Victoria university,
Melbourne australia,
P.o box, 14428,
Melbourne, vic 8001
Footscray park campus,
Ballarat road, footscray 3011
21st may 2018
Innovative technology and engineering (ite),
123 princes highway,
Sale vic 3850
Dear Sir,
RE: A LETTER OF ADVICE ON THE NEWLY INTRODUCED TECHNICAL SKILL SHORTAGE VISA (SUBCLASS 482)
I am writing this letter as an immigration agency consultant to advice you on the legal requirements of applying for a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa (Subclass 482). The letter has detailed the legal requirements for both the applicant and the employer. The letter further proceeds to describe the steps of application from the first step to the last step as explained below;
Immigration Law: Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482)
Temporary Skills shortage Visa (subclass 482) abbreviated as ‘TSS visa’ is a type of visa available to working people who have agreed to be employed in Australia for special expertise. This type of visa is applicable to foreigners from overseas countries who want to be employed in Australia under a specific occupations listed on the occupation list. TSS visa was introduced in March 2018 by the Department of Home Affairs pursuant to legislative amendments introduced by The Migration Legislation Amendment (Temporary Skill Shortage Visa and complementary reforms) Regulations 2018
TSS visa was introduced to replace Temporary Work visa (subclass 457) due to a lot of integrity issues surrounding subclass 457 at the time.[1] There was an amendment introduced under schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994. The main aim of introducing TSS visa was to enable Australian employers or business organisations genuinely outsource the missing skilled labour outside the country to meet its labour shortage.[2] Before an application for a TSS visa is finalized, both the employer and the visa applicant have to meet legal requirements provided for by the DHA.[3]
Categories of TSS Visa
The first general criterion required is that is that the person to be recruited must have the relevant expertise under the job listed on the occupation list depending on the TSS visa term. TSS visa is categorized into three major classes or term streams. There is the short, medium and labour agreement stream. An applicant will know the stream applicable to him or her by making a reference to the Consolidated Skilled Occupation List (CSOL).
- Short Term Stream
Where by virtue of your occupation you happen to fall under the short term stream, your TSS visa will be approved for a maximum period of two years before it expires. Short term stream is relevant where the employers requires the employee to only work on temporary basis and return back to his country upon the completion of the job. The occupation applied for must have been listed on the Short Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL). Employment under short-term stream can only be extended to four years under exceptional circumstances for instance where an International Obligation (ITO) is applicable under the specific contract of employment signed with the employer. The cost of application is AUD 1,175 with a processing period of 33 days where applications are 75% or duration of 67 days for applications that are 90%.
- Medium term stream
Employees falling under medium term by nature of their occupation will have their visa approved for a maximum period of four years before expiry. The applicant’s occupation must be falling under the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Alternatively one can also qualify for medium term stream where his occupation is listed on the Regional Occupation List (ROL). The processing cost for medium term stream TSS Visa is AUD 2,455. The processing period is 22 days for applications that are within 75% and 62 days for applications that are 90%.
- Labour agreement stream
Labour agreement stream applies to categories of skilled employees with unique expertise not found in Australia who has negotiated a permanent employment contract with an option of permanently residing in Australia.[4] The employer must sign a labour agreement with the Department of home affairs hence the name Labour agreement stream. TSS Visa of this type allows the employees some flexibility to fly outside the country and back several times so long as the visa is still valid. The maximum stay period is four years though this could vary depending on the labour agreement signed. The cost of processing amounts to AUD 2,455. The processing period is 32 days for 75% of applications and 78 days for applications falling under 90%.
It is therefore very important for David to check all the three term streams occupations lists so as to ascertain the term stream that they will apply the cost of application and the duration as discussed below. The next step is ensuring that Jacob who is the visa applicant qualifies for the application under the eligibility test. David as the employer and sponsor is also required to pass an eligibility test must meeting the employer requirements. TSS Visa is a new subclass of visa introduced in 2018 hence its requirements are provided by DHA conditions on its website. The above mentioned amending legislation only repeals and inserts some new words in the schedule 2 of the Migration Regulation 2009 which provides for the previous subclass 457 that was replaced in 2018. The substantive provisions on legal requirements for both the applicant and the employer are provided for under the DHA website. The General eligibility requirements for both the applicant and the employer are discussed in the subheadings below as stated under the DHA website.
General eligibility requirements for the applicant
The applicant must apply under a specific occupation listed on the CSOL whereby he or she must have the relevant skills, qualifications and expertise under that occupation listed. It is a requirement that the applicant must have been selected for recruitment by an Australian employer or Organisation to fill the gap or shortage in terms of expertise that cannot be found in Australia. The applicant must have worked in the same field previously for two years hence having a two years working experience. It is a requirement that the person to be recruited must be able to converse in English fluently without any difficulties.
The DHA requires that the applicant must have met its requirements for good health and character. Where the applicant is already in Australia at the time of making the TSS visa application, he or she must be a holder of a substantive visa or an alternative of a bridging visa type A,B or C. he or she must have adhered to the conditions of the visa he already has before applying for a TSS visa. TSS visa is silent on age requirement since most of the people who have acquired have expertise qualifications have legal capacity in terms of age since most of them have attained the age of majority in their country of origin.[5]
In this particular case scenario, Jacob is the applicant. He is out of the country at the moment since he works in the United Kingdom. Jacob is expected to meet most of the above requirements before he can apply for a TSS visa to come to Australia and transform his idea of making cars use water by removing O from H2O hence converting water into pure Hydrogen for purposes of fueling the cars.
General requirements for the employer
In most cases employers are the ones who play the sponsorship role to enable the foreign nationals who are skilled get TSS visa so that they can work for them. Before such sponsorship and successful approval for TSS visa is accepted by the Immigration department or DHA, the employer must meet the following requirements;
The employer must be running and operating a legal business carried out lawfully under all the relevant laws applicable. The business should not be facing any impending illegality. The employer is expected not to have any harmful, unfavourable or disadvantageous information that is likely to cause adverse effects to the business. It is a requirement that the employer must have nominated a genuine and full time position of employment to the foreign worker before arranging for such application.
Where it is a requirement for the employer to provide a labour market testing, he must do so before arranging to have foreign national employed under his business. The employers must have met all the conditions required for remuneration and specified working conditions form the employment relations sector. Upon qualifying all this criteria, David can then proceed to arrange for the sponsorship of Jacob to come work under his company to fulfill his ambitious project
Procedure for applying TSS visa (Subclass 482)
The process is procedural and done step by step. The first process is to check whether your occupation is listed on CSOL and the TSS stream that you fall under as an applicant. The second step is to ensure all the requirements for both the employer and employee are met and fulfilled DHA conditions and immigration department conditions. Upon application, the applicant is assessed on ability of English language. The applicant is also directed to make arrangements for a health insurance cover for the whole period he will be working in Australia. The applicant is also assessed on good character and health requirements for visa applicants.
The third step is to have a sponsor who is your employer. The employer is required to fill and complete an online sponsorship application arranged by the DHA. Finding a sponsor is one of the most important steps since he is the one offering the employment position by nominating the applicant and without him the applicant cannot complete the application. Both the application for the TSS visa and the online application for sponsorship can be lodged concurrently to avoid time consumption. The applicant is supposed to wait for the DHA decision patiently since the process is a bit time consuming. The earliest the decision can be made is after a period of 11 to 18 days upon completion of the processing duration which varies according to each term stream of a TSS visa.
Upon the application being approved, the applicant will receive his or her TSS visa and report to work in accordance with the employment contract. Jacob and David will have to go through the process together until it is successful since each person has a role to play. After Jacob has received the TSS visa is when he will be allowed to travel from United Kingdom and settle in Australia for his ambitious project that he wants to undertake working under David’s company.
Bibliography
The Migration Legislation Amendment (Temporary Skill Shortage Visa and complementary reforms) Regulations 2018
Migration Regulations 1994, schedule 1, part 1 as amended in 2018 to provide all the requirements for the TSS visa
Independent Review into Integrity in the Subclass 457 program report 2014
Productivity commission Inquiry Report on Migrant intake into Australia 2016
Senate inquiry into a national disgrace: The exploitation of temporary work visa holders 2016
Australian Government, Department of Home Affairs; Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482); https://archive.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/visa-1/482-
The above advice has stated most of the requirements and procedures for getting a TSS Visa. For more information in terms of lodging the applications you are required to visit the Department of Home Affairs for specific directions. I hope the advice given above will be of great help to you as you endevour to employ Jacob in your company.
Thank you
Yours sincerely,
James
Cooper.
[1] Independent Review into Integrity in the Subclass 457 program report 2014
[2] Productivity commission Inquiry Report on Migrant intake into Australia 2016
[3] Migration Regulations 1994, schedule 1, part 1, it was amended in 2018 to provide all the requirements for the TSS visa subclass 482
[4] Senate inquiry into a national disgrace: The exploitation of temporary work visa holders 2016
[5] The Migration Legislation Amendment (Temporary Skill Shortage Visa and complementary reforms) Regulations 2018
