Benefits of Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482)

• Work in Australia for an approved sponsor in a nominated skilled position.
• Available in Short-term, Medium-term, and Labour Agreement streams.
• Pathway to permanent residency (especially via the Medium-term stream).
• Allows dependents (family members) to live, work, and study in Australia.
• Opportunity to travel in and out of Australia freely during the visa period.
• Work for up to 2 years (Short-term) or up to 4 years (Medium-term).
• Helps fill critical skill shortages across various Australian industries.
• No age limit to apply, unlike many permanent visa options.
• Can be renewed onshore depending on the stream.
• Sponsors must be approved employers, ensuring a formal job offer and compliance protections

If you want to migrate to Australia, it is always advisable to consult an expert and seek advice from trusted sources in the immigration industry. With three different visa streams and constant changes that keep happening to the occupation list, the Australian migration process has become more challenging. This is particularly due to increased requirements for the TSS 482 visa. The rules concerning the submission of the GTE genuine temporary entrant certificate and SAF levy have made the process slightly complex. Apart from this, you will also fulfil the non-discriminatory workforce test and several other requirements along with it. Therefore, the visa process can become quite a daunting task. We, at immigration Buddy, have a team of qualified professionals to handle highly complex cases. We have successfully helped several clients across the country and overseas.
 

Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482) Requirements

To be eligible for the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482), applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Sponsorship: You must be nominated by an Australian employer who is an approved sponsor. The sponsor must demonstrate a genuine need for the skilled position.
• Occupation: The job must be on the relevant skilled occupation list (Short-term or Medium-term list), depending on the stream.
• Skills and Experience: You must have at least 2 years of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation (not necessarily continuous).
• Qualifications: While formal qualifications may be required depending on the occupation, relevant work experience is heavily considered.
• English Language Proficiency: Meet the minimum English requirements (e.g., IELTS score of at least 5.0 overall with a minimum of 4.5 in each band for the short-term stream; higher for the medium-term).
• Health and Character: Must meet Australian health and character requirements, including medical exams and police clearance certificates.
• Salary Requirements: The employer must pay a salary that meets the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) and adheres to Australian market rates.
• Labour Market Testing (LMT): In most cases, the employer must prove they have advertised the job locally before offering it to a foreign worker.
• Genuine Temporary Entrant: For the short-term stream, applicants must demonstrate the intention to stay temporarily.

482 Visa Streams

The businesses can now nominate the employee under 3 different streams based on the occupation.

There are three streams in 482 visas:

1. First is the short stream number
2. Then comes the medium stream
3. Third is the labour agreement stream.

Some details of these streams are as follows:

Short Term Stream

• Under the short term scheme the employer can nominate the employee for 2 years or 4 years if an international trade application applies. These occupations are listed on the STSOL list.
• There is no age limit with this visa.
• You will need to have a relevant work experience of 2 years in your designated occupation.
• Your education should align with your occupation.
• In this visa a skill assessment is mandatory. Your skill assessment should be positive for the occupations that you choose.
• One more important thing there is that you have to write a GTE statement. GTE refers to a genuine temporary entrance statement it is similar to a statement of purpose (SOP). The way students write a statement of purpose for their student visa, in a similar manner, you will have to write a genuine temporary entrance statement.
• There are English language requirements to be fulfilled and you will need 5 bands in IELTS and a PTE score of overall 36 points and no less than 30 points.
• Most importantly, you are going to need sponsorship. Sponsorship means that an employer will nominate you for that particular job.
• This visa costs around AUD 1,445.

Medium Term Stream

There is no major difference between short-term and medium-term streams in the 482 Visa Australia. The occupation must be listed on either the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills list (MLTSSL) occupation list or the regional occupation list (ROL).
. Some other important points are:

• You get this visa for 4 years.
• The English requirement for this visa is that for IELTS, you will need at least five bands overall no band less than 5.
• The cost of a medium visa is AUD$3,035.

Labor Agreement Stream

The third stream is the labour agreement stream. Employers who hold a labour agreement can nominate visa applicants under the stream. A visa application can work and live in Australia for up to 4 years, depending on the terms of the agreement. There are various similarities between the medium-term stream and the labour agreement stream.

• The validity period for both the visa streams is 4 years.
• The visa fee for this visa is also Australian dollars 3,035.

One major difference between the two is that there is no specific occupation in labour agreement stream it depends upon the employer which occupation he/she will nominate.
Labour agreements are of four types:

• Designated area migration agreement
• Company specific agreement
• Industries specific agreement
• Project agreement

482 Visa Australia Occupation List:

Different occupation titles have different specializations if you look carefully. Before choosing the desired occupation, make sure that you have relevant experience in that role. Therefore, before choosing the occupation you have to meet the specific education and the work requirements required for the role.
The Australian skilled occupation list summarizes occupations which Australia needs to fill the skill shortage. In order to qualify for a 482 visa in Australia, your occupation must be on this list. The department has now bifurcated the occupations in two three different lists. One of them is short term skilled occupation list (STSOL). The second list is the medium and long term strategic skill list (MLTSSL). And then there is the regional occupation list (ROL).
Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) for subclass 482 Visa
1 construction project manager
2 engineering manager
3 child care centre manager
4 nursing clinical director
5 primary health organization manager
6 welfare centre manager
13 accountant (general)
14 management accountant
15 taxation accountant
16 external auditor
20 economist
21 land economist
24 architect
31 civil engineer
37 electronics engineer
38 industrial engineer
39 mechanical engineer
45 biomedical engineer
46 engineering technologist
47 environmental engineer
53 chemist
72 meteorologist
73 physicist
74 natural and physical science professionals
75 early childhood (pre primary school) teacher
76 secondary school teacher
80 special education teachers
81 university lecturer
88 chiropractor
89 osteopath
90 occupational therapist
91 physiotherapist
100 endocrinologist
104 paediatrician
109 psychiatrist

Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482) Processing Time

The process of filling a medium term visa application is slightly faster than the short term visa stream application. It takes about 21 to 60 days for a short term stream application and a medium term stream takes about a maximum of 50 days to process.
Employer’s Role in 482 Visa Australia (Employer Sponsored Visa)
The company must be operating lawfully in Australia. However, there is no specific time period for how long the company should have been operating.
A few common requirements to be able to nominate and employee are:

• The employer has to prove that there is a genuine need for the role.
• They have to prove that they are not able to find a suitable Australian for the job.
• The company will need a little bit of a financial history to be able to sponsor an employee for this visa. Company should be able to meet its financial requirements.
• You will need to do some labour market testing for the same and will have to advertise for the job.
• The employer will need to pay Australian market salary to the employee.
• The occupation needs to be on the STSOL or MLTSSL list. It could create a problem later on if the occupation that you are nominating is not on the list.

Qualification requirements are education, qualification and work experience. Immigration department will need to see the paperwork that supports all these.
You need to have at least 2 years of relevant work experience in your role.
Step-by-Step Application Process
Most popular visa to work and stay in Australia is a 482 visa. 482 visa is a temporary visa with assist employers in Australia to fill job vacancies with eligible overseas workers currently in Australia on other temporary visas. They can also hire workers directly from overseas where suitably skilled Australian workers cannot be found within the country.
There are three steps in the process for a 482 visa is:

• Sponsorship
• Nomination
• Visa application

Sponsorship

The business has to meet certain obligations imposed by the department on the grant of sponsorship. Some of these are:

• To sponsor an employee the business has to be a legal and a lawful business.
• Business can be in or outside Australia.
• There should be no wrongful information against the business.
• Business should not have any history of a non compliance of Australian laws.
• The TSS 482 visa program should only be used to meet the genuine skill shortages in the country.
• Cooperate with the inspectors from the department.
• Ensure that equal conditions of employment are provided to overseas workers.
• Pay the reasonable or necessary travel expense of the employees and their families upon the departure from Australia and do not recover any cost from the visa applicants for sponsoring or recruiting them.
• If a TSS visa holder changes his employment then the department has to be informed within 60 days of seizing employment.

The department monitors sponsored businesses to ensure that they do not exploit the overseas workers. After being granted the 482 visa sponsorship, the company can then start employing overseas skilled workers. Visa lasts for 5 years. The businesses can again renew their sponsorship 2 months before their previous sponsorship ends. If approved, then the new sponsorship will commence from the date of grant of the newly applied sponsorship.

Nomination

Nomination application is the most difficult step in the whole process that requires the nominating employers to be an approved business sponsor. The following are the points to note here:

• Nominate the employee for a relevant occupation.
• Find in Australian worker pay according to the current salary rate in the market.
• Should be able to show that a genuine position is available.
• Form a written employment contract with the nominee.
• Make sure that you do not create any discrimination in the work practices.
• Employment conditions must be equal for both an Australian worker and an overseas worker.
• The nomination application has to be launched before filing for a visa.
• The applicant should have the nomination already approved at the time of the visa application.

The nominee must start employment within 90 days after receiving the visa. An important thing to note here is that the businesses have the rights to a merits review process in case the sponsorship is refused.
 

Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482) Application Process

This is the final step of the process. The applicants will file the visa application after the nomination is complete. To be able to receive a 482 visa, the applicant needs:

• Registration and licensing to work in Australia.
• Has to get a nomination in a relevant occupation. Therefore, occupations such as lawyers, doctors, plumbers, electricians, etc. require a license to work in Australia.
• The main applicant to have acquired the relevant registration or license before the visa can be granted.
• have the required skills to perform the occupation.
• The experience to perform the occupation. Please note that you need to have a minimum of 2 years of full-time work experience in the occupation.
• The required English language proficiency is a must.
• Satisfy the health requirements.
• Applicants need to get their health insurance done mandatorily during their stay in Australia. If you are in Australia, then you have to comply with the previous visas. This will also be considered for the grant of this visa.
• To meet the character requirements, and must have no debts to the Australian government.

Pathway to Permanent Residency:

482 visa acts as a means to get permanent residency in Australia. If your job is on the medium to long-term list, MTSSL, then you can potentially get permanent residency in the country. If your job is on the STSOL, then it is going to be difficult to get permanent residency.
Previously, in the 457 visa, after working for 2 years in your occupation, you could probably get a permanent residency through a temporary resident transition stream. But, this is not possible with the Employer-Sponsored Visa 482.
Some other options that can lead to PR are skilled nomination visa subclass 190, skilled regional visa subclass 489, and the regional sponsored migration visa subclass 187.
 

Frequently Asked Questions