Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Subclass 187

For employers

• The employer has to demonstrate they have an actively operating business in that regional area and can afford to continue to pay the salary of the visa applicant;
• The job or position being nominated is consistent with the position held while on the subclass 457 or 482 visa;
• The position must continue to be available to the employee for at least two years once the visa is granted;
• The terms and conditions including salary of the position must be market related, that is, are the same as any that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident employed in the same position at the same location and meet Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) requirements of $53900 or a clear evidence if less that the salary is market related;
• If business turnover is under $10M, an amount of $3000 must be paid to meet the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF),  or if the turnover is over $10M, an amount of $5000 needs to be paid;
• The employer is required to demonstrate that the position is genuine and there is a need for the position.

Direct Entry (DE) Stream Requirements

Visa applicant

• Nominate an occupation from the Regional Occupation List;
• An applicant can be in or outside Australia and does not necessarily have to have commenced employment with the nominating employer;
• An applicant can be on a visa such as student, visitor or bridging visa and apply for a 187 ENS Direct Entry;
• The applicant needs to have had at least three years of full-time post-qualification work experience, which could be in Australia or anywhere else in the world;
• A skills assessment is not generally required unless it is in a trade occupation if the trade qualification was not undertaken in Australia;
• Applicant must be under the age of 45 at time of application;
• Main applicant to have English language proficiency of at least six in each of the four bands of the IELTS test or equivalent language test such as PTE, unless from a naturally English-speaking country, such as UK, Ireland, New Zealand, USA, or Canada;
• Pass health and character tests

For employers

• Employers need to apply to a Regional Certifying Body (RCB) designated in their region for approval of the occupation within their business;
• The employer has to demonstrate they have an actively operating business in that regional area and can afford to pay the salary of the visa applicant;
• The position must be available to the employee for at least two years once the visa is granted;
• The terms and conditions including salary of the position must be market related, that is, are the same as any that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident employed in the same position at the same location and meet Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) requirements of $53900 or less if clear evidence that the salary is market related;
• If business turnover is under $10M, an amount of $3000 must be paid to meet the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) or if the turnover is over $10M, an amount of $5000 needs to be paid;
• The employer is required to demonstrate that the position is genuine and there is a need for the position in their business;

Specific Age Exemption Requirements for ENS & RSMS:

Even if you are older than 50 years of age, you can still apply for the Permanent Visas of ENS or RSMS if you:

• Are nominated as a senior academic by a university in Australia;
• Are nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical (scientific) specialist at by an Australian government scientific agency;
• Are a medical practitioner who has been working for your nominating employer as the holder of a Subclass 457 visa or a Subclass 422 visa for at least four years immediately before applying, and the nominated position is located in regional Australia;
• Are applying through the Temporary Residence Transition stream, and you have been working for your nominating employer as the holder of a subclass 457 visa for at least four years immediately before applying, and that employer paid you at least as much as the Fair Work High-Income Threshold in each of the four years;
• Are applying through the Direct Entry stream and you hold a Subclass 444 (New Zealand citizen) or Subclass 461 (New Zealand citizen’s family member) visa and you have been working for the employer who nominated you for at least two years in the last three years immediately before making the application;

What the ENS and RSMS visas lets you do?

You can include the following types of family members in your application:

• Spouses, de-facto partners and same-sex partners
• Dependent children
• Other dependent family members – e.g. parents who live with you and are financially dependent on you

The ENS and RSMS are Permanent Visas. They let you:

• Live in Australia indefinitely
• Work and study in Australia
• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• Travel to and from Australia for five years and apply to have the visa renewed at the end of 5 years, so long as certain conditions of residency are met;
• Apply for Australian citizenship, when eligible.

Employer sponsorship visas are complex. Please contact our team of experienced registered migration experts for immediate advice and assistance.

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