Sydney | Melbourne | Perth | India | UAE

Home  |  About Us  |  Pay Bills  |  Client Portal  |  Contact Us

Home > 186 ENS visa

186 ENS VISA

This visa allows skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, live and work in Australia permanently.

 

Subclass 494 currently houses 3 streams-

  1. Direct Entry Scheme
  2. Labour Agreement Stream
  3. Temporary Residence Transition Stream

 

Refer to the tables below for information on each stream.

Direct Entry Scheme

 
Overview This visa allows skilled workers, who are nominated by an employer, live and work in Australia permanently.
Visa type Permanent 
Cost of application AUD4,045 for the main applicant
Duration of visa Visa recipients can live in Australia indefinitely
Uses of this visa
  • stay in Australia indefinitely
  • work and study in Australia
  • enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
  • sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia
  • travel to and from Australia for 5 years
  • apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible
Eligibility Applicants must meet the following requirements-
  • Occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations.
  • Unless exempt, most applicants need to have at least 3 years relevant work experience in their occupation.
  •  Be licensed, registered or a member of a professional body if it is mandatory in the state or territory you intend to work in.
  • Have a positive skills assessment, unless exempt (see ‘skills assessment exemption’ below for additional information)
  • Be nominated by an Australian employer whose business is actively and lawfully operating and apply for the visa within 6 months of the nomination being approved.
  • Be under 45 years of age, unless exemptions apply (see ‘age exemptions’ below for additional information)
  • Meet the  health requirement
  • Meet the character requirement
  • Have at least Competent English
  • Pay back any debts to the Australian Government
  • Not had a visa cancelled or an application refused when you were in Australia
  • Sign the Australian values statement

Skills assessment exemptions

You are exempt from having a skills assessment if you:

 

  • have been nominated as an academic (university lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level A, B, C, D or E) by a university in Australia, or
  • have been nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical specialist by an Australian government scientific agency, or
  • currently hold a Special Category (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (subclass 461) visa and have worked for the employer who nominated you, in the nominated position, for at least 2 years in the last 3 years prior to the date you applied for the visa.

Age exemptions

You are exempt from the ‘under 45’ criteria if any of the following applies to you:

 

  • you are nominated as an academic (university lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level B, C D or E) by a university in Australia
  • you are nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical (scientific) specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 by an Australian scientific government agency
  • you currently hold a Special Category (subclass 444) or New Zealand citizen’s family member (subclass 461) visa and have worked for the employer who nominated you, in the nominated position, for at least 2 years in the last 3 years immediately before you apply. The 2 years excludes periods of unpaid leave.



Labour Agreement Stream

 
Overview This visa allows skilled workers who are nominated by their employer to live and work in Australia permanently. The Labour Agreement stream is suitable if you currently work, or will work, for an employer who is party to a labour agreement.
Visa type Permanent
Cost of application AUD4,045 for the main applicant AUD2,025 for each dependents over 18 AUD1,010 for each dependent under 18
Duration of visa Visa recipients can live in Australia indefinitely
Uses of this visa
  • stay in Australia indefinitely
  • work and study in Australia
  • enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
  • sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia
  • travel to and from Australia for 5 years
  • apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible
Eligibility Applicants must meet the following requirements-
  • Be nominated
  • If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive 457 or TSS visa issued under a labour agreement.
  • Be working under a labour agreement
  • Be licensed, registered or a member of a professional body if it is mandatory in the state or territory you intend to work in.
  • Be under 45 years of age, unless the labour agreement specifies otherwise
  • Meet the  health requirement
  • Meet the character requirement
  • Pay back any debts to the Australian Government
  • Not had a visa cancelled or an application refused when you were in Australia
  • Sign the Australian values statement

Temporary Residence Transition Stream

Overview This visa allows skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, live and work in Australia permanently.
Visa type Permanent 
Cost of application AUD4,045 
Duration of visa Visa recipients can live in Australia indefinitely
Uses of this visa
  • stay in Australia indefinitely
  • work and study in Australia
  • enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
  • sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia
  • travel to and from Australia for 5 years
  • apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible
Eligibility Applicants must meet the following requirements-
  •  Have the required skills and qualifications needed to perform the tasks of the nominated occupation. You might be asked to get a skills assessment to show you have these skills.
  • Be licensed, registered or a member of a professional body if it is mandatory in the state or territory you intend to work in.
  • Your employer must have sponsored you to work full-time on your subclass 457 or subclass 482 visa for at least 3 of the 4 years prior to nominating you for the subclass 186 visa
  • Be nominated by the employer who sponsored your temporary work visa
  • Be under 45 years of age, unless exempt (see ‘age exemptions’ below for additional information)
  • Meet the  health requirement
  • Meet the character requirement
  • Have at least Competent English
  • Pay back any debts to the Australian Government
  • Not had a visa cancelled or an application refused when you were in Australia
  • Sign the Australian values statement

Age exemptions

You are exempt from the ‘under 45’ criteria if any of the following applies to you:

 

  • you are nominated as an academic (university lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level B, C, D or E) by a university in Australia
  • you are nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 by an Australian scientific government agency
  • as a subclass 457 or TSS visa holder, you have been working in the nominated occupation for the nominating employer for at least the last 3 years, and your earnings were at least as much as the Fair Work High Income Threshold for each year of that period
  • you are a medical practitioner who has worked in your nominated occupation for at least 3 years as a 457 or TSS visa holder, and for 2 of those 3 years were employed in regional Australia, and the position is in regional Australia

 

Transitional arrangements

If you held (or had applied for and were later granted) a subclass 457 visa on 18 April 2017, you can still apply for this visa if you are under 50 when you apply.

Contact us today for expert visa advice!

Book an Appointment