Employer Sponsored
Immigration to Australia

There are four employer sponsored visas.

Of these, one is available only for international firms moving staff to Australia. If this applies to you, your employer will likely look after everything for you.

If, however, you are not in the fortunate position of having an employer who is relocating to Australia, there are three schemes used by Australian employers which may help you get visa. These are:

Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 121/856
This visa is aimed at getting you sponsorship from an employer who has been unable to fill a highly skilled vacancy from within the current Australian workforce.

The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) allows Australian employers to sponsor people for a permanent visa to work in Australia.

People eligible for sponsorship consist of highly skilled workers from overseas and highly skilled temporary residents currently in Australia.

Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 121/856

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Subclass 119/857
This visa is aimed at getting you residence if you are skilled and willing to live away from Australia's main population centres.

The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) allows employers in regional or low population growth areas of Australia, to sponsor people for a permanent visa to work in Australia.

People eligible for this scheme consist of skilled workers from overseas and skilled temporary residents currently in Australia.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme

Labour Agreements
Labour Agreements are formal arrangements to recruit a number of overseas skilled workers. Both temporary and permanent visas can be granted under the agreement. Agreements are generally effective for two to three years.

Situations where an employer may consider accessing a Labour Agreement include:
occupations that are not on the list of approved occupations for the Temporary Business (Long Stay) Subclass 457 visa, permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme yet a genuine skills shortage exists or occupations are not covered under the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO)
where a business recruits labour for the supply to an unrelated business and/or the hiring of labour to unrelated businesses

Labour Agreements. These allow employers to recruit workers from overseas in response to skill shortages in Australia.