Australian Immigration

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Australian Visa Options

Anyone who wants to visit, live or work in Australia who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident will need to be issued with Australian visa from the Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC).

Australian immigration visas can be issued to an individual visa applicant allowing them to enter Australia for a specific period of time or in conjunction with an employer who has sponsored an employee.

For the purpose of being able to live and work in Australia and undertake the employment opportunities listed on this website, the most appropriate visas for individuals will be a Working Holiday Visa or a Work and Holiday Visa; whereas when an employer is seeking to sponsor and employ staff from abroad either a temporary or permanent employer sponsored migration visa will be required.

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Australian Visa Overview – Employer Sponsored

To address skill shortages in Australia, it is becoming increasingly common and more widely accepted for Australian businesses and companies to recruit staff internationally, where there is a shortage from within the local labour market.

Our immigration partners have established themselves as market leaders in this area by providing specialised advice and assistance to Australian based employers with temporary and permanent visa options for prospective staff.
This advice and assistance allows employers to attract, recruit and retain skilled employees, addressing skilled shortages, facilitating growth, and securing long term employees.

Our Immigration partners can assist you by informing you of the DIAC requirements that must be met in order to be eligible to sponsor staff from overseas.  We can also help your candidate apply for the relevant visa.
If your business is unable to meet its skills needs from within the local labour market, you may be eligible to employ and sponsor staff from overseas on either a temporary or permanent basis.

Many people are surprised at how easy this process is when they receive professional guidance and assistance with the application process.

There are a number of options available for your prospective overseas employee which are categorised under two headings.

1. Sponsoring a Temporary Overseas Employee

   The most common visa application is a subclass 457 visa, which is where an employer is unable to meet its skill needs from within the local labour market.  In this case an eligible employer can sponsor an employee to work for up to 4 years on a temporary basis.  At the end of the visa period, the visa applicant would need to either depart Australia, apply for another temporary visa, or the employee may be eligible to apply for permanent residency through an Employer Sponsored Category.
   
   An eligible employer is one who has been granted Standard Business Sponsorship approval.  This sponsorship approval allows employers to sponsor a specified number of temporary business entrants within a two year period or until the maximum number of temporary business entrants specified on the application has been reached.
   
   To find out more information regarding a temporary employer sponsored visa please enquire today useing the form provided.
   
   Please note, this information is designed to give the reader an overview of the visa application process and it is recommended that you seek independent advice from a Registered Migration Agent prior to making any Australian visa application.
   
   

2. Employer Sponsored Migration

   The two most common visas under employer sponsored migration are:
   
   Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS)
   This visa category has been designed for Australian employers to recruit permanent, highly skilled staff from abroad or people currently in Australia on a temporary visa, when they have been unable to fill a vacancy from within the local labour market or through their own internal training programs.
   
   There are two stages to the application process, the first being where the employer lodges a nomination application DIAC, whilst the second is where the prospective employee applies for the visa.
   
   An employer can take part in this scheme if their business is in any part of Australia, including those areas eligible under the Regional Skilled Migration Scheme.   Once again, all employers located throughout South Australia, including Adelaide are eligible for this visa category.
   
   Visa applications under the ENS must be nominated by an Australian employer.  This nomination must by approved by DIAC; before the visa can be granted.  In addition, the visa applicant is also required to demonstrate that they have the relevant skills, qualifications and work experience to carry out the nominated occupation and to meet other mandatory requirements.
   
   Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
   This visa category has been designed to assist employers in regional or low population growth areas of Australia, who are unable to meet the skills needs and fill skilled vacancies from within the local labour market. It assists those employers who need to recruit and employ highly skilled staff from overseas or people who are currently in Australia as the holder of a temporary visa.
   
   An employer can take part in this scheme if their business is in any part of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wollongong, Perth, the Gold Coast and Newcastle.  All employers located in South Australia, including Adelaide are eligible for this scheme.
   
   This is a 3 stage application process where initially the nomination or job/employment vacancy must be certified by a Regional Certifying Body.  After this initial stage the nomination is forwarded to DIAC for approval.  Once the second stage has been successfully assessed by DIAC, the nominee or prospective employees visa application is assessed.  It is at this stage where the visa applicant is required to demonstrate that they have the relevant skills, qualifications and work experience to carry out the nominated occupation and to meet other mandatory requirements.
   
   To find out more information regarding a permanent employer sponsored visa please enquire today useing the form provided.
   
   Please note, this information is designed to give the reader an overview of the visa application process and it is recommended that you seek independent advice from a Registered Migration Agent prior to making any Australian visa application.

Australian Visa Overview – Individual Applicants

If you are the holder of an eligible passport you may be entitled to apply for a working holiday or a work and holiday visa.  These visas allow visa holders to travel to and live and work in Australia for a prescribed period of time.  There are limitations on who can be issued a visa as well as how long the visa will be granted for in addition to how long you will be able to work for the one employer.  In certain circumstances visas can be extended for an additional stay in Australia or changed to either a temporary or permanent employer sponsored visa.

This type of visa does not require any employer sponsorship.

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Working Holiday Visa

This visa is for people who are interested in a working holiday for a period of up to 12 months in Australia and who are aged between the ages of 18 to 30 years.

This visa allows working holiday visa holders to supplement the cost of their holiday in Australia through short-term employment periods of up to 6 months with the one employer.  

Working holiday visa holders who have worked in a specified industry in regional Australia for a minimum of three months, may be eligible to apply for a second working holiday visa.

To be eligible for a working holiday visa you must hold a passport for one of the following countries or region that participle with Australia in the Working Holiday Program.

Eligible working holiday countries and regions

Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the UK.

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Work and Holiday Visa

Certain, tertiary educated people aged between 18 to 30 who want to travel and work for up to 12 months in Australia may be eligible for a Work and Holiday visa

This visa allows working holiday visa holders to supplement the cost of their holiday in Australia through short-term employment periods of up to 6 months with the one employer.  

The Work and Holiday visa program is currently in place for people from Chile, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the United States of America.  In certain circumstances Iranian passport holders can apply for this visa.

Australia has recently signed a Work and Holiday visa arrangement with Indonesia and Bangladesh.  As this arrangement is not yet in effect, passport holders from Indonesia or Bangladesh are not eligible for this program.

To find out more information regarding the working holiday visa and the work and holiday visa, please enquire today useing the form provided.

Please note, this information is designed to give the reader an overview of the visa application process and it is recommended that you seek independent from a Registered Migration Agent advice prior to making any Australian visa application.

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Equus Connect immigration partners

Our immigration partners are specialised in providing immigration advice and support to individuals, families and organisations.   With a professional team of 7 registered migration agents, an in house legal division and additional visa support and administrative staff, they are able to provide a highly specialised and personalised service.  Being the size that they are this also gives them the capability to process multiple visa applications at any given time.

They have two distinct divisions, corporate migration and general migration.  These two divisions have been established to cater specifically for Australian businesses and companies recruiting staff internationally and for the needs of individual applicants, including skilled migrants and family members applying for Australian visas.

Rest assured that at all times they will endeavour to make the immigration process as simple and easy for you as possible.  In order to do this they will assist you with every facet of the application process, including completing the relevant forms, advising of all documents required and compiling the application, including writing any submissions that may be required. They will then lodge the various stages of the application and act on your behalf throughout the entire process of the application.

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