You may now be eligible for permanent residency through the Direct Entry stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa
The Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa is a permanent residency visa for skilled workers who are nominated by an Australian employer and allows them to live and work permanently in Australia. Recent changes have made it more accessible to a broader group of people, particularly through the inclusion of more occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), for direct access to permanent residency.
The Subclass 186 visa has three (3) streams, relevantly:
Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) Stream: This stream is for individuals who are transitioning from a Subclass 457 visa or Subclass 482 visa. Applicants must first be sponsored for a Subclass 457 visa or a Subclass 482 visa, and must have worked on their Subclass 457 visa or Subclass 482 visa for at least two (2) out of the last three (3) years with their sponsoring employer in the nominated position, before they are able to apply for a Subclass 186 visa in the TRT stream.
Direct Entry Stream: This stream is for applicants who are applying directly for permanent residency and are not transitioning from a Subclass 457 visa or a Subclass 482 visa. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria based on their skills, qualifications, and work experience in the nominated occupation to apply directly for a Subclass 186 visa in the Direct Entry stream.
Labour Agreement Stream: This stream is for workers who are nominated under a labour agreement between their employer and the Australian government, which may be an industry labour agreement, company specific labour agreement or a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA), etc. This stream applies to employers who have specific labour agreements to fill skilled positions that may not be covered by standard visa programs.
To be eligible for a Subclass 186 visa, an overseas worker will generally have to:
be nominated by an Australian employer to work within the business in a nominated occupation
be under 45 years of age at the time of application unless an exemption applies (see our Free Visa Guide about age exemptions in the Subclass 186 Visa Program)
have the requisite English language requirements usually demonstrated through an approved English language test
if applying in the Direct Entry stream - have a positive skills assessment in the nominated occupation
have at least three (3) years of work experience in the nominated occupation unless exemptions apply e.g. in a labour agreement
meet health and character requirements
-amongst other requirements.
Core Skills Occupation List
On 7 December 2024, the Core Skills Occupation List came into effect, applying not just to the Core Skills stream of the new Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa, but also to the Direct Entry stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa. This means that subject to meeting the requirements of the Subclass 186 visa, persons whose nominated occupations are on the Core Skills Occupation List may have direct access to permanent residency through the Direct Entry stream of the Subclass 186 visa.
Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List
Previously, persons seeking to apply for a Subclass 186 visa in the Direct Entry stream were required to be nominated in an occupation listed on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). If their occupation did not fall under the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), they would have to first be sponsored on a Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa and work for a sponsoring employer on the Subclass 482 visa for at least two (2) years, before being eligible to apply for a Subclass 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition stream.
Core Skills Occupation List vs Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List
Compared to the current Core Skills Occupation List, the previous Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List was more restrictive and only included around 216 “high-demand” occupations considered critical to Australia's economy.
Under the new framework, there are 456 occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List which may now provide more overseas workers with direct access to permanent residency. This means that people nominated by an Australian business to work in these occupations can directly apply for the Subclass 186 visa in the Direct Entry stream, without the need to first hold a Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa or the new Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa, and then work on the Subclass 482 visa for the requisite period of time before being able to apply for a Subclass 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition stream.
Examples of occupations that are now available in the Core Skills Occupation List, but not previously included in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List include ANZSCO 132211 Finance Manager, ANZSCO 225113 Marketing Specialist, ANZSCO 251513 Retail Pharmacist, ANZSCO 223112 Recruitment Consultant, ANZSCO 351411 Cook, etc.
My occupation is not on the Core Skills Occupation List - what are my options?
A number of occupations which were previously available for the old Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa have unfortunately not made their way into the new Core Skills Occupation List. Persons whose occupations are not on the Core Skills Occupation List would not be eligible for a Skills in Demand visa in the Core Skills stream, nor would they be eligible for a Subclass 186 visa in the Direct Entry stream, but they may still be eligible to be sponsored for a Skills in Demand visa in the Specialist Skills stream or the Labour Agreement stream.
Persons whose nominated occupations are otherwise available for the Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa, the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa or the Skilled Work (Provisional) (Subclass 491) visa may otherwise also have either direct access or a pathway to permanent residence through Australia’s General Skilled Migration programs, subject to them having at least 65 points as per Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) and being under 45 years of age at the time of invitation, amongst other requirements.
Our immigration lawyers at Inclusive Migration have extensive experience in advising prospective migrants to Australia about their employer-sponsored, skilled migration and family migration options in Australia. In particular, we have assisted business sponsors and prospective migrants with navigating employer-sponsored visa changes over the past few years, including the replacement of the previous Temporary Work (Subclass 457) visa with the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa, which has now been replaced by the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa.
Should you wish to discuss your eligibility for migration to Australia through employer-sponsored and/or general skilled migration pathways, please email info@inclusivemigration.com.au or submit an enquiry using the contact form on our website.
