Employer Nomination Scheme (186) visa

The purpose of the ENS (Subclass 186) visa is to allow Australian employers to fill highly skilled positions with suitably qualified migrants. The scheme is designed to assist employers in who are unable to meet their skilled Australian workforce needs from the local labour market. There are two different streams under which an applicant may qualify for an ENS visa.

Temporary Residence Transition Stream

Employer

The business seeking to employ you must:

• still be actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia;
• genuinely need for the visa applicant to continue to work in the nominated position

Position

The position to be filled must be:

• full-time and available for at least 2 years from the date that the ENS visa is granted
• the same as (or very closely related to) the position that you have been employed in as a subclass 457/482 visa holder for the last 2 years
• subject to terms and conditions of employment (including wage/salary) that are no worse than those provided to Australians working in the same position for the same business (or in the same local area, if there are no equivalent positions with the business).

Visa Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must (unless a specific exemption applies):

• have held a subclass 457/482 visa to work in the nominated position (or a very closely related position) for the nominating employer for at least the last 2 years
• have competent English
• be under 50 years of age
• meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements.

Direct Entry Stream

Employer

The business seeking to employ you must:

• be actively and lawfully operating in Australia
• genuinely need for a paid employee to fill the nominated position under its direct control, and have the capacity to employ you in this position for at least 2 years

Position

The position to be filled must be:

• full-time and available for at least 2 years from the date that the ENS visa is granted
• be an occupation included on the current Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Certain occupations on this list will be subject to additional requirements (e.g. salary, type of business operated by employer, nature of position)
• have a salary that is at least AUD 70,000 per year (excluding any non-monetary benefits) AND at least the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for your nominated occupation (the AMSR is the salary that an Australian earns (or would earn) for performing equivalent work on a full-time basis for a year in the same workplace at the same location)
• subject to conditions of employment (other than earnings) that are no worse than those that apply (or would apply) to Australians performing equivalent work in the same location.

Visa Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must (unless a specific exemption applies):

• have competent English
• have your skills assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant skills assessing authority, and have at least 3 years of full-time experience in this occupation
• be under 45 years of age
• meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements.