The 482 visa lets an approved Australian employer sponsor you for up to 4 years, with your family included and a permanent residence route after 2 years. In 30 minutes, a MARA-registered migration agent checks which stream your job and salary fit before your employer lodges anything.
A consultation with The Migration checks your job offer against all three streams, so you and your employer start with the right one.
It gives you up to 4 years of sponsored work, your family by your side and a set route to permanent residence.
Your stay matches the period your employer nominates, up to 4 years. Hong Kong passport holders can stay up to 5 years. You can leave and re-enter Australia as often as you like while the visa is valid.
Your partner and dependent children can be included. They can live, study and work in Australia. Anyone left out can apply later as a subsequent entrant.
Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement holders can all move to the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa.
Another approved sponsor can nominate you for the same occupation, usually without a new visa application. You start with them once that nomination is approved. The trade-off is that you work only for your sponsor in your nominated job, and for most people heading to permanent residence it is a fair one.
Your stream depends on your occupation and the salary your employer offers. Family members who were not in the first application have a fourth option: the Subsequent Entrant Stream.
For skilled workers in an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL).
This is the main route for most sponsored workers, covering trades, technical roles and professionals. Your employer must advertise the job in Australia first, unless an exemption applies.
For senior professionals and specialists on a high salary.
This stream is based on salary, not an occupation list. Most occupations qualify, except trades, machinery operators, drivers and labourers.
For workers whose employer has a labour agreement with the Australian Government.
The agreement sets its own occupations, salary, English and experience rules. It is common in aged care, agriculture, hospitality and regional industries.
For family members joining a 482 or 457 visa holder or applicant.
Family members cannot be added to a 482 application after it is lodged. If they were left out, they apply separately here and join the main visa holder in Australia.
Costs are for the main applicant (as at 2 November 2026). Processing times are for 50% to 90% of applications, updated 2 November 2026.
The short version: if your salary meets the Specialist Skills threshold and your job is not a trade or labouring role, start with Specialist Skills. If not, check the CSOL. If your job is on neither, ask whether your employer holds a labour agreement. The Migration's guide to skilled occupation lists explains how the CSOL works.
Most 482 delays and refusals start with the nomination, not with the worker. Each of these has a fix when it is caught before lodgement.
You must earn what an Australian in the same role at that workplace earns, and at least the income threshold. Check the market rate evidence before the contract is signed.
Core Skills nominations need labour market testing, with ads that meet set rules on timing and content. Ads that are too old mean starting again.
Home Affairs compares your contract duties with the occupation description, and some occupations carry caveats.
An employer must not pass the levy on to you, and paying for a sponsorship is against the law. Get advice before you agree to anything like this.
A MARA-registered agent (MARN 2518738) can review the job offer, salary and occupation before your employer lodges the nomination.
You need six things in place before you apply. These are the core Home Affairs criteria (as at 2 November 2026).
Your employer must be an approved sponsor, or have a labour agreement, and must nominate you for the position. You need the nomination reference number when you apply.
Your occupation and salary must fit your stream, as shown on the cards above. The thresholds apply to nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, under the Home Affairs salary requirements.
The experience must be in your occupation or a closely related field, gained in the last 5 years. Part-time work counts if it adds up to 12 months full-time.
For IELTS tests taken on or after 13 September 2025, that means at least 5.0 in each of the four parts. The test must be less than 3 years old. Passport holders from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland are exempt. Labour agreements can set different rules.
Some occupations and passport holders must start a skills assessment before applying, or the application is invalid. Home Affairs lists them on its Core Skills stream page.
You and your family must meet the health and character requirements, and keep adequate health insurance for your whole stay.
There is no age limit for the 482 visa itself. Each stream page above lists the documents and steps.
The visa charge is AUD 4,015 for the main applicant in every stream, according to the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator (as at 2 November 2026).
Applying from inside Australia while holding a temporary visa can add a further AUD 700 charge. Budget for skills assessment, English test, health check and police certificate costs as well. Charges usually rise each 1 July.
Your employer pays separate charges to Home Affairs, set out on its cost of sponsoring page (as at 2 November 2026):
| Employer charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Becoming an approved sponsor | AUD 420 |
| Each nomination | AUD 330 |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy, turnover under AUD 10 million | AUD 1,200 per year of the nomination |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy, turnover of AUD 10 million or more | AUD 1,800 per year of the nomination |
The levy is payable in full when the nomination is lodged. Employers new to sponsorship can follow The Migration's guide on how to sponsor an overseas worker.
Most 482 visas take 2 to 10 months from lodgement, depending on the stream. Each stream card above shows its visa time. Your employer's applications come first, and these are the Home Affairs global processing times for them, updated 2 November 2026.
Specialist Skills is the fastest visa stream. A nomination with clear salary and advertising evidence avoids the most common requests for more information.
After 2 years of sponsored work, your employer can nominate you for the Subclass 186 visa through the Temporary Residence Transition stream. These are the Home Affairs rules as at 2 November 2026:
You need 2 years of full-time sponsored work on a 457 or 482 visa within the 3 years before you apply. Time with different sponsors, and in any occupation you were approved for, can count.
The employer nominating you for the 186 must be the last one that sponsored you on your 482.
The 186 has an age limit even though the 482 does not. Exemptions exist, including for some high earners.
For the 186, this has no passport exemption.
Home Affairs is deciding Transition stream applications in 22 to 24 months (50% to 90%, updated 2 November 2026), so plan the 186 from your first year on the 482.
The Migration is a MARA-registered practice (MARN 2518738, verifiable on the MARA public register) with more than 7 years in Australian migration.
The team checks your occupation, duties and salary against all three streams, then explains which one fits and why.
Salary evidence, job ads and the position description are checked with your employer, so the nomination and visa match.
Sponsorship, levy and record-keeping duties are explained in plain terms before the business signs up.
The team maps your 2-year timeline, age and English against the 186 rules, so permanent residence is a planned next step.
No agent can guarantee a nomination approval or a visa grant. What The Migration offers is a clear assessment of where you stand and a well-prepared application.
No. The Temporary Skill Shortage visa was replaced by the Skills in Demand visa on 7 December 2024. It kept the subclass number 482, but the short-term and medium-term streams no longer exist. People who already held a TSS visa keep it until it ends.
No. Every 482 visa needs an Australian employer to nominate the position first. Workers without a sponsor usually look at skilled visas such as the Subclass 189, 190 or 491 instead. The Migration Guide on migrating without a job offer compares the options.
You have up to 180 days from your last day of work to find a new approved sponsor, be granted a different visa or leave Australia. Your employer must tell Home Affairs within 28 days. The Migration's guide on losing your job on a 482 visa covers each option.
Not as an extension. To keep working for the same employer, your employer lodges a new nomination, and you apply for a new 482 visa. If you are eligible, the Subclass 186 is usually the better next step.
A child usually counts as a dependant if they are under 23, not married, engaged or in a de facto relationship, and, from age 18, rely on you financially. A child aged 23 or older can be included if a disability stops them from working and they rely on you.
Bring your job offer, your CV and any English or skills assessment results. In one consultation, a MARA-registered agent (MARN 2518738) tells you which stream fits, what your employer needs to prepare and what the whole process will cost. Fees are quoted upfront, and everything you share stays confidential.
Hiring from overseas? Employers can book the same consultation to check sponsorship and nomination before they lodge.
Leave your details and we’ll call you back.
Our team will call you soon.
