Hospitality jobs in Australia with visa sponsorship

Hospitality occupations and their visas

The fast-food and limited-service caveat

The Department attaches caveats to chef, cook, baker, pastrycook and hotel manager nominations on the 482. The one that matters most excludes positions in a limited-service restaurant: fast-food and takeaway outlets, fast-casual chains, drinking establishments that serve food, limited-service cafés including coffee shops and mall cafés, and limited-service pizza restaurants. A chef at a full-service restaurant, hotel, club, aged-care kitchen or catering company is fine; a "chef" at a burger franchise is refused.

Hotel or motel manager carries its own caveats on the size and nature of the business. Check the caveat text on the Department’s list entry before a venue spends money on a nomination; the venue type, not your skill, is what the caveat tests.

Salary: the number that decides most hospitality cases

A standard 482 or 186 nomination must pay at least A$79,423 from 1 July 2026, or the annual market rate if higher. Many chef de partie and cook roles in the cities are advertised at A$65,000 to A$78,000, which is under the line; sous chef and head chef roles clear it. This single figure stops more hospitality nominations than any list question, and it is why:

• venues sponsor sous chefs and head chefs far more often than commis chefs and cooks;
• regional venues use the 494 and, in DAMA regions, negotiated salary concessions; and
• the Northern Territory, Far North Queensland, Townsville and other DAMAs list front-of-house and semi-skilled hospitality roles the national lists exclude, with concessions on English, age and salary. DAMA sponsorship jobs.

The employer pays sponsorship approval (A$420), the nomination (A$330) and the Skilling Australians Fund levy (A$1,200 per visa year below A$10 million turnover) and cannot recover them; the 482 visa charge of A$4,015 is normally yours.

Skills assessment: TRA for cooks and chefs

Trades Recognition Australia assesses chefs, cooks, bakers and pastrycooks. Offshore applicants use the Migration Skills Assessment (A$795, typically within 120 days as at mid-2026) on a Certificate III or IV in Commercial Cookery or an equivalent overseas qualification plus documented employment; onshore graduates of Australian cookery courses go through the Job Ready Program with its workplace assessment. A skills assessment is mandatory for the 482 only where the Department’s instrument lists your occupation and passport, but most venues want one. Hotel and restaurant managers are assessed by VETASSESS on qualification plus management-level experience: rosters, budgets, compliance, staff.

Onshore: the Working Holiday and student route

Hospitality is the sector where onshore conversion is most common. Working Holiday makers and students already working in a kitchen are known quantities; when a venue decides to sponsor, it sponsors the chef it has. The common sequence is WHV or student visa, Australian cookery qualification or TRA assessment of overseas experience, sous-chef role at or above the threshold, 482 nomination, then the 186 after two years. See Working Holiday to sponsorship and student visa to sponsored job.

Steps for a hospitality candidate

1. Name your occupation by ANZSCO, not by your job title: a "chef" who mainly prepares set menus may assess as a cook.
2. Check the venue type against the caveat before anything else.
3. Start the TRA assessment; it is what separates a serious profile from the rest.
4. Register a free profile with your cuisine, section experience, qualification and whether you are onshore.
5. Read the chef sponsorship guide for the full step-by-step, and look at regional venues where the 494 and DAMAs widen the door.

Frequently asked questions

Can a cook get a 482 visa in Australia? Yes. Cook (351411) is on the Core Skills list with the 482, 186 and 494 available, subject to the caveat excluding fast-food and limited-service venues and to the A$79,423 salary threshold. Cook is not on the MLTSSL, so the points-tested 189 is not available; chef is.

Can a waiter or barista get visa sponsorship in Australia? Not on a standard 482, 494 or 186: waiters, bar attendants, baristas and kitchen hands are not on the skilled occupation lists. Some DAMAs, including the Northern Territory, list front-of-house hospitality roles for endorsed regional employers. Otherwise the routes are a Working Holiday visa or qualifying as a cook or chef.

Can a café or restaurant manager be sponsored? Not on a standard 482 or 186: Café or Restaurant Manager (141111) is on the short-term list only. The routes are state nomination (190 or 491) where a state lists it, or the regional 494 through a regional employer. Hotel or Motel Manager (141311) is on the Core Skills list and can be sponsored.

Does a chef at a fast-food restaurant qualify? No. The 482 caveat excludes chef and cook positions in limited-service restaurants, which covers fast-food and takeaway outlets, fast-casual chains, drinking establishments serving food, limited-service cafés and coffee shops, and limited-service pizza restaurants.

What salary does a sponsored chef need? At least A$79,423 from 1 July 2026 (the Core Skills Income Threshold) or the market rate for the role, whichever is higher, on a standard 482 or 186. Regional 494 nominations use the same threshold; DAMA agreements can carry negotiated concessions.