There’s no denying the extensive obligations that come with sponsoring a worker on the TSS visa. Tougher eligibility criteria on age, employment history, salary and available occupations made 2018 an extremely challenging year for employers. The good news is that a lot of the uncertainty has now been clarified.
Whilst the 482 TSS visa remains the most common visa when hiring overseas talent, other visas may be available for consideration.
One such subclass is the 407 Training visa, which allows people to visit Australia to complete a work-place training (to improve skills for their current occupation, area of tertiary study or field of expertise), or complete a professional development program.
Like the 482 TSS visa, this is a sponsored visa and the sponsoring organisation must be an approved sponsor. If the applicant is not being paid to attend the training, then there are specific forms to be completed by the sponsoring organisation. However, if the applicant is to be paid then there are specific documents for employers to provide to substantiate the training arrangement and the arrangement for the applicant to attend.
Additional nomination requirements must be met depending on the purpose or type of training. Nomination is the stage where the sponsor provides details about the nominee (intended trainee), the purpose or type of training and how and where the training will be provided.
There are 3 types of occupational training covered by this visa:
Occupational training required for registration Occupational training to improve skills in an eligible occupation Occupational training for capacity building overseas. This includes overseas qualification, government support or professional.
How long the applicant can stay
This is a temporary visa. The applicant may be granted a visa stay in Australia for up to 2 years.
They can leave and re-enter Australia on the visa while it is valid but cannot stay longer by extending this visa. However, the applicant may be eligible to apply for other visas..
Family Members
Members of the family unit may be included in the application. Alternatively, family members can be subsequently added to the application provided it is before the Department of Home Affairs has reached a decision on the visa application.
Family members who apply for the visa with the main applicant must also meet the Department of Home Affairs’ health and character requirements.
If applying for this visa from outside Australia, family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet the Department of Home Affairs’ health requirements.
Cost
If the sponsoring organisation is not yet an approved sponsor, the government lodgement cost is currently AUD420 for this step. In addition, the government lodgement cost for the nomination application is AUD170 and the government lodgement cost for the visa application is from AUD310 for the main applicant. There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa. Additional costs such as for health checks, police certificates and biometrics may also be payable. The Skilling Australian Fund (SAF) is not applicable to the 407 training visa.
Processing times
Currently, 75% of applications are processed within 42 days and 90% of applications are processed within 72 days.
The application might take longer to process if:
it is not correctly completed;
all supporting documents are not included or additional information is required of the applicant;
the Department of Home Affairs needs to verify any information.
If you would like any further information on this, please contact our Visa Team at relocations@relocationcentre.com.au