Take Your Career to the Next Level with an Employer-Sponsored Visa

The Employer Nomination Scheme visa is a permanent work visa that is granted to foreign workers who get nominated by Australian patrons. For this visa, there are a number of streams that are available depending on your qualification. 

But for the Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186 visa, you have to be nominated by an eligible sponsor. In this guide, you will learn about the different streams of this visa, its processing time and much more.  

Types of Subclass 186 Visa Stream 

There are two important types of visa streams that you can apply for, and they are:

• Direct Entry Stream 

You can apply for this steam and visa if you meet the skill requirements and have specific experience in your nominated position. Your sponsor can nominate you for job positions on the skilled occupations list. 

• Labour agreement stream 

You will be able to apply for this stream if your sponsor is part of the labour agreements. This stream allows Australian sponsors to bring overseas workers from their company where there are fewer workers in the local market, and other options are not available to you. 

• Temporary residence transition stream 

This is another stream under the Visa Subclass 186. This stream can suit you if you previously possessed a 457 or 482 visa. This stream can help you if you want to live permanently in Australia. 

 

How Can You Receive an Employer Nomination for the Subclass 186 Visa?  

The ways by which you can receive an employer nomination for the subclass 186 visa are as follows:

• You must have an eligible sponsor

In order to apply for this visa, you must have an eligible employer sponsoring you. The employer sponsoring you must meet specific eligibility requirements, and the requirements differ depending on the stream you apply to. 

• You need to have an eligible occupation. 

You are also required to meet the skills assessment criteria and have your profession listed in the skilled occupation list. This way, your sponsor can nominate you for the subclass 186 visa. 

• Your sponsor needs to apply for you. 

If you and your employer do meet the eligibility criteria, your employer needs to make an application to nominate you. The nomination needs to be submitted from the ImmiAccount, and your sponsor also needs to submit a specific application fee.   

• Your sponsor needs to pay the levy fund. 

The Department of Home Affairs will refuse to approve your nomination if your sponsor does not pay the skilling fund fee. The fee can be anywhere from AUD 315 to AUD 2,690. If your sponsor has a turnover of more than AUD 10 million, they might need to pay more. 

Document Checklist for the Employer Nomination Scheme

The 186 Visa Checklist that can provide you required list of documents are as follows:

• A valid passport 
• Character documents 
• Copy of your ID
• Skill assessment if needed 
• Documents that indicate your name change 
• Your qualifications and work experience
• Documents that prove the level of your English language 
• Membership, professional registration documents and licensing 
• Forms such as Form 96 and Form 96a. 

For your partners, you need to provide the following visas: 

• Identification documents 
• Proof of relationship 
• A Marriage certificate 
• Evidence of having good English skills 

For your children who are below 18 and above it, you need to provide the following:

• A birth certificate 
• Identity documents 
• A parent consent form 1229
• Form 47a
• Statutory declaration 
• Evidence that they were supported by you during the last financial year 
• Evidence that they are undergoing a study course 

Documents Checklist for the Employer Regards to the 186 Visa 

If your employer wants to nominate you for this visa, they need to provide the following documents: 

• Contract of employment 
• Evidence of annual salary rate if needed 
• Proof of paid levy fee
• The entire name of your position and the ANZSCO code
• Financial statements
• A proper business organization chart 
• Documents that are related to business activities. 

English Language Requirements for the 186 Visa 

You need to submit evidence that proves your English proficiency for the 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa. You can submit proof of your citizenship, international tests and schooling. 

At this moment, due to Covid, some testing centres are giving you the opportunity to take the test from home. At the current time, such tests are no longer accepted by the concerned authorities in Australia. 

For this visa, you must show evidence that you are at either a competent or functional level in the English language. Your functional English speaking skills for the direct entry stream while you will need a competent English level for the temporary residence stream. 

Functional English for the 186 Visa 

You need to provide one of the following requirements to prove that you can speak functional English.  

• You need to submit evidence that you have a passport from a country that speaks English:

1. Canada 
2. New Zealand 
3. United States of America
4. The United Kingdom 
5. Republic of Ireland 

• You also must show proof that you have completed a degree, higher degree, trade diploma or a diploma from an English institute. 
• You also need to provide proof of education at:

1. A primary and secondary school that commands under English instructions 
2. A secondary school in and out of Australia that instructs with the English language for at least five years 
3. Full-time study for a year from an Australian school with English schools 

• Evidence that a year before you filled the 186 visa form, you received an acceptable score on an English international test:

1. A score of 4.5 in IELTS
2. A score of at least 32 in TOEFL iBT
3. A score of 30 in the PTE Academic 
4. A total score of 147 in CAE. 

Processing Time for the Subclass 186 Visa  

The processing times for every stream of the visa are as follows:

• Direct Entry stream

The 186 Visa processing times are as follows:

1. 75% of the applications are processed in 7 months 
2. 90% of the applications are processed in 12 months 

• Labour agreement stream

1. 75% of the applications are processed in 5 months 
2. 90% of it is processed in 9 months 

• Temporary Residence Transition stream

1. 75% of the applications are processed in 16 months 
2. 90% of them are processed in 25 months. 

How international experience can benefit your career

As with most positive career moves, international experience can boost both your professional and personal development, and when you know your way around international employment markets, you can take your career to the next level.

The following are some of the benefits of international experience for your career:

• Communicating better
• Establishing a global network
• Providing fresh ideas to help you succeed
• Improve your competitiveness
• An opportunity to do something different

Final Words 

The information and requirements that are stated above can help you when you fill up your application form for the Subclass 186 visa. All the requirements, checklist, processing time and all other things are explained in detail.   But even after this, if you have doubts, a migration agent Adelaide can provide you with help in such a case. They are experts having years of experience in helping an international student fulfil their requirements to get visas. They will handle all of your legal aspects and speed up the process of obtaining the visa. 

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