TSS Visa Subclass 482

Australian businesses can nominate overseas workers to fulfil skills shortages in their business. The occupation nominated has to be on the Temporary Skill Shortage List (TSS) list of occupations. This can either be on the Medium and Long-term Strategic List (MLTSSL) or the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL).

The Short-term stream includes the following criteria:

• Under the Short-Term Occupation List (STOL), a visa of up to 2 years can be granted. If you are in Australia a further two years can be applied for only once, when the first two years is nearing expiry.
• There is no option to apply for Permanent Residency
• Periods of up to four years for occupations on the STSOL (short term skilled occupation list) are available where requested by the sponsor and the visa holder is from a country with which Australia has an international trade obligation. This includes, Canada, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Chili, Mexico and Vietnam.
• Hong Kong passport holders may stay up to 5 years.

The Medium-term stream includes the following criteria:

• Under the Medium-and Long-Term Occupation List (MLTSSL), a visa of up to 4 years can be granted. This visa can be renewed prior to it expiring.
• Hong Kong passport holders may stay up to 5 years.
• The visa applicant can apply for a Permanent Residence Visa, subclass 186 after three years provided the visa holder has been employed with the same employer while holding a 482 visa in the same occupation over that 3-year period.

How This Visa Works:

There are 3 steps which are as follows:

• Step 1: The employer has to apply to become an approved business sponsor;
• Step 2: The employer must nominate an occupation in their business to be approved from the 482 List of Occupations and identify in the application who the visa applicant will be;
• Step 3: The visa applicant must meet certain requirements for the approval of the visa, such as English fluency, work experience, skills, health and character to meet the requirements of the nominated occupation;

Step 1: Sponsorship

The employer needs to apply for approval as a Standard Business Sponsor. This involves presenting documents to demonstrate that they are an operating business, such as financial statements, marketing material, company registration, organizational chart and other identifying details about the company.

Business sponsorship is valid for five years and the business can nominate as many people as it wants to sponsor during this period. A business that is operating for less than 12 months or an overseas business can also be approved for five years.

Companies have certain obligations when sponsoring overseas employees and they can be monitored by the Department of Home Affairs at any time to ensure that they are meeting their sponsorship obligations.

Step 2: Nomination

The position that the company requires the overseas applicant to work in has to be selected from the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) or the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Each occupation on this list is coded according to the Australia and NZ Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO). In addition to this, caveats now apply to specified occupations.These either relate to, for example, work experience, salary, business turnover, nature of business, regional location and some being occupation specific.

Employers must pay the Australian market salary rate and meet the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold requirements. A Government Gazette notice states the minimum salary payable under this visa category, which at present is AUD$53,900 plus 9.5% superannuation. The market rate is at least as much as an Australian citizen or permanent resident employed in the same position in the same location would be paid.

To satisfy the Home Affairs that there are no local Australians available with the required skills who want to work in this position, the employer must undertake labour market testing (advertising the role) for all occupations. Labour Market testing is mandatory unless an international obligation applies.

Labour Market Testing is required to be undertaken within the 4 months of the nomination being lodged as follows:

3 adverts need to be placed:

(a) on the Workforce Australia website – this is mandatory; and

(b) at least other 2 advertisements as follows:

• Recruitment websites with national reach in Australia;
• print media with a national reach in Australia;
• radio with a national reach in Australia;
• if an accredited sponsor— on the sponsor’s website.

Step 3: Visa

The visa applicant is required to have a minimum of two years of full-time post-qualification work experience in the nominated occupation.

The applicant must present evidence to demonstrate they have sufficient skills – acquired through recognized qualifications, training or experience in order to meet the requirements of the position.

There is also an English language requirement that needs to be met If the applicant is not from a country where English is the first language – such as UK, Ireland, USA, Canada and NZ. They must achieve an overall score of 5 (with no less than 4.5 in each of the four bands) on the IELTS or equivalent accredited test, such as PTE, in the three years prior to lodging the application if the occupation is on the Short-Term list.

If the occupation is on the MLTSSL list the visa applicant has to score at least 5 in each of the 4 bands of IELTS, or equivalent accredited test, such as PTE, in the three years prior to lodging the application.

If a visa holder already has a 457 or 482 visa, they can transfer the remainder of the term left on the visa to a new business sponsor. If a visa applicant chooses to change employers without changing his/her occupation a new nomination has to be approved. If a visa applicant chooses to change employers and his/her occupation, then a new nomination and visa application has to be applied for.