Employee Eligibility
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Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for permanent residency under this visa, the employee must meet one of the following requirements:
- have worked full-time in Australia in the nominated occupation on a Subclass 418, 421, 422, 428, 444, 457 or 461 temporary residence visa for the last two years prior to the visa application being made (including at least the last 12 months with the nominating employer)
- have been nominated to fill a highly paid senior executive position with a salary of more than $165,000 per annum (excluding superannuation or allowances)
- have had their skills assessed as suitable by the relevant skills assessing authority and, unless exceptional circumstances apply, have at least three years full-time work experience in the occupation immediately before the visa application is lodged. A list of assessing bodies can be found in the Employer Nomination Scheme Occupation List (ENSOL).
See: Information form 1121i Skilled Occupation List (SOL) and Employer Nomination Scheme Occupation List (ENSOL) (129KB PDF file)
The employee must also:
- have an employer who is willing to sponsor them for permanent residency
- demonstrate that they have the appropriate skills, qualifications and/or experience to fill the position
- meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements
- be under 45 years of age
- have Vocational English language ability
See: Information form 966i Migrating to Australia - English language assessment (58KB PDF file) - provide a letter of appointment or a contract signed by both the employer and employee.
Exemption from eligibility requirements
Under some circumstances, visa applicants may seek exemption from skill, language or age eligibility requirements.
See: Exemption from Eligibility Requirements
Health and character requirements
The employee and all dependent family members must meet the health and character requirements.
See:
Information form 1071i Health requirement for permanent entry to Australia (57KB PDF file)
Character Requirement
Minimum salary level
There are minimum salary levels which must be met. The minimum salary is:
- $59,477 for the following occupations:
- 1224-11 Information Technology Manager
- 2231-11 Systems Manager
- 2231-13 Systems Designer
- 2231-15 Software Designer
- 2231-17 Applications and Analyst Programmer
- 2231-19 Systems Programmer
- 2231-21 Computer Systems Auditor
- 2231-79 Computing Professionals (not elsewhere classified)
- $43,440 for all other gazetted occupations.
The minimum salary levels are for gross annual salary and must not include:
- accommodation or rental assistance, board, upkeep, meals or entertainment
- incentives, bonuses or commissions
- shares or bonus shares
- travel, holidays, health care/insurance
- vehicles or vehicle allowances
- communications packages
- Living-Away-from-Home-Allowance
- superannuation contributions (either voluntary employee or compulsory employer contributions)
- any other non-salary benefits not included in the above, with the exeption of Medicare rebates.
Employers can offer any of these benefits to employees provided they are above and beyond the minimum salary.
Note: The minimum salary level is subject to change. Updated figures are published annually in a Gazette Notice.
See: Gazette Notice (293KB PDF file)
Limitation of applications
Applicants who are already in Australia may have a restriction on their current visa that prevents them from making an application for another visa.
See: Information form 1026i Limitation on applications in Australia (52KB PDF file)
Australian Values Statement
All visa applicants aged 18 years or over, are required to sign an Australian values statement. The statement is included in the visa application form and all applicants aged 18 years and over will need to sign it. Before signing the statement, applicants for this visa are required to have read, or had explained to them, material made available by the government on life in Australia which is contained in the Life in Australia book.
The Life in Australia book provides more information on the values that Australians share and their way of life.
See:
Australian Values - Overview
Life in Australia Book
Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Other eligibility