An employee has asked you to sponsor them: what to check first

Check 1: their current visa and its clock

Run a VEVO check first; what the employee tells you is often a summary of a condition they half-remember. Then read the row that applies.

Check 2: is the occupation listed?

The role, not the person, has to be on the Core Skills Occupation List (for the 482 and 186) or the regional list (for the 494). Match the ANZSCO description to what they actually do: a "manager" who mostly serves customers will be refused as a manager, and a "chef" who works a fryer at a takeaway outlet is caught by the limited-service-restaurant caveat. Our occupation pages state the list position and caveats for 121 roles: sponsored jobs by occupation. If the occupation is not listed (drivers, carers, labourers, front-of-house hospitality), the standard program is closed and the routes are a labour agreement or a DAMA.

Check 3: does the salary clear the floor?

From 1 July 2026 a 482 or 186 nomination must pay at least the Core Skills Income Threshold, A$79,423, and no less than what an Australian would be paid in the same role (the annual market salary rate). Both tests apply. If your employee is currently on A$65,000, the nomination is not a formality: you are committing to a pay rise to the threshold or above, in guaranteed annual earnings, for the life of the visa. Costs of sponsorship cannot be deducted from that pay or recovered from the worker in any form.

Check 4: can your business sponsor?

You need Standard Business Sponsorship: a lawfully operating business with no adverse information, approved for five years at a charge of A$420. Newer businesses can apply but must show real trading (contracts, BAS, payroll). Labour-hire businesses cannot use SBS to on-hire a worker to clients; that needs an on-hire labour agreement. Details: become an approved sponsor. Median processing for sponsorship applications was 11 days in the Department’s September 2026 figures (90 per cent within 57 days).

Check 5: a genuine position and labour market testing

Two things trip up existing-employee nominations. First, the position must exist independently of the person: a role created so a valued worker can stay is refused as not genuine, so the duties, the org chart and the salary need to make sense for your business. Second, labour market testing still applies even though the person is already working for you: at least two advertisements, each live for 28 days or more, within the four months before lodging on platforms with national reach, stating the salary where it is below the Department’s threshold. Citizens of some countries are exempt under trade agreements. Full detail: labour market testing for the 482.

Check 6: what it costs and how long it takes

Onshore cases are quicker in practice: no relocation, documents to hand, and the nomination and visa are lodged together. Full breakdown on cost to sponsor a worker and how long sponsorship takes.

Check 7: two years or permanent?

• 482 Core Skills: up to four years; after two years with you they can move to the permanent 186 through the Temporary Residence Transition stream, which is the usual sequence.
• 186 Direct Entry: permanent from the start where the occupation, skills assessment and experience line up, but median processing was 21 months in September 2026, during which the worker needs a visa to stay on. Most employers lead with the 482.
• 494: if you are in a regional area (Perth, the Gold Coast, Newcastle and all of regional Australia count), five years with the permanent 191 after three.

Mistakes that cost employers

• Promising sponsorship in writing before checking the occupation and the salary. A refused nomination after a written promise is a Fair Work problem as well as a migration one.
• Letting a Working Holiday maker’s six months run out before lodging; once they stop, they stop.
• Nominating a title that does not match the duties on their timesheets and your website.
• Agreeing that the worker will "pay for everything". The sponsorship, nomination and levy are yours by law, and recovering them is an offence.
• Skipping labour market testing because "they already work here".

What to tell the employee

They will need: proof of qualification and experience for the occupation (a formal skills assessment where the Department’s instrument requires one for their passport), an English result of at least IELTS 5.0 overall and in each component or equivalent (exempt passports aside), a health examination and police clearances. They cannot pay you or anyone for the sponsorship. If they are not yet nominable (salary, qualification, occupation), say so plainly and point them to the candidate guides; a profile on SponsorTalent lets you both see where they stand.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sponsor an employee who is on a Working Holiday visa? Yes, if their occupation is on the Core Skills or regional list, the salary meets A$79,423 and the market rate, and you hold or obtain Standard Business Sponsorship. Watch condition 8547: they can only work six months for you unless an exemption or Department permission applies, so lodge before the clock and the visa run out.

Do I need labour market testing if the person already works for me? Yes, unless an exemption applies (for example citizens of certain trade-agreement countries). The Department tests the position, not the person: two advertisements of at least 28 days each within the four months before the nomination on platforms with national reach.

Can a student visa holder work full-time for me while I sponsor them? No. Student visa holders are limited to 48 hours a fortnight while their course is in session. Full-time work starts when the 482 (or a bridging visa with full work rights, after the student visa ends) is in effect.

Can the employee pay the sponsorship costs? No. Sponsorship approval, the nomination charge and the Skilling Australians Fund levy are the sponsor’s by law and cannot be recovered from the worker, directly or through pay deductions. The worker normally pays their own visa application charge and personal costs.

How long will it take? Onshore, with documents ready, typically three to six months end to end at the Department’s September 2026 medians: sponsorship 11 days, nomination 64 days, visa about four months, with nomination and visa lodged together. A Specialist Skills nomination (A$146,576 or more) is much faster.