Under the Employer Nomination Migration program Australian employers are allowed to nominate skilled workers from overseas for permanent residence in Australia.
There are 3 categories of visas under this program:
- Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
- Labour Agreements (LAs)
1. Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS):
i) Employer Nomination Scheme Visa - subclass 121 (offshore)
ii) Employer Nomination Scheme Visa - subclass 856 (onshore)
2. Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS):
i) Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa - subclass 119 (offshore)
ii) Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa - subclass 857 (onshore)
3. Labour Agreement:
i) Labour Agreement Visa - subclass 120 (offshore)
ii) Labour Agreement Visa - subclass 855 (onshore)
The nomination by an employer of a skilled worker must be lodged at a departmental Business Centre in Australia. The visa applicant by the worker must be lodged at the same departmental Business Centre at which the nomination was lodged.
This applies for both onshore and offshore applicants.
About ENS Visa:
The ENS allows Australian employers to nominate highly skilled people for permanent visas. The ENS process has 2 parts.
First, the employer applies to the DIAC for approval of a nomination position as an 'approved appointment' and then the nominated employee makes an application for a visa. For a visa to be granted the nomination must be approved and the visa applicant must meet relevant criteria for the grant of the visa.
About RSMS Visa:
The RSMS allows Australian employers in regional and low population growth areas to fill full-time highly skilled permanent vacancies that have been certified by a Regional Certifying Body (RCB) with people from overseas, where the employer cannot find a suitable qualified employee from the local labour market.
The objection of the scheme is to increase migration to regional Australia to boost population.
Any employer can participate in the scheme as long as they are actively and lawfully operating in regional Australia, meet certain other requirements and the position being filled is an area covered under the RSMS.
The RSMS has 2 steps:
=> employer's nomination is certified by the authorized regional body
=> approval of employer's nomination
=> the nominated person applies for a visa
About Labour Agreement (LA) Visa:
Labour Agreements allow Australian employers to recruit a specified number of workers from overseas in response to identified or emerging Australian labour market (or skills) shortages. Employees may come to Australia on either a temporary or permanent visas.
An industry body, a company or an umbrella organisation may negotiate for the entry of a number of people to fill positions across a wide range of occupations. Visa applicants under a labour agreement receive priority processing.
The Labour Agreement has 3 steps involved:
Step 1: Approval of labour agreement: A labour agreement is a formal arrangement negotiated between an employer or an industry association and the Commonwealth Government, represented by the DIAC and the DEEWR.
Step 2: Nomination by the employer
Step 3: The applicant applies for a visa
