Employer Nomination Scheme

This visa program assists employers located anywhere in Australia sponsor highly skilled workers on a permanent basis to work in their business. At a minimum, employers must be willing to offer potential overseas workers a position that is full-time, ongoing and available for at least three years. The employees can be either: 

• highly skilled workers from overseas
• highly skilled temporary residents currently in Australia who hold a qualifying visa

As a starting point, it is important to understand that employers may only sponsor overseas workers into a selected number of occupations. It is important that prior to commencing the application process employers check that the occupation they wish to fill appears on the Employer Nomination Scheme Skilled Occupation List.

Members are encouraged to visit the official homepage of the Employer Nomination Scheme which contains some important background reading about the process, eligibility requirements and your obligations.

Once employers and visa holders are satisfied they meet the eligibility requirements they should commence preparing their applications using the following checklists:

Step 1: Employer Nomination Checklist
Step 2: Visa Application Checklist

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship undertakes to process these applications within 5 - 8 months. If employers require the workers onshore more quickly, both the employer and visa applicant could also consider lodging 457 applications which have shorter processing timeframes.