Permanent Residency pathway for short-term 482 visa holders after 2 years
By the end of 2023, Permanent Residency pathways will also be available to short-term 482 visa holders through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination (subclass 186) visa. This stream will be open to ALL Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa holders whose employers wish to sponsor them and will no longer be restricted to 482 visa holders with occupations on the Medium and Long-term Skilled Occupation List (MLTSSL). In addition to all 482 visa holders having access to permanent residency, the length of time in which an applicant will need to hold a 482 visa in order to access PR has also reduced. Currently, the overarching eligibility criteria for the Subclass 186 visa in the TRT stream is that you must work for your sponsoring employer for a total of 3 years in the same occupation while holding a 482 visa. From the end of 2023, this will be reduced from three years to two years.
The Government is also removing limit on the number of 482 visa applications in the short-term stream that a visa holder can make in Australia. The short-term 482 visa program currently limits visa holders to a maximum of two onshore 482 visa applications and if they wish to apply for a third they will need to do so from outside of Australia. Another welcome change to assist those currently onshore who would normally need to leave Australia to make further 482 visa applications.
Raising the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) from $53,900 t0 $70,000
From 1 July 2023 – The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) will increase from $53,900 to $70,000. New nomination applications lodged after this date must meet the new TSMIT of $70,000 or the annual market salary rate, whichever is higher. Existing visa holders and approved nominations lodged before 1 July 2023 will not be affected by this change.
So how will the increase of the TSMIT effect pending applications? Nominations lodged before the 1st of July will not have to meet the new TSMIT level. Therefore, any pending 482 and 186 nomination applications lodged before the 1st of July 2023 will not be affected.
Notable takeaways:
- The rise of the TSMIT does not effect current 482 visa holders
- The TSMIT is tied to the nomination application of the business, not the visa holder
- If the nomination has already been approved before the 1st of July 2023 then the visa holder does not have to meet the new TSMIT in their new visa application
- Nominations lodged and approved before the 1st of July will not have to meet the new TSMIT level
Source: techvisa