“I have no idea which stream I fall into.”
There are three, and they suit very different people. Tell us your work history and we can place you in about a minute.
The Job You Already Have Might Be an Employer Sponsored Visa in Australia
The Subclass 186 turns your current role into permanent residency, family included. Thirty minutes on the phone tells you whether your job qualifies for an employer sponsored visa or not.
MARA-registered. MARN 2518738.
Which of These Is You?
“My employer has never sponsored anyone before.”
That is workable, and we see it often. It just changes the order, because your employer gets approved as a sponsor first.
“I have already turned 45.”
You may still have a way through. Four exemptions sit in the rules, and people qualify for them without realising.
“The only skills assessment I have is the one from my 485.”
That one will not carry you through Direct Entry. You need a full migration skills assessment, and we can tell you which body handles your occupation.
“I think my assessment might have run out.”
Worth checking today. It has to be current when you lodge, and ACS sets a two-year limit where most bodies allow three.
“I have no idea whether my salary is high enough.”
Two separate tests apply and you pay the higher one. Plenty of offers clear the first and fall short on the second.
“The quote I was given seems too good to be true.”
It probably covered your half only. Your employer carries a separate set of costs, and we have set them out below.
What Changed on 1 July 2026
| Figure | Was | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Visa Application Charge (primary) | AUD 4,910 | AUD 6,140 |
| Core Skills Income Threshold | AUD 76,515 | AUD 79,423 |
| Specialist Skills Income Threshold | AUD 141,210 | AUD 146,576 |
| High-income threshold (age exemption) | AUD 183,100 | AUD 190,100 |
Several migration sites published the new CSIT as AUD 79,499. That figure is wrong. The correct threshold is AUD 79,423. If anyone quoted you a different number, check it again.
Confirm every figure on the Home Affairs pricing table.
What Is an Employer Sponsored Visa in Australia?
The Subclass 186 is Australia's permanent employer sponsored visa, and Home Affairs sets out the official criteria on its subclass 186 page. Your employer nominates you for a role on the Core Skills Occupation List. You hold Australian permanent residency from the day Home Affairs grants it, and your partner and children hold it too.
Home Affairs decides the nomination first, then your visa. That order decides everything else on this page.
Which Stream Fits You?
- Choose this if
- You have 3 years experience and no prior 482
- Skills assessment
- Required. Home Affairs rejects 485 assessments
- English
- IELTS 6 in all four test components
- Salary
- CSIT AUD 79,423 or market rate
- Processing
- 10 to 14 months
- Applicant charge
- AUD 6,140
- Choose this if
- You have worked 2 years with your sponsor on a 482
- Skills assessment
- Usually not required
- English
- Exemptions may apply
- Salary
- Same
- Processing
- 11 to 15 months
- Applicant charge
- AUD 6,140
- Choose this if
- An agreement covers you
- Skills assessment
- Per the agreement
- English
- Concessions common
- Salary
- Agreement-specific
- Processing
- 8 to 10 months
- Applicant charge
- AUD 6,140
The short version
Direct Entry is faster if you already have the experience and a current assessment. TRT takes two years longer overall and is far easier at the PR stage.
Employer Sponsored Visa Requirements
Six requirements. The first three cause most refusals, so each of those carries a quick check you can run yourself.
Occupation on the CSOL.
Home Affairs reads the actual ANZSCO duties, not your job title. A “Business Development Manager” doing operations work gets read as an operations manager.
Top refusal reason. Check your ANZSCO task list against what you actually do each week.Salary, two tests and you pay the higher one.
At least AUD 79,423, and at least the market rate for that role in that city. AUD 85,000 clears the threshold and still fails if comparable roles pay AUD 95,000.
Top refusal reason. Check the threshold first, then the market rate against payslips, an award classification or recent job ads.Skills assessment, Direct Entry only.
Your 485 assessment does not count. Check the expiry today. Most bodies allow three years, ACS allows two.
Top refusal reason. Check it is current on the day you lodge, because a stated expiry date overrides the three years.Age under 45,
unless you earn AUD 190,100 or more, work as an academic or research scientist, are an eligible medical specialist, or qualify regionally.
Competent English.
You need at least 6 in each of the four IELTS test components, or an accepted equivalent. TRT exemptions cover some passport holders.
Health and character.
You complete medicals and get police checks for every country where you lived 12 months or more since you turned 16.
Employer Sponsored Visa Cost in 2026
The visa charge covers your side only. Someone else still pays the employer side.
Applicant pays
That last row is avoidable. If your partner sits one English test and passes, the charge disappears. The test costs around AUD 410, so book it early rather than paying AUD 4,890 later.
Employer pays
You never get the SAF levy back.
Home Affairs refuses the nomination or your employee resigns, and the money stays spent.
How It Runs
Your employer confirms sponsor status, then lodges the 186 nomination with salary evidence and a position description.
You lodge your visa application in parallel. If you apply onshore, Home Affairs usually grants you a Bridging Visa A.
Home Affairs then decides the nomination first, and your visa second. Get through both, and your whole family holds permanent residency from the same day. Otherwise, a refused nomination stops your visa application where it stands.
For Employers
The 186 is the strongest permanent sponsorship visa available. The obligations are real and they continue past the grant date.
- You need a genuine, ongoing, full-time role that would exist regardless of the candidate
- You pay the higher of CSIT or the market rate, evidenced with payslips, contracts and job ads
- You pay the SAF levy at lodgement and never get it back
- You keep records, notify Home Affairs of changes and cooperate with monitoring after the grant
- Home Affairs scrutinises first-time sponsors harder, which a properly built file handles
We could have prevented most first-time nomination refusals we review at the drafting stage. New to this? Start with our guide to sponsoring overseas skilled workers.
Frequently Asked Questions
A visa where an Australian employer nominates you. The 186 is the permanent version. The 482 Skills in Demand is the temporary version that leads to it.
An employer willing to nominate you, a role on the CSOL, three years experience for Direct Entry or two years with your 482 sponsor for TRT, under 45 or an exemption, Competent English, salary at CSIT or market rate, and clear health and character.
AUD 6,140 for you, about AUD 3,070 per additional adult and AUD 1,535 per child. Employers pay about AUD 540 plus a SAF levy of AUD 3,000 or AUD 5,000.
Roughly 10 to 14 months for Direct Entry, 11 to 15 for TRT, 8 to 10 for Labour Agreement. Check current figures on the Home Affairs processing times tool.
The 186 gives you PR from the day Home Affairs grants it. The 482 is temporary and reaches PR through the TRT stream after two years.
Yes, with an exemption: income of AUD 190,100 or more, academic or research roles, eligible medical specialists, or certain regional pathways.
Direct Entry, yes, and it must be current at lodgement. Your 485 assessment does not count. TRT, usually not.
If Home Affairs refuses the nomination, your visa stops there. Review at the Administrative Review Tribunal costs AUD 3,727 from 1 July 2026, and Home Affairs does not refund the visa charge.
Not legally. The 186 has two applications on separate timelines, strict salary evidence, and a nomination that can sink everything. Verify any agent at mara.gov.au.
Book Your 186 Consultation
Thirty minutes gives you the stream that fits, the evidence you need, a real timeline and a real cost for your household.
Applicants and employers are both welcome. If your case is simple enough to lodge yourself, we will tell you.
When we act for an employer and an applicant on the same matter, we hold a separate written service agreement with each of you. The MARA Code of Conduct requires it, so neither side's interests quietly come second. We accept no undisclosed commissions.
Meet the team behind your file, and verify us on the MARA register: MARN 2518738.
No registered migration agent can guarantee a visa outcome.