TSS Visa – Temporary Skills Shortage Visa

TSS 482 visa – Temporary Skill Shortage visa

The process for obtaining a Temporary Skill Shortage (“TSS”) 482 visa requires the business and visa applicant to receive approval for the following three types of applications. If the company is already a business sponsor, then only the nomination and visa application is required.

1. Standard business sponsorship (SBS) application – Approval is required for an SBS before a business can sponsor Subclass482 visa holders.
2. 482 nomination application – at the application stage for a nomination, the sponsoring business is required to demonstrate a genuine need for the eligible nominated full-time occupation/role and that the role cannot be filled by an Australian worker.
3. Subclass 482 visa application – the visa applicant needs to demonstrate that he or she satisfies the relevant visa requirements.

What are the Requirements for a Standard Business Sponsorship for a TSS Visa?

Before it can sponsor foreign national workers under the Temporary Skill Shortage Subclass 482 visa program a business must be firstly approved as a Standard business sponsor (“SBS”) . Once the business is approved as a standard business sponsor, this approval remains valid for a period of five years.

When making an SBS application, the business must demonstrate that it meets the following requirements:

1. The business is lawfully operating in Australia
2. The business must declare that it has a strong record or demonstrated commitment to employing local labour
3. There must be nothing adverse known about the business or a person associated with the business. Adverse information can range from criminal charges, insolvency, personal bankruptcy or failure to adhere to sponsorship conditions.

What are the Requirements for a TSS Visa (Subclass 482) Nomination?

A business can sponsor eligible occupations under one of the following streams:

• Short-term stream (STSOL) – occupations on this list allow for the grant of Subclass 482 visas that are valid for up to 2 years (or if subject to an international trade obligation, up to 4 years under). Occupations on this list are generally ineligible for Subclass 186 visa or Subclass 187 visa transition stream. Subclass 482 visas granted under the STOL are generally renewable for a further two years to a total of four years.
• Medium-term stream (MLTSSL) – occupations on this list allow for the grant of Subclass 482 visas that are valid for up to 4 years. It is also possible that the business could sponsor the visa holder as a permanent resident after three years of work, under the Temporary residency transition stream of the Subclass 186 visa  or Subclass 187 visa .
• Labour Agreement stream – In order to be approved under the Labour agreement Scheme the business needs to have an approved Labour agreement. This requires the business to demonstrate that it cannot fill its labour needs through the Australian labour market nor through occupations which are presently eligible under either the STSOL and MLTSSL. The advantage of a Labour agreement is approval to sponsor subclass 482 visa holders for occupations that are not on the STSOL and MLTSSL.

In order to have a Nomination Application approved, the Business will need to demonstrate the following:

• Genuine business need for the nominated role
• Labour market testing: The business needs to advertise the nominated role for a period of at least 4 weeks, during the last 4 month period before the lodgement of the nomination application.
• Salary is equivalent to what is or would be paid to an Australian employee: The business needs to demonstrate that the visa applicant’s proposed salary is consistent with the ‘Australian market rate’ for the nominated role.
• Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT): In order for your nominated role to be eligible for a sponsored visa holder, the sponsoring employer needs to show that the ‘Australian market rate’ for the position is at least AUD53,900.

TSS Visa (Subclass 482) Requirements

The following requirements need to be satisfied by the primary visa applicant:

• Medium-term stream (MLTSSL) English: Minimum score of at least 5.0 in each test component, or equivalent 482 English scores
• Short-term stream (STSOL) English: Overall average score of 5, with a minimum score of at least 4.5 in each band, or equivalent 482 English scores
• Work experience: Two years of full-time work experience that relates to your nominated occupation. Generally speaking, you can only count relevant work experience after you completed your relevant education qualification / apprenticeship / trade or vocational education. Part-time or casual work experience can be counted on a pro-rata basis, so 12 months of part-time or casual experience should be equivalent to 6 months of full-time experience.
• Holds (or is eligible for) any mandatory registration, licence or professional membership: If any mandatory registration, licence or professional membership is required to work in your nominated occupation, then you hold or are eligible for this mandatory registration, licence or professional membership. For example, you need to be registered (or be eligible for registration) with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to work in Australia as a registered nurse, doctor and other health care professional occupations
• Health and character: Primary visa applicant and all members of his or her family unit must satisfy the health and character requirements.
• Age: there is no age limit for this visa.

Family members

You can include the following family members: Spouse, De-facto partner or Children (23 is the oldest you can bring a dependant child to Australia).

HOW WE CAN HELP WITH YOUR APPLICATION TSS VISA APPLICATION

Some of the main issues that can arise with a TSS application is in selecting the nominated occupation and demonstrating to the Department that the nomination is for a genuine position.

Our Immigration Lawyers can advise you on which occupation is most appropriate for your, and with meeting the visa criteria. Please contact us today for further information and advice.

If you have received a visa refusal, then the solicitors at Summit Migration may be able to assist. Find out more about appeals for visa refusals here.  Alternatively, you may be eligible for Ministerial Intervention.

Summit Migration provides free 15-minute, no-obligation phone consultation. Claim your free telephone consultation today. Call us on (07) 31777609 to speak to a Registered Migration Agent about your matter.