I am an employer. I would like to sponsor and hire a skilled overseas employee for my business. What is the best way to do this?
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Answer by Kert Stavorn, Belmore 2192 NSW
- All skilled visas are now handled through the SkillSelect program.
- Anyone who wishes to apply for a skilled visa to Australia must now be invited to apply for a skilled visa through this program.
- An applicant needs to obtain a skills assessment, submit an Expression of Interest and then have it approved by the Department of Immigration in order for an employer to sponsor them.
- You can register with the SkillSelect program as an employer and obtain a list of approved candidates in your particular industry or type of work. You can also search for candidates as you would in any other job search site.
- The type of work must fall into the identified occupation list and you must also comply with the labour market testing requirement if you are applying under the Temporary Work (Skilled) visa subclass 457 program.
- Labour market testing means you have first tested the local labour market to ensure there are no suitably qualified and experienced people in Australia readily available to fill your position.
- To satisfy this requirement you must provide evidence of all advertising and other recruitment efforts you have made in the 12 months before lodging your nomination for an overseas skilled worker.
- Your prospective employee may also apply under the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) or the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187). This allows you to nominate a specific person directly.