About this visa

The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) allows Australian employers to sponsor employees who are foreign nationals for a permanent visa to work in Australia.

Who is this visa for?

This visa is for Australian employers who want to sponsor highly skilled workers for a permanent visa to work in their business. The employees can be either:

• highly skilled workers from overseas
• highly skilled temporary residents currently in Australia.

Visa applicants who are currently living and/or working in Australia on a qualifying visa can apply for the onshore ENS (subclass 856) visa. If you do not hold a qualifying visa, you may still be eligible to apply onshore if you last held a qualifying visa no more than 28 days prior to lodging an application.
See: Qualifying Visas

The offshore ENS (subclass 121) visa is for applicants who are outside Australia.
Note: Applicants who do not hold a qualifying visa can apply for the offshore ENS (subclass 121) visa and lodge their application in Australia, however applicants must be outside Australia at the time of visa grant.

How much will this visa cost?

You must pay a non-refundable application charge.
See: Employer Sponsored Permanent Visa Charges

What does this visa let me do?

This visa allows you and any dependent family members included in your visa application to live as permanent residents in Australia.

Australian permanent residents can:

• live and work in Australia on a permanent basis
• study in Australia at school or university
• receive subsidised healthcare through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• access certain social security payments (subject to waiting periods)
• be eligible for Australian citizenship (subject to the residency eligibility criteria)
• sponsor people for permanent residence.