Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme
This visa is a permanent residence visa for skilled workers. It allows you to work in Australia in one of three streams.
- Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream
- Direct Entry (DE) stream
- Labour Agreement (LA) stream
Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream
This stream may be available if your employer wishes to sponsor you for permanent residence.
You may be eligible under this stream if you hold either of the following:
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482)– in the medium-term stream unless transitional arrangements apply or
- related associated Bridging visa
and have worked for your employer full-time in Australia on your TSS for at least:
- three out of the previous four years (before the nomination is made) in the same position that they have nominated you for or
- two out of the previous three years before the nomination is made, if transitional arrangements apply because you either held, or were an applicant for, a subclass 457 visa (which was subsequently granted) on 18 April 2017.
Direct Entry (DE) stream
If you do not meet the requirements under the TRT stream (for example, because you have never, or only briefly worked in Australia), this stream may then be available if your employer still wishes to sponsor you for permanent residence.
Labour Agreement (LA) stream
This stream may be available if your employer wishes to sponsor you for permanent residence and has entered into a labour agreement with the Department that provides for a permanent residence pathway