Complete Guide: Employer Sponsored Visa Program

If you want to work in Australia so you will need an Employer-Sponsored Visa Program to get there. An employer-sponsored visa is offered to the people who have sponsorship from an Australian employer. This visa is granted to skilled people who want to work for the Australian economy.

Your relatives, first cousin, sibling, parents, or partner can sponsor you from Australia to get an Employer-Sponsored Visa. The sponsors are only eligible if they’re above 18 years and permanent residents of Australia. The applicants can search for the job categories in Australia where they can work according to their skills.

Perks of Employer-Sponsored Visa Program

The employer-sponsored visa has a few benefits for skilled people:

• You can also bring your family members to Australia for work and study purposes.
• It allows people to live for up to 4 years in Australia.
• You can roam around anywhere in Australia as long as your Employer-Sponsored Visa is active.

Latest Updates on Assessing Authority

The Child Care Centre Manager (ANZSCO 134111) for the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) has transformed its assessing authority from Trades Recognition Australia TRA) to the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) from 24th of March 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic has disturbed the economy of Australia. It has paused all business events and activities for occupation list review in March 2020. Therefore, the Government of Australia has to make changes in the assessing authorities.

Visa Processing Time for Employer-Sponsored Visa Program

The applications for the Employer-Sponsored Visa will be processed and finalized under Direction No. 87 and Direction No. 88. The Ministerial Directions will approve the applications according to its policy no matter what the lodging date is.

Therefore, candidates will have to wait for their visa application approval. However, the visa applicants can check out the progress report of their applications through the Immi Account.

Under Ministerial Directions No. 87 and 88, applicants from Australia and applications for Critical Sectors and PMSOL will be prioritized. On the other hand, offshore candidates and workers for other sectors will have to wait a bit longer.

Lately, the Government of Australia has been receiving many applications for the Employer-Sponsored Visa Program. However, there are some onshore and offshore applicants who might not be eligible for a visa grant.

So they have to check out their status through the Visa Entitlement Verification Online system (VEVO). The visa candidates can check out the visa conditions from there. Moreover, the education institutions, companies, employees, and other visa holders.

As the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the business industry badly. All marketplaces got stuck due to the lockdown. Therefore, the companies will see visa applications that whether they’re meeting the new criteria and policies.

As many organizations have changed their hiring strategies so the applicants will have to provide new data for a specific job position.

Health Clearance

Health and character clearance are also important for quick visa processing. The applicants have to provide their recent health clearance details and not the expired ones. The Government of Australia has extended the health check for more than six months.

Therefore, if an applicant’s health clearance has been expired so he/she can get a new one. The Government advises the applicants to book their appointment for a health check as soon as they get the invite to renew their health clearance.

The applications might be disapproved if the applicants fail to fulfill certain requirements by the State. Or else their application processing time could be delayed. So it’s important to submit all the health clearance and meet the requirements to avoid postponement.

ESPM Mailbox Queries

The mailbox of the Employer-Sponsored Visa Program (ESPM) is always fully loaded with many questions. However, the ESPM replies to the critical questions itself which aren’t present on the website.

There are some of the most frequently asked questions by the applicants which include:

• Clarification and understanding of the visa policy
• Looking for the information regarding different visa and their eligibility criteria for applying

Cancellation of Visa Application

If a candidate wants to cancel his visa application or has changed his mind so he can visit ImmiAccount and click on the ‘Withdrawal of a Visa Application’. The applicant can also submit a form which is ‘Withdrawal of Visa Application (338KB) PDF’ to cancel its application for an Employer-Sponsored Visa. Furthermore, the applicant can send the form to the Australian Government’s official e-mail which is espd@homeaffairs.gov.au.

Conditions for Labor Market Testing (LMT)

The recent and updated Labor Market Testing (LMT) confirmation is supposed to be submitted on time for sponsorship applications. It has to be done for the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (SERP) for quick processing of applications.

Moreover, applications might get rejected or delayed if the evidence is incomplete and not provided on the due date.

Sponsorship Applications

The sponsors will have to complete a verification process for applications. They will have to give the identification number either ABN or TRN for the identification of Related Sponsorship. The sponsors are supposed to provide an accurate sponsorship number to avoid any inconvenience later.

Skilling Australian Fund (SAF) Levy Refund Requests

If you want to repay the Skilling Australian Fund Levy then you can get all the information from Regulation 2.73AA of the Migration Regulations 1994. It has complete terms and conditions by which you can refund the SAF levy. Conditions under which the refund of SAF levy is possible.

• The applications and sponsorships will be accepted, however, the offshore Skilled Visa holder doesn’t come with the employer.
• The nomination application charges will be refunded if the sponsor application doesn’t get approved.
• The refunds are possible if the SAF levy has never been used.
• The visa application is rejected due to health clearance issues. Whereas, the application and nomination for an offshore skilled worker are accepted.

The applicants for the refund have to submit a Refund Request form 1424 (461KB PDF). They have to fill this form which consists of 24 questions and show a valid reason for a refund. Moreover, the applicants also have to mention their provision under regulation 2.73AA. The application must be fulfilling the requirements for the refund procedure.

Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List

Covid-19 has almost crushed the economy and business industry of Australia. Therefore, the Government of Australia has brought a Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) on the 2nd of September 2020.

It includes 17 different occupations fulfill the requirements of critical sectors and quick processing of visa application. Furthermore, the list of PMSOL has been extended to 18 occupations as the employment of Social Worker has been added to it on 27th of November 2020.

The National Skills Commission and Commonwealth agencies have advised to primarily add the healthcare, IT sectors, and construction occupation to the PMSOL list.

Visas for General Practitioners (GPs)

The Visa for General Practitioners is a great program between the Department of Health and Home Affairs. It was started back on the 11th of March 2019. The main goal of this initiative is to keep a check on offshore trained physicians and health specialists who go to the major cities and areas of the country.

The Government has introduced Health Workforce Exemption Certificates (HWECs) under the Visas for General Practitioners policy to lessen the burden on hospitals. Therefore, hospitals will have to provide Health Workforce Exemption Certificates (HWEC) rather than a Health Workforce Certificate (HWC).

Visa Application Charge Waiver for TSS/457 Holders

Some of the skilled workers can apply for a Visa Application Charge (VAC) free TSS (subclass 482) visa application from the 27th of February 2021. Previous holders of TSS or Temporary Work (Skilled) can qualify for a VAC free TSS visa application.

This offer will be given to certain candidates:

• People who travelled to Australia and left but couldn’t fly back due to the Covid-19 travel ban before the expiration of their visa.
• People who can’t come to Australia because of the Covid-19 travel restrictions before their visa expiration.

The applicants outside Australia can be eligible for a VAC waiver Temporary Skill Shortage Visa application if they had their visa on and after the 1st of February which is the visa expiration date.

The purpose to provide a temporary visa is to recover the economic situation of Australia. The Government ensures that Australia will remain a beautiful place for visitors with temporary visas who want to work in Australia and be a part of its economy.

Changes into Permanent Citizenship Concessions

As the Covid-19 pandemic has caused travel restriction so people aren’t able to come to Australia. Therefore, The Government of Australia has made some changes to facilitate a wide range of concessions to Temporary Skilled Visa holders who want to settle in Australia permanently.

The temporary visa holders can be eligible and easily meet the requirements of work and age exemption for the Temporary Residence Transition Stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa.

Conclusion

As the situation of covid-19 has badly affected travel industry. People can’t travel to their hometown. Therefore, the Government of Australia offers different migration and visa programs that allow people to visit and settle in Australia either temporarily or on a permanent basis.

The Government of Australia is also providing concessions to Temporary Skilled Visa holders who want to migrate to Australia and settle there permanently.

Furthermore, the Government is giving many great opportunities for skilled migrants to settle there and work for the economy of Australia. You can apply for different visas and fulfill their requirements to proceed with your application.

The Government has introduced various migration programs for onshore and offshore applicants. So if you’re in Australia or outside Australia, you can still avail all these amazing opportunities.