Fact Sheet 47 – Temporary Residence in Australia

Australia's temporary residence program is designed to allow overseas people to come to Australia for specific purposes that benefit Australia. The program consists of three categories:

• skilled
• social and cultural
• international relations.

Temporary residents are required to pay taxes on income earned in Australia. They do not have access to social welfare benefits or national public health cover.

Applicants must be assessed to satisfy Australia's strict health and character requirements.
See: Fact Sheet 22 The Health Requirement

Information on student visas and skilled migrants, temporary short and long stay visa options, business services and accessing retirement savings is available.
See:
Fact Sheet 50 Overseas Students in Australia
Fact Sheet 48 Helping Skilled and Business People

Citizens of countries where Australia has reciprocal health care agreements (RHCA) are entitled to emergency medical cover in Australia. This cover does not extend to pre-existing medical conditions. RHCA countries include Belgium, Slovenia, Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Travellers should check if they need to maintain private health insurance.

For the latest list of countries and further information on RHCA, including what Medicare services are available under RHCA, you should refer to the Medicare Australia website.
See: Medicare Australia – Visitors to Australia

Skilled visa classes

Business Entry visas allow employers to recruit skilled people from overseas for a stay of up to four years. The position being filled must be skilled and paid at the local market rate.
See: Fact Sheet 48 Helping Skilled and Business People

Social and cultural

Temporary residence visas are also available for people taking part in sporting, entertainment and cultural activities.

Entertainment visas are for people involved in a wide range of social and cultural events and activities, taking into account the need to protect the employment of Australians in the industry.

Investor Retirement visas are for self-funded retirees who are 55 years or older, have no dependants (other than a partner) and are able to make a significant long term financial investment in Australia. The visa is temporary and will not lead to Australian permanent residence or citizenship.

Media and Film Staff visas are for correspondents or other professional media staff members posted to Australia by overseas news organisations. Also for visiting photographers, film and television crews making documentaries or commercials for overseas use.

Religious Worker visas are for religious workers, including ministers, priests and spiritual leaders, to serve the spiritual needs of people of their faiths in Australia.

Retirement visas are available to current Retirement visa holders and their partners, and to certain former holders of this visa who have not held another substantive visa since their last Retirement visa ceased. New or first time applicants considering spending a period of their retirement in Australia should consider the Investor Retirement (subclass 405) visa.

Special Program visas are for people coming to Australia under approved programs to participate in youth exchange, community benefit or cultural enrichment programs, or the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme.

Sport visas are for amateur or professional sports people to engage in competition with Australian residents and to improve general sporting standards in Australia through high calibre competition and training.

Visiting Academic visas are for professional academics to observe and/or participate collaboratively in Australian research projects and contribute to the sharing of research knowledge in Australia.

International relations

Working Holiday visas allow young people from certain arrangement countries to experience Australian culture and lifestyle through an extended holiday and short term employment, with special focus on regional Australia.

The program is an integral part of Australia's tourism industry and also supports the Australian economy by providing supplementary labour for industries requiring short-term casual workers.
See: Fact Sheet 49 Working Holiday Program

Work and Holiday visas are similar to the Working Holiday program, except that the Work and Holiday visa program requires additional documentation from arrangement countries. Applicants may need to provide a letter of approval from their government agreeing to their stay in Australia, hold university education qualifications and have functional English.
Note: These extra provisions do not apply to applicants from the United States of America.
See: Fact Sheet 49a Work and Holiday Program

Diplomatic visas allow for temporary entry of people wanting to travel to Australia in a diplomatic or official capacity, on advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Eligible people should apply for this visa regardless of their intended period of stay in Australia.

Domestic Worker (Diplomatic/Consular) visas are for domestic staff working in a private capacity in households of diplomatic and consular staff posted to Australia, on advice from DFAT.

Domestic Worker (Overseas Executive) visas are for domestic staff of certain Temporary Business (Long Stay) (subclass 457) visa holders. This visa may only be granted where it is shown that the entry of domestic staff is necessary for the proper discharge of an executive's representational duties.

Exchange visas are for skilled people overseas wanting to broaden their work experience and skills under reciprocal arrangements which allow Australian residents similar opportunities overseas. This includes people seeking entry under certain bilateral exchange agreements.

Foreign Government Agency visas are for foreign government employees conducting business or teaching duties on behalf of their governments, who do not have diplomatic or official status in Australia.

Government Agreement visas are for people who have the support of an Australian Government agency and a foreign government to enter Australia under the terms of a bilateral agreement between them. It can also be used by people who will direct the national operations in Australia of the British Council, the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe-Institute or the Italian Cultural Institute.

Occupational Trainee visas allow people from overseas to complete structured and supervised workplace-based training programs or academic research that will provide additional or enhanced skills and knowledge in their present occupations, tertiary studies or fields of expertise.
See: Fact Sheet 52a Occupational Trainee visa

Professional Development visas allow for the temporary entry of groups of professionals, managers and government officials from overseas who are seeking to enhance their professional/managerial skills by taking part in tailored training programs with an Australian sponsoring organisation.
See: Fact Sheet 51 Professional Development Visa

Access to retirement savings

Eligible temporary residents are able to access their retirement savings (superannuation) upon permanent departure from Australia.

More information on accessing this money is available on the Australian Taxation Office's website (temporary residents).
See: Australian Taxation Office
See also: Accessing Superannuation Benefits

Statistics

Temporary resident visa grants

	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10
Skilled visa classes	112 678	117 247	92 231
Social/cultural stream	28 930	25 375	23 166
International relations stream	167 648	203 602	190 633
Total	309 256	346 224	306 030

Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Recorded information is available outside these hours.

Fact Sheet 47. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last reviewed 15 November 2011.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2010.