Visa Details

This is the most commonly used program for employers to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia on a temporary basis. There are also special arrangements for employers in regional areas across Australia.

Employers can be either:

• Australian businesses
• overseas businesses

This visa is for employers who would like to employ overseas workers to fill nominated skilled positions in Australia.

With this visa you can employ overseas workers for a period of between three (3) months and four (4) years.

With this visa those people you employ from overseas can:

• work in Australia for a period of between three (3) months and four (4) years
• bring any eligible secondary applicants with them to Australia – secondary applicants can work and study
• after entering Australia, have no limit on the number of times they travel in and out of Australia

For this visa you will need to be approved as an eligible employer. You will also need:

• an eligible nominated position
• an eligible employee.

The process for obtaining a Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa is summarised in the table below.

Employer

• apply to be a sponsor to recruit overseas workers
• nominate the positions you want to fill
• recruit the overseas workers to fill your nominated positions
• act as a sponsor for your employees applying for a visa
• cooperate with department’s monitoring requirements
• meet costs and other obligations as part of the program

Employee

• accepts the offer of employment from the employer
• applies for a visa
• meets all conditions on their visa

If you are an employer in a regional area in Australia you may be eligible for concessions in meeting the minimum salary and skill level requirements for your nominated position.

The validity period of the:

• sponsorship is 2 years
• nomination is 12 months
• visa is between 3 months and 4 years.

Renewing a visa

If you have an employee who wants to renew their visa or change employers, the employee must lodge a new visa application. The new employer must also lodge a new sponsorship and/or nomination if valid sponsorship or nomination does not already exist.

Medicare levy exemption

The Medicare Levy is a tax paid through the personal tax system in Australia. People granted temporary residence visas may be subject to the Medicare Levy. The Medicare Levy is based on the taxable income of the individual for each income tax year.

If you are from a country that has no reciprocal health care arrangements with Australia, you and your dependents, who have not been entitled to Medicare benefits can seek an exemption from the Medicare levy in your end of financial year income tax return. Your lack of entitlement to Medicare benefits must be certified by the Minister for Health.

If you are from a country with reciprocal health care arrangements with Australia, Medicare assistance is available for immediately necessary treatment. Nationals from reciprocal countries are therefore not exempt from the Medicare levy.

Employer Eligibility

An employer needs to be approved as a sponsor in order to employ skilled workers from overseas. The following requirements must be met for an employer to become a sponsor.

• Lawfully and actively operating business
  The employer must be lawfully operating a business that is actually and actively engaged in business activities.
  Example: A business that exists on paper only (for example a shelf company) is not acceptable. New businesses or business proposals may be considered if there is clear evidence of intention to establish the business.
• Direct employer of the employee
  The sponsor must be the direct employer of the employee. The direct employer is usually responsible for such things as:
  • payment of salaries, PAYG tax instalments, superannuation, conditions of employment, day-to-day supervision of the employee.

For groups of related companies, the direct employer can be related to the approved sponsor. For example, the head company of a corporate group of companies in Australia may be approved as a sponsor while a subsidiary company is the direct employer.

• Good business record and abide by immigration laws To meet this requirement:
  • there must be nothing adverse known about the business
  • if the employer has previously sponsored employees to Australia, they must have a satisfactory record of complying with immigration laws
  • the activities of the business must not be illegal in Australia
• Benefit to Australia The employment of skilled workers from overseas must benefit Australia. For example, the arrangement could:
  • provide employment for Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents
  • expand Australian trade in goods or services
  • improve business links with international markets
  • improve competitiveness within the sectors of the Australian economy
• Advance skills of existing workforce The employer must also demonstrate that their Australian business operations will meet one of the following requirements:
  • introduce, use or create new business skills
  • introduce, use or create new or improved technology
  • have a satisfactory record of, or a demonstrated commitment towards training Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents
• Overseas business sponsors If you are an employer with a business that has no formal operating base or representation in Australia, you may apply to bring employees to Australia to do one of the following:
  • establish a branch or other business activity such as joint ventures, agency distributorships or subsidiary branches in Australia
  • fulfill obligations for a contract or other business activity in Australia

Employee Eligibility

As an employee, you must meet all of the following requirements:

• be sponsored by an employer to fill a nominated position
• have skills, qualifications, experience and an employment background which match those required for the position
• have English language skills equivalent to an average band score of 4.5 across the four test components in an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, or higher where required for licensing/registration/membership. You may also be required to demonstrate these skills through a formal test, unless you have been exempted under the regulations
• be eligible for any relevant licences or registration required for the nominated position
• demonstrate that you are to be paid at least the minimum salary level that applies at the time a decision is made on your visa
• you can apply for this visa while you are in Australia, only if the last visa you held is on the prequalifying list

Health requirements

There are a number of health requirements that must be met by Medical Practitioners and their accompanying family members.

Health examinations for visa applicants outside Australia must be conducted by an approved overseas doctor.

Nomination Eligibility

As an employer, you must lodge a nomination application. The nomination application must provide details of the vacant position and the skills and experience required by the employee who will fill the position.

To nominate a position you must:

• have been approved as a business sponsor
  or
• have already lodged an application to become an approved business sponsor
  or
• lodge an application to become a business sponsor at the same time that you lodge the nomination application.

A nominated position must:

• be full-time
• meet all relevant Australian laws and award conditions
• meet the minimum skills level
• meet the minimum salary level

Obligations

There are a number of obligations that employers must be willing and able to meet. These obligations apply to applications lodged on or after 1 July 2004.

Employer Obligations

The department must be satisfied that the employer is able to meet these sponsorship obligations for both the employee and their accompanying family members.

• Must be responsible for costs: ensure that the cost of return travel for an employee is met, pay all medical or hospital expenses, repay the Australian Government for money it spends as a result of the employee’s stay in Australia.
• Must comply with immigration laws
• Must cooperate with the department
• Must comply with the terms of the nomination
• Must comply with workplace relation laws

Employee Obligations

The employee must notify the department of any change in their circumstances.

If the sponsor ceases the employee’s employment, the employee must do one of the following:

• find another employer who is willing to sponsor them and apply for another visa
• apply for another type of substantive visa
• leave Australia within 28 days unless the employee’s visa expires before that time, in which case the employee must leave Australia prior to visa expiry.

If the visa application for a temporary visa is approved, the following work condition will be applied to the employee.

The employee must not:

• stop working for the employer who sponsored them (that is, become unemployed or change employer)
• work in a different position other than the position that was nominated in the visa application
• work for another person or for themselves while working for the sponsor.

If an employee wishes to change employer, a new sponsorship and visa application will be required.

Fees may be subject to adjustment at any time. Visa Application Charges may be subject to adjustment on 1 July each year. This may increase the cost of a visa.

Subclass 457 – Business (Long Stay) visa

Charge Type	Charge Amount
Visa Application Charge	$250
Nomination Charge	$60
Sponsorship Charge	$285