The Australian Government has announced changes that will allow short-term 457 or 482 visa holders to have a pathway to permanent residency in Australia after 2 years. If you have held and worked on a 482 visa for at least 2 years, you can apply from November 25, 2023.

Employers will be able to nominate holders of all Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 Visa, including Short-term and Labour Agreement streams. The nominated person will need to have held their TSS or subclass 457 visa(s) for 2 out of the 3 years before nomination.

Before, only Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 visa holders whose occupations are on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) could apply for an Employer Nomination Scheme (186) visa under the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) pathway after 3 years of full-time employment with the sponsoring employer while on a 457 visa or 482 visa.

Short-term 482 to PR 186

From November 25, 2023, the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream will become available to the majority of 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa holders. It will no longer be restricted to 482 visa holders with occupations listed on the Medium and Long-term Skilled Occupation List. In addition, the required length of employment with your sponsoring employer will be reduced from 3 years to 2 years.

If your occupation is on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL), you will also be eligible to apply for the 186 Temporary Residence Transition after working in Australia for your employer-sponsor with a 482 visa for 2 years.

Medium-term 482 to PR in 2 years

Previously, medium-term occupations required 3 years on a 482 visa to be eligible to apply for permanent residency. When the changes start, all 482 streams can access PR and the work experience requirement will now be reduced to 2 years.

Common medium-term occupations include roles such as Registered Nurse, Diesel Mechanic, Carpenter, and more.

Below we have summarised what the changes mean:

There are a few substantial differences between the medium-term stream and the short-term stream of the TSS 482 visa.

At their core, both streams are part of the same temporary, skilled, employer-sponsored visa in Australia.

Many clients have made questions whether there is a pathway of 482 Visa to Permanent Residency.

Yes, even neither stream has an age requirement, but there is an age requirement for the ENS 186 visa that could be accessed via the Temporary Residence Transition stream if you hold a Visa subclass 482 in the medium-stream. This stream is a pathway to PR from 482 visa.

The key differences of are:

• Length of stay in Australia
• English test scores required
• Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement
• Possibility for “renewal”
• Availability of PR pathway (through ENS 186 visa temporary residence transition stream)

The English “exemptions” are the same for both streams (while the test scores required are different, where an “exemption” is not available).

Have a look at this TSS 482 Occupation List to determine which stream you are in.

There are many Employer Sponsored Visas in Australia, 482 Visa is the most popular amongst those. However, each scenarios will fit in each type of Sponsored Visa. 

Please have a look at all Employer Sponsored Visas in Australia here ! Or Click here for arranging an appointment with our Immigration lawyers !

What determines the stream I am in?

With sponsored and skilled work visas, selecting the correct occupation is essential. If the wrong occupation is used, this can lead to refusal of nomination and/or visa application.

For TSS 482 visa, it is important this occupation is consistently used all the way through Labour Market Testing, nomination application, contract, visa application, work experience, skills assessment (if required).

For the TSS subclass 482 visa, you are in either the medium-term stream or the short-term stream based on your occupation. If your occupation is on the MLTSSL, then you would be in the medium-term stream. If your occupation is on the STSOL, then you would be in the short-term stream. Some occupations are on the regional-occupation list (ROL) , which has some perks of the medium-term stream (4-year visa) with some of the drawbacks of the short-term (not eligible for the 186 PR pathway).