Earlier this year, the Australian Government flagged changes to pathways for transitioning from 482 visas to permanent residency through the Temporary Resident Transition Scheme.
Changes to the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) pathways to permanent residency are due to take effect from 25th November 2023. What exactly are those changes, and what do they mean for employer sponsors and visa holders?
There will no longer be any limit on the number of Short-term stream visa applications visa holders can make in Australia. Currently, existing short-term stream 482 visa holders have to travel outside of Australia to lodge a third short-term stream 482 application. This change will reduce interruptions to both the applicant and the visa holder, and reduce the costs incurred by having to leave the currently for the purpose of lodging a visa.
482 to PR expanded
The changes announced also affect who can apply for the Temporary Residence Transition Stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186 visa). From 25th November, all three streams of the 482 visa will be eligible to be nominated for a 186 visa by their employer. Whereas currently, those on the medium-term stream can be nominated for a 186 visa via the TRT stream, this will change to include 482 visa holders on the Short-term stream and the Labour Agreement stream.
This will enable employers who have been employing short-term stream 482 visa holders to plan longer-term as their short-term stream visa holders will have a pathway to permanent residency they did not have before.
TRT Stream: skilled occupation lists to go
Currently, the short-term stream, medium-term stream and regional skilled occupation lists determine who can be nominated for permanent residency through the TRT stream. The TRT stream is being expanded to all 482 visa streams. As a result, while the nominated occupation will need to be on feature in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), whether or not it appears on the skilled occupation lists will not matter.
Qualifying Time for TRT reduced
At the moment, sponsored 482 visa holders have to work in their sponsored occupation for 3 years before they can be nominated by their employer for a 186 visa via the TRT stream. Its expected that from 25th November, this will reduce to 2 years when an employer can nominate them. This expedites the temporary skill shortage visa holder’s journey to permanent residency.
This move forms part of the Commonwealth’s Migration Program. “While Australia is building the domestic pipeline of highly skilled workers, the permanent Migration Program will help: build resilience [and] boost productivity”.
We are expecting further details to emerge so stay tuned.
Contact: greg@abmgroup.com.au
Migration Agent Registration Number (MARN): 0959139
