Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) - Permanent Visa

ENS is part of the Employer Sponsored Migration program and allows Australian employers to fill ‘highly’ skilled positions in Australia with a non-Australian citizen or resident. The ENS enables Australian employers to recruit, on a permanent basis, highly skilled staff from overseas or temporary residents currently in Australia, when they have been unable to fill a vacancy from within the Australian labour market or through their own training programs.

ENS is a two-stage process - the employer nominates the position to be filled, and the nominee applies for the grant of a visa.

Nomination

For the nomination to be approved, the employer must be able to demonstrate that:

• They have a need for a paid employee;
• The business is actively and lawfully operating in Australia and is operated by the employer;
• The employer has a satisfactory training record or, in the case of a new business, must make satisfactory provision for future training;
• There is nothing adverse known to DIAC about the employer or any officer of any of the entities that constitute the employer;
• The employer has a satisfactory record of compliance with immigration and industrial relations laws;
• The position requires the appointment of a ‘highly skilled’ person; This means:
• The tasks of the position correspond to the tasks of an occupation that is on the ENS Skilled Occupation List; and
• The salary will not be less than the minimum salary level for that occupation and/or location as specified in a Gazette notice; and
• Either:
• The person has already been working in the occupation in Australia for two years (with at least the last one year working for the nominating employer) while holding a specified temporary residence (including the 457 visa, medical practitioner, religious worker, sports, and educational visas); or
• The person’s skills and qualifications have been assessed by the relevant assessing body in Australia, and the person has 3 years work experience in the nominated occupation (the 3 years experience requirement can be waived for ‘exceptional appointments’); or
• The person is being nominated to fill a position that attracts a base salary in excess of $250,000.
• If applicable, the ‘highly skilled person’ is eligible for any mandatory licensing, registration or professional body membership where required;
• The position is a full-time, fixed-term appointment of at least 3 years, which does not exclude the possibility of renewal;
• The terms and conditions of employment must be in accordance with the standards for working conditions provided under Australian industrial relations laws or awards.

Visa Application

For the visa application to be approved, the Department of Immigration must be satisfied that:

1. At the time of application, the visa applicant is:
• Nominated by an Australian employer for a position in the employer’s business;
• Highly skilled;
• Under the age of 45;
• Able to speak vocational English;
  (The Age and English language requirements can be waived for ‘exceptional appointments’);
• Not more than 6 months has passed since the nomination was approved;
• If the nominated position requires licensing or registration, the applicant would be eligible to meet licensing/registration requirements.

At the time of decision:
• The nomination has been approved, and has not been withdrawn;
• The position specified in the nomination is still available;
• The nomination continues to meet the criteria for approval;
• Health and character requirements have been met.

Exceptional appointments: Age and language requirements can be waived as per existing policy guidelines.

Three types of ‘Exceptional’ appointments can be made: viz skills, age and English requirements.

Please contact us for detailed information from our Australian immigration consultants.