A nominating employer must sponsor the Subclass 186 ENS visa (Employer Nomination Scheme visa), which is a visa for permanent residence. To sum up:
- There are three streams available for the 186 visa: Transition, Direct Entry, and 186 Agreement.
- English language requirements are an IELTS (or similar test) score of 6 in each component, and you must hold a job that is listed on the 186 Visa Occupations List.
- Direct Entry stream applicants will have to be at least 45 years old at the time of application. Applicants for the Temporary Residence Transition stream will still be required to be 50 or older at the time of application.
- A range of amendments have been introduced to enhance the integrity of the ENS and RSMS visas, including through requiring the nominated position to be genuine, and removal of the English language and skills exemption for applicants whose nominated earnings would be over $180,000.
The subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) was created to give Australian employers the option of hiring highly competent foreign nationals. The programme is intended to help firms who are unable to find enough qualified Australian workers on the local labour market.
Employer
The company that wants to hire you must:
- be working actively and legally in Australia
- The company must actually need you to work in the designated position under its direct supervision and be able to keep you employed there for at least two years.
Scheme for Employer Nomination (Subclass 186)
What is a Subclass 186 Visa?
- It is a type of permanent residency visa for professionals with an employer nomination.
- Employers from Australia can propose skilled foreign workers for category 186 permanent residence visas under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS).
- A skilled foreign worker must first be nominated by an authorised Australian employer before applying for the visa.
- The location of the applicant at the time of application for this visa is irrelevant. To apply for this visa in Australia, applicants must hold a current visa or a bridging visa A, B, or C.
Position
- The necessary job title must be:
- be available and employed full-time for at least two years following receipt of your
- NOTES: The AMSR (excluding non-monetary benefits) for your designated occupation must also be at least $70,000 annually.
- The AMSR is the annual full-time salary that an Australian would earn for doing similar work at the same place of employment for a year.
- You will not be subject to the AMSR requirement if your yearly salary is more than $250,000.
- be subject to employment conditions that are not less favourable than those that apply to (or would apply to) Australians performing comparable work in the same location, other than pay.
Visa Requester
Unless an exception exists in any situation, you must as the visa applicant:
- have excellent English:
- hold a current passport issued by the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, or New Zealand AND you are a citizen of that nation OR
- a minimum score of 6 on EVERY test component in the IELTS exam OR
- a minimum B-grade on EVERY test component on the OET OR
- a minimum of 12 for hearing, 13 for reading, 21 for writing, and 18 for speaking on the TOEFL iBT OR
- a minimum score of 50 on EVERY exam component on the PTE OR
- a minimum CAE test score of 169 for EVERY test component
186 ENS VISA Applications The Process
Stage 1: Nominating Application
Your employer has submitted this application on your behalf to the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) in order to ensure that the skilled position you have been offered satisfies the requirements stated above. Depending on the particulars of the business, your employer may be required to submit a variety of documents to the DOHA in support of this application.
Note: The visa application must be submitted within six months of the nomination being approved if the nomination has already been accepted by the time the visa application is submitted.
Stage 2: Visa application
The DOHA receives your visa application either simultaneously with the nomination application or six months after the DOHA approves the nomination. You must meet the aforementioned criteria, as well as the usual health and character standards. You will be given a permanent subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme visa after the DOHA has approved both applications. When your visa is approved, you could be inside of Australia or somewhere else.