Tougher requirements all round. Employer sponsored visas have become more and more difficult to be successfully applied for and its value to potential overseas skilled workers as well as employers are substantially decreased.
These ‘improvements’ may ironically push away more genuine applicants and employers than it will stem abuse of the programme. The toughened requirements for permanent employer sponsored visas affect applications lodged on or after 1 July 2017 are not much better, forcing those who have held a 457 for 2 years and apply for a permanent visa visa the to use the temporary residence transition stream to have a higher basic level, competent. Either which way, the avalanche of new requirements has confused employers and applicants alike, and we are quite sure they have confused the Department of Immigration and Border Protection themselves.
Temporary work (skilled) visa (subclass 457)
The English requirement for a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) remains unchanged for now at:
Read: English Proficiency Tests
It used to be that 457 visa applicants would receive an exemption for meeting the English requirement if the applicant’s remuneration (base salary) surpasses an income threshold of $96,400. This exemption was repealed via a legislative instrument release on 30 June 2016, to come into effect on 1 July 2017. This will affect all 457 visa applications made on or after 1 July 2017.
The applicant will not need to demonstrate having met the 457 visa English requirement if:
- The applicant holds a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland and are citizens in one of those countries
- The applicant has completed five years of consecutive full time study in a secondary or tertiary institution where all instruction was delivered in English, OR
- The applicant is nominated for an occupation that is to be performed at diplomatic or consular mission of another country or an Office of the Authorities of Taiwan located in Australia, OR
- The applicant is working in Australia for an overseas company or an associated entity of an overseas company and will be paid a base salary of at least $96,400
- The applicant is nominated in an occupation that requires registration, licensing or membership and in obtaining that, was required to demonstrate a level of English language proficiency that meets the minimum 457 English requirements or higher, and has been granted the registration, license or membership
Temporary residence transition stream (TRT) ENS 186 visa / RSMS 187 visa
From 1 July 2017, applicants for the Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (subclass 187) under the TRT stream need to meet at least a competent level of English (previously vocational). Applications lodged before 1 July 2017 are not subject to the new requirements.
Vocational (applications submitted before 1 July)
Competent (application submitted on or after 1 July)
The applicant may be exempted from the English requirement if:
- The applicant holds a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland and are citizens in one of those countries
- The applicant has completed at least five years of full-time study in a secondary and/or higher education institution where all of the tuition was delivered in English
Direct entry stream ENS 186 / RSMS 187 visa
The English requirement for the direct entry stream Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (subclass 187) remains at competent level. However, from 1 July 2017, the high income English exemption (applicants earning in the maximum taxable income bracket) has been removed. Applications lodged before 1 July 2017 are not affected by the change.
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The applicant holds a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland and are citizens in one of those countries
Read: DIBP – Clarifying changes to employer sponsored permanent visas
