Pacific Counsel provides our corporate clients with access to migration advice to assist them with sourcing and retaining key staff using the Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) pathway. Because of our expertise in the Agribusiness and Resources industries, the advisers we use are also well positioned to assist both Employers and Employees in regional areas to obtain visas under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS). 

EMPLOYER NOMINATED SCHEME (ENS)

The ENS has been developed for Australian employers to recruit permanent highly skilled staff when they have been unable to fill the position from the Australian Labour Market.

The ENS has two stages:

• Stage 1: Nomination by an employer
• Stage 2: Employee’s application for a visa (nominee’s).

Stage 1 - Employer Requirements

The employer needs to show the following:

Position to be filled must be on Employer Nominated Skilled Occupations List 

• Position must meet minimum salary level
• The full time position must be available for at least 3 years
• Business must be established in Australia
• Business must be in a suitable financial position
• There must be a satisfactory record of training Australians

Stage 2 – Employee Requirements

The employee must meet the following requirements to make a valid application:

• Be less than 45 years of age unless exceptional circumstances exist (for example: the position is essential to the operation of the business and the employer demonstrates that it is not possible to find a suitably qualified person younger than the applicant)
• Have at least Vocational English;
• 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) OR
•  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) OR
• 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 submitted.
• Meet the standard health an character requirements 

REGIONAL SPONSORED MIGRATION SCHEME (RSMS) 

The RSMS allows Australian employers to fill highly skilled positions in regional Australia with foreign staff that have been certified by the Regional Certified Body.  The RSMS enables Australian  employers to recruit, on a permanent basis, skilled staff from overseas or temporary residents already in Australia, when they are unable to fill a vacancy from within the Australian labour market or through their own training.

The RSMS involves 3 stages:

• Step 1: employer's nomination is certified by the authorised regional body
• Step 2: approval of employer's nomination
• Step 3: nominee's application for a visa

To be eligible to apply for permanent residency under this visa, you must be able to meet all of the following requirements at the time of lodging an application.

Employer requirements:

The eligible position must meet the following requirements.

• is located in a regional area
• cannot be filled by an Australian employee
• is a genuine full-time vacancy
• is available for at least 2 consecutive years
• requires a person with qualifications equivalent to at least Australian diploma level (unless exceptional circumstances apply, i.e. it is possible, upon proper representation, to get this criteria waived ).

Employee requirements:

The Employee must:

• have the relevant qualifications for the nominated position, which is  equivalent to at least an Australian diploma level (unless exceptional circumstances exist  i.e. it is possible, upon proper representation, to get this criteria waived ).
• meet any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements which allow you to work unsupervised and without further training
• have been offered a full time position for a fixed term of at least two years (supported by evidence of a contract or letter of appointment signed by both the employer and the employee)
• be under 45 years old (unless exceptional circumstances exist  i.e. it is possible, upon proper representation, to get this criteria waived ).
• have Functional English language ability (unless exceptional circumstances exist  i.e. it is possible, upon proper representation, to get this criteria waived ). 
• if the appointment is an approved appointment, apply within 6 months of the approval of the appointment. 

FOR ANY OF YOUR EMPLOYER NOMINATED MIGRATION REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  AND WE WILL ENSURE THAT YOU ARE REFERRED TO A SUITABLY QUALIFIED EXPERT IN THIS FIELD