Below is a comprehensive list of available work visas for Australia. Oz Visa Info is a registered migration agent, with our head office in Perth, West Australia, as well as representatives in Sydney and London.
We offer a free initial consultation.
Contact us for up-to-date information on Australian Work Visas.
TYPES OF AUSTRALIAN WORKING VISAS
Temporary Work (Skilled) Visa (subclass 457) On 18 April 207 the Australian Government announced that this visa type will be abolished and replaced with the completely new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa. Contact us to learn how these changes will affect you.
The Temporary Work visa lets you live and work in Australia for up to four years as a skilled worker in a nominated occupation by an approved sponsor. An Australian employer can sponsor skilled workers and give you the right to bring your family members to work or study in Australia. Also, after you obtain a 457 work visa, you can leave the country when you want.
You must have the skills to fill the role successfully, in a situation where the role could not be filled by an Australian permanent resident or citizen. The nominated role must feature on the Skilled Occupation List.
Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) Visa (subclass 400)
The Temporary Work Short Stay visa lets you travel to Australia for up to three months to complete short-term skilled work, take part in temporary activities by invite of an Australia organisation, or take part in an activity or work that is in Australia’s interest.
To get this work visa, you must apply for it outside of Australia, and either have a specific set of skills to assist Australian business, be invited to take part in an event in Australia or be invited under exceptional circumstances to help the country.
You must take into account the dates you will be travelling, as the work visa can take up to one month to be approved and you must arrive in Australia within three months following the approval.
Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) Visa (subclass 401)
The Temporary Work Long Stay Visa lets you come to Australia for a maximum of two years to either do skilled work under a staff exchange program, take part in competitive sports, do full-time religious work or do full-time domestic household work for senior foreign executives.
You must be sponsored by an approved sponsor, nominated to participate in an approved activity, and have the skills and experience to successfully do that activity, before you can apply for this work visa.
The reason you applying for this visa will dictate which one of four streams you will apply under: Exchange stream, Sport stream, Religious Worker stream, or Domestic Worker (Executive) stream.
This work visa is only valid during the period of the position you have been nominated for.
Temporary Work (International Relations) Visa (subclass 403)
The Temporary Work International Relations visa lets you stay in Australia temporarily either by bilateral agreement, to represent a foreign government, to teach a foreign language, to work domestically for a diplomat, or due to privilege and immunities.
You will apply through one of four streams depending on your reason for coming to Australia, and each stream has its own requirements and conditions. The four streams are Government Agreement stream, Foreign Government Agency stream, Domestic Worker (Domestic or Consular stream), and Privileges and Immunities stream.
Temporary Work (Entertainment) Visa (subclass 420)
The Temporary Work visa for Entertainment lets you work in Australia as a performer or a member of the support or production staff.
To apply for this work visa, you must be set to work in Australia’s entertainment industry and be nominated by an official Entertainment sponsor. The term “entertainment industry”, means film, television, or live productions, either as a performer or behind the scenes.
This work visa is valid during the period of the position you have been nominated for, for no longer than two years.
Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417)
The Working Holiday visa lets young people from certain countries holiday and work in Australia for up to one year.
To get this work visa, you must be at least 18 years of age but not yet 31, must not have a dependent child with you during your stay, and have a passport from an eligible country.
You can apply for a Second Working Holiday visa if you want to extend your stay for a further year, as long as you have complied to the conditions of your first Working Holiday visa and completed 88 days of regional work.
(Subclass 417) are at present granted to the following countries:
- United Kingdom
• Canada
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Italy
• Japan
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Republic of Ireland
• Republic of Cyprus
• Republic of Korea
• Sweden
• Taiwan
Work And Holiday Visa (subclass 462)
The Work And Holiday visa lets young people from certain countries holiday and work in Australia for up to one year.
If you want to obtain this work visa, you must be at least 18 years of age but not yet 31, must not have a dependent child with you during your stay, and have a passport from an eligible country. Other requirements may depend on where your passport is from.
Countries that have a Subclass 462 visa arrangement with Australia:
- Argentina
• Bangladesh
• Chile
• China, People’s Republic of
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Poland
• Portugal
• Spain
• Thailand
• Turkey
• USA
• Uruguay
Special Program Visa (subclass 416) under the Seasonal Worker Program
The Special Program visa lets you come to Australia to take part in cultural exchange through the sharing of cultural and social experiences, knowledge and skills with people in Australia during official programs of seasonal work.
You can apply for the work visa is you have been invited to take part in a Seasonal Worker Program by an approved Special Program sponsor. You must be at least 21 years of age and return to your home country once your contribution to the program ends.
Skilled Recognised Graduate Visa (subclass 476)
The Skilled Recognised Graduate visa lets you get work experience up to 18 months as a recently graduated engineering student.
You can get this temporary work visa if you are younger than 31 years old and have earned an engineering degree in the past two years from a recognised institution. Accepted qualifications include a bachelors degree, masters degree, doctoral degree, and postgraduate diploma, in engineering specialities including civil, structural, chemical, environmental, electrical, mechanical and mining.
Other requirements such as English language ability will depend on your passport of origin.
Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485)
The Temporary Graduate visa lets you work temporarily in Australia following graduation as an international student.
You must be younger than 50 years old, in Australia, and currently holding an eligible visa to apply for the visa. You must also have graduated with an eligible qualification or have a qualification and skills for an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List. Depending on the qualification you hold, you will apply through the Graduate Work stream or Post-Study Work stream.
Superyacht Crew Visa (subclass 488)
The Superyacht Crew visa lets you work in Australia temporarily on board a Superyacht as a crew member and live in Australia for up to one year.
You must be employed as a Superyacht crew member to apply for this visa, and be sponsored by an approved Superyacht Crew sponsor who is the owner or captain of the vessel. An acceptable Superyacht must be a luxury sailing or motor vessel that is at least 24 metres in length, does not carry any cargo, and is only used for sport or pleasure.
Crew Travel Authority (subclass 942)
The Crew Travel Authority lets airlines register their international crew, including airline crew members, airline positioning crew members, aircraft safety inspectors and people who hold a Special Purpose Visa, on an electronic immigration record to check the legal authority of entering Australia.
Flights eligible are commercial passenger flights, chartered passenger flights and freight/cargo flights. Private flights are not eligible.
Maritime Crew Visa (subclass 988)
The Maritime Crew visa lets you enter Australia by sea as a crew member of partner of a crew member on a non-military ship on an international journey.
You must be working on a ship that is used commercially, used for carrying passengers, owned and operated by a foreign government for scientific research, Australian government-recognised as a public vessel, or registered in the Australian International Shipping Register.
You can enter Australia by sea on this temporary work visa, but you cannot stay or work in Australia besides what’s expected on board the ship.
Be aware that this visa takes up to 30 days to process, so you need to leave enough time before entering Australia.
New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) Visa (subclass 461)
The New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa lets you live and work in Australia for up to five years as a non-New Zealand family member of a New Zealand citizen.
To get this temporary work visa, you must not be a New Zealand citizen but an eligible family member (partner, dependent child, other dependent relative) of a New Zealand citizen currently or soon to be living in Australia on a Special Category visa (subclass 444).
Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) lets you live and work in Australia permanently as a skilled worker under one of three streams.
You can get the employer visa if you are nominated by an approved Australian employer, younger than 50 years old (unless stated otherwise), and have the skills, qualifications and level of English language required.
The three streams for employer visa scheme are the Temporary Residence Transition stream, Direct Entry stream and Agreement stream, and the one you choose will depend on the stream you were nominated for.
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (subclass 187)
The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa lets you permanently live and work in regional Australia as a skilled worker under one of three streams.
You can get the regional sponsored migration visa if you are nominated by an approved Australian employer in regional areas of Australia not including Gold Coast, Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong or Melbourne. You must be younger than 50 years old unless stated otherwise, meet the skills, qualifications and English language requirements, and apply under the stream you were nominated for.
The three streams for regional sponsored migration employee visa are the Temporary Residence Transition stream, Direct Entry stream, and Agreement stream.
State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner Visa (subclass 892)
The State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa lets you stay in Australia permanently if are sponsored by a state or territory and you own a new or existing business.
To get this visa, you need to currently hold a provisional visa and have lived in Australia for at least one year in the past two years on that visa. You also need to meet specific business requirements on operations, ownership, employees and turnover.
Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)
The Skilled Nominated visa lets you live and work permanently in Australia as a skilled worker nominated by a state or territory government agency.
You can get this visa if you nominated an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List, have undertaken a skills assessment for that occupation with a specified score, have been nominated to work in an Australian state or territory, lodged an Expression Of Interest, and subsequently received a letter of invitation by the Australian Government. You must also be younger than 50 years old and have an acceptable level of English in order to apply for a skilled work visa.
Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
The Skilled Independent visa lets you live and work permanently in Australia as a skilled worker without being sponsored or nominated by an employer or state.
You can get this visa if you nominated an occupation on the skilled occupation list, have a skills assessment relevant to that occupation, are younger than 50 years old, have an acceptable level of English, and have received an invite from the Australian Government. You need to submit an Expression On Interest in order to begin your application for skilled independent visa.
Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489)
The Skilled Regional Provisional visa lets you live and work in specific regional areas of Australia for up to four years.
To get this visa, you must lodge an Expression Of Interest and nominate an occupation on the relevant Skilled Occupations List to be nominated by an Australian state or territory or sponsored by an eligible relative, and invited by the Australian Government. You must also be younger than 50 years old and have completed a skills assessment for your nominated occupation.
If you are looking to extend your stay, you can apply for a Skilled Regional (Provisional) Renewal (subclass 489) visa.
Skilled Regional Visa (subclass 887)
The Skilled Regional visa lets you live and work permanently in Australia following one year of full-time regional work.
You can get this visa if you have lived for two years in a specific regional area, with one year at work in a regional area, or you hold a Skilled Regional visa (subclasses 475 or 487), Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa, Skilled Independent visa, or a Skilled Designated Area visa.