Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visas, or subclass 186 visas, are permanent residency visas for skilled workers. They are available both to applicants who are already living and working in Australia as temporary residents, and to those living outside Australia. To be eligible for this visa, a skilled individual must be nominated by an Australian employer.

With this visa, you can:

• live, work and study in Australia indefinitely

• enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses

• sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia

• travel to and from Australia for 5 years (after that time, you will need a resident return visa or another visa to return to Australia)

• apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible

Eligibility

The following requirements need to be satisfied by the primary visa applicant under both the Direct Entry and Temporary Residence Transition streams. In addition to these requirements, the primary visa applicant needs to satisfy the specific and different requirements that apply to the particular stream that the primary visa applicant is applying under – see below explanation:

• Be nominated: You must be nominated by an Australian employer whose business is actively and lawfully operating in Australia.

• Age: Primary visa applicant must be under 45 years of age at the time that the visa application is lodged. There are only a few allowed exemptions to this age requirement.

• Have relevant work experience: Unless exempt, most applicants need to have at least 3 years relevant work experience in their occupation.

• English: Competent English language ability is required for both the TRT and DE streams. Primary applicants under the Labour Agreement stream must also demonstrate Competent English ability, unless your sponsoring employer/business has a Labour Agreement that provides a lower English requirement.

• Health and character: Primary visa applicant and all members of his or her family unit must satisfy the health and character requirements for the grant of a permanent residency visa.

Important: You will need to find an Australian business to sponsor you before you can proceed with your application. You cannot complete this employer sponsored visa independently without an Australian employer.

There are three possible application pathways for an ENS visa: Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream, Direct Entry (DE) stream, and Labour agreement stream. To apply in the TRT stream, you must be the holder of a subclass 457 visa, a 482 visa, or a bridging visa granted in association with one of these subclasses. 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.

If you do not meet the requirements under the TRT stream (for example, because you have never, or only briefly worked in Australia), the direct entry stream may then be available if your employer has a genuine need for a skilled worker in a permanent and ongoing position. To apply in the DE stream, your 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.

How do I apply for a subclass 186 visa?

You can lodge your visa application once your sponsoring employer has lodged the business nomination application. After you have lodged the application, you upload the supporting documents electronically.

Apply for the visa online in ImmiAccount

1. Log in or create an ImmiAccount.

2. Attach documents.

3. Pay the application charge. We will not process your application until you pay.

4. Note the Transaction Reference Number.

When you have this visa

After five years, if you have been living in Australia for a minimum of two years, you can obtain another five-year multiple re-entry visa online otherwise you will have the option for Australian citizenship.