The following permanent Employer Sponsored visas are closed to new applications from 1 July 2012:
- Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (subclasses 121/856)
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (subclasses 119/857)
- Labour Agreements (LA) ( subclasses 120/855).
Only eligible dependent applicants can be added to existing applications that were lodged on or before 30 June 2012.
Skilled Workers Permanent Visa Options
From 1 July 2012 a new Employer Nomination Scheme and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa is available. Within each of these visa subclasses there will be three streams:
- The Temporary Residence Transition stream
- The Direct Entry stream
- The Agreement stream.
Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) enables employers to sponsor highly skilled workers to fill skilled vacancies in their business. Employers can employ skilled workers from overseas, or temporary residents who are living and working in Australia.
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187)
The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) enables employers in regional, remote or low population growth areas of Australia to nominate highly skilled workers from overseas, or temporary residents living and working in Australia to fill skilled vacancies in their business.