scheme Visa in Australia might seem simple at first but it requires attention to the fine details. Although initiating an application online on the Department of Home affairs website will seem easy but hiring a qualified immigration agent will reduce a lot of your work.

To be able to apply for a visa you will need to meet certain requirements:

• Your occupation should be mandatorily on the Medium and Long term Strategic Skills list (MLTSSL).
• An eligible employer in Australia should nominate you.
• Your IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score should be 6.0 or higher.
• Your age should be under 45 years at the time of filling the application.
• You should possess health and a good character certificate.
• At least three years of a full time work experience is required in your nominated occupation.
• A skill assessment is of utmost importance before applying for a Subclass 186 Visa.

Steps to apply for an ENS Visa

• Gathering Documentation

First step is that you will need to gather all the required documents. This will demonstrate that you are eligible for this visa category.

• Getting a  Nomination

Next step is to find an eligible Australian employer who agrees to nominate you to work for his business. This is very important if you want that your visa application is successful in the first attempt.

• Online Filing of Application

You can start filling your visa application form online. Make sure that you fill the application form correctly. If you feel that the technical language of the form is too difficult to understand then you can always hire a professionally qualified agent to help.

• Fee payment

After the form filling process is complete, you will then pay the visa application fee online. This is a non refundable amount.
 

Frequently Asked Questions