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Applying for an Australian Work Visa

This is the first part on the series of immigration to Australia.

Applying for an Australian work visa is a 3-stage process-

Stage 1 - Business Sponsorship
This application is submitted to the DIMA (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) office in Australia.

Stage 2 - Employer Nomination
This application is submitted to the nearest Australian Consular Offices, and it involves describing the type of work a candidate has applied for.

Stage 3 - Long Stay Temporary Business Visa Application
Once the first two ‘business centred’ and ‘job centred’ stages of the application have been completed, it is possible to make the actual visa application.
If the candidate is already in Australia the visa application should be submitted to a local DIMA office.

If the candidate is outside Australia, the visa application should be submitted to the local Australian Consular Offices.

Stage 1 – The Business Sponsorship Options
There are three main options open to you when considering sponsoring applications :

1. Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS)

2. Pre-Qualified Business Sponsorship (PQBS)

3. A ‘Regional Headquarters Agreement’ (RHQ)

The difference between Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) and Pre-Qualified Business Sponsorship (PQBS) is that the SBS application is made to employ a specific number of overseas staff in Australia.

A PQBS application asks for permission to employ an unlimited number of overseas staff for the validity of the sponsorship, which is initially for two years.

Your application needs to be supported by the following documents-
• Financial Report such as Annual Accounts for your company
• Latest Financial Report such as management accounts
• Evidence of the number of staff you employ such as an accountant’s letter or documentation from the relevant tax authorities

Stage 2- Employer Nomination
This part of the application requires you to describe the activity applied for. One of the most important issues in this part of the application is to categorise the type of work as a key business or a non-key business activity.

Labour Market Testing(LMT)
The Labour Market is deemed to have been tested suitably if you have failed to find suitable candidates despite having done at least two of the following in the last 6 months -

• Obtaining advice from a recognised professional or industrial organisation confirming that the skills you require are in shortage
• Placing the vacancy with a recruitment consultant or a head-hunter
• Obtaining advice from a recognised professional or industrial organisation confirming that the skills you require are in shortage

Stage 3– The Long Stay Temporary Business Visa
This visa application is the simplest. It must be made on the relevant DIMA form and should be accompanied by -
• Nomination Approval Letter, and copy of form and supporting documentation submitted with the nomination application
• The passport of the candidate, which should be valid for at least the duration of the visa
• The required Australian government fees