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The Australian job market is open to immigrants, and employers often sponsor overseas workers to the country. But for some visas like the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa Subclass 482, employers need to test the local job market first. Before appointing an overseas worker to a certain job role, the employer needs to prove that there’s a skill shortage for that particular post in Australia.
The increased scrutiny in the case of employer nomination visas has increased as a result of the adverse effect of Covid-19 on the economy. It is done to protect Australian workers and ensure that they have access to various job opportunities. The visas applicable for sponsoring overseas workers to Australia include Subclass 186 Visa, Subclass 482, and Subclass 494.
Migration services in Perth can be of help if you want to know about sponsorship visas in detail. An employer needs to follow certain steps to sponsor an overseas worker on any temporary visa. This article will give you an idea about the different phases of sponsoring an overseas worker to Australia.
Without any more delays, jump into the article and read the steps discussed below:
1. Business Getting Approved as a Sponsor
Before an employer can sponsor a worker to Australia, the employer’s business needs to be approved. The various requirements for getting your business approved are as follows:
• Trade and operations: The business needs to trade and operate in the present. But there’s no minimum time for the business to run.
• Size, scale, and revenue: Usually, the business does not need to be of a particular size.
A fixed requirement for profit or turnover is also not present. The only requirement is that the business needs to be able to bear expenses related to sponsoring overseas workers.
Therefore, any sustainable business can get the approval to sponsor overseas workers. After receiving the approval, a business will be able to keep sponsoring workers for the upcoming five years.
2. Approval of the Offered Position
Getting approval for the business is not enough. The position that the employer is willing to offer to an overseas worker also needs to be approved. The requirements for position approval are as follows:
• Eligibility: The offered position has to be relevant to the overseas worker’s qualifications and experience.
• Labour Market Testing: The employer needs to prove that no Australian permanent resident or citizen can fill up the job vacancy. Therefore, the employer needs to conduct Labour Market Testing. The process revolves around employers posting job advertisements for a short period while following immigration specifications.
• Salary: The offered salary package has to meet the standard rate established by the Department of Immigration. The average market rates also need to be kept in mind while determining the salary.
• Skilling Australian Fund: Employers need to contribute to the Skilling Australian Fund. The fund helps in the skill development of Australians with various initiatives. The amount employers need to pay depends on the turnover of the business. The proposed period of the worker’s visa also influences the amount to be paid.
• Location: The location of the employers also decides which sponsorship visas are accessible by them. For instance, only employers outside Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney can access the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa 494.
3. Approval of the Sponsorship Visa
The last step revolves around employees making the visa application. Employees need to meet individual visa requirements so that their application gets approved. The common requirements for sponsorship visa approval are as follows:
• Skill fulfillment: The employees need to prove that they have the necessary skills required for the job role. It can be confirmed with the help of educational qualifications.
• Work experience: The employees also need to show proof of work experience in the role for which they are receiving sponsorship. An employee needs to have full-time work experience of at least two years in the position they are applying for. Proof of two years of work experience is vital in the case of a TSS 482 Visa. The requirement is three years if an employee is applying for visa subclass 494.
• Skills Assessment: Employees applying for the subclass 494 visa need to sit for a Skills Assessment in the nominated occupation and obtain positive results.
• English language requirements: Employees that don’t belong to an English-speaking country need to provide proof of English language proficiency. They will have to sit for any English language test and achieve the minimum score. This requirement helps in ensuring that the employees will be able to work efficiently in Australia with their knowledge of the English language.
• Health requirements: Any employee willing to shift to Australia on a sponsorship visa needs to undergo certain health checkups. The medical checkup is done to ensure that the immigrants won’t become a threat to the public health of the Australian community.
• Character requirements. Any employee willing to shift to Australia on a sponsorship visa also needs to undergo police verification. They are eligible to enter the country only when the police offer a character certificate and declare them safe for the country.
• Inclusion of family: Some sponsorship visas enable employees to include their family members on the application. The family members usually include spouses and dependent children.
After the sponsorship visa gets approved, an employee can only work in the business and role that has been approved. They can continue working until the visa expires.
Special Criteria of the Visa Subclass 186
The Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186 is a permanent Australian visa. Employers can nominate overseas employees with this visa after the employees work for three years. Employers can also nominate employees through the Direct Entry Stream. However, only employees with occupations listed under Medium and Long Term Skills Shortage can apply for visa subclass 186.
Cost of Sponsoring an Employee
The various costs involved in sponsoring an employee to Australia are as follows:
• Application Costs: The employer needs to pay the fees for becoming an approved sponsor. An employer also needs to pay the fees for nominating employees. The employer must bear all the costs and cannot transfer them to the visa applicant or their family members.
• Skilling Australians Fund Levy: As discussed above, employers also need to pay for this particular fund. The levy costs cannot be transferred to the applicant. The ultimate purpose of this fund is to make employees contribute to the skill development of Australians.
• No benefits for visa sponsorship: An employer cannot ask for money from an employee to sponsor them for their visa application. It is also illegal for the employee to pay an employer for sponsorship. It might lead to visa cancellation, visa refusal, fines, and even imprisonment for the exchange of money to gain or provide sponsorship.
Wrapping Up
The various steps for successfully sponsoring an overseas employee have been discussed. You can seek consultation from a Migration Agent in Perth if you want more advice regarding visa sponsorship. The migration agent should be trustworthy and reputed and guide you in the right direction.
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