Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa

If you are a South Australian Business that cannot fill a skilled position locally, the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa can help you fill vacancies.

This visa helps employers fill vacancies where there are no suitable Australian citizens or permanent residents for the role. It is available to qualifying businesses across South Australia, including Adelaide and regional areas.

Who you can sponsor:

Skilled migrants living overseas
Temporary residents currently working in South Australia.

Regional Certifying Body Assessment

The Department of Home Affairs require Regional Certifying Body advice for employer nomination applications for this visa. Skilled & Business Migration is the Regional Certifying Body for South Australia.

Regional Certifying Body Role

The role of a Regional Certifying Body (RCB) is to provide advice to the Department of Home Affairs on SESR nomination applications for the Employer Sponsored stream. Employer nominations must always be considered by an RCB located in the same state where the nominated position exists.

If you are a local business seeking to sponsor a migrant on this visa, you must lodge an application with Skilled & Business Migration for Regional Certifying Body advice. Please see the RCB advice requirements for more details.

Who can apply for this visa?

For an employer to be eligible to nominate a position under this visa, they must meet all criteria set by Department of Home Affairs, but is suitable for local South Australian businesses where:

The business has a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position
The business has undertaken labour market testing and has been unable to fill the position locally
The position is full-time, skilled and likely to last for at least five years.

For a full list of criteria, please see the Department of Home Affairs website.

If you are a South Australian Business, to be eligible to nominate a position under the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa, you must meet all criteria set out by the Department of Home Affairs, including obtaining advice from a Regional Certifying Body (RCB). In South Australia, this is Skilled & Business Migration.

To qualify for the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494 – Employer Sponsored stream) visa, the employer and employee must meet all the Department of Home Affairs' criteria. Please see a summary below or visit the Department of Home Affairs website for full details. Skilled & Business Migration will only provide RCB advice once per employer nomination application lodged with the Department of Home Affairs (applications for the same position with the same nominee).

Sponsored stream visa includes (but is not limited to):

Be a standard business sponsor or have applied to be a standard business sponsor
Have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position.
Offer a genuine, skilled position; that is full-time and likely to exist for at least five (5) years. The five (5) years of employment is calculated from the date of Department of Home Affairs grant of the SESR provisional visa to the nominee (employee).
Offer no less than a market rate salary. The nominee's annual salary can be no less than the Temporary Skilled Income Migration Threshold (TSMIT)
The employment terms and conditions in accordance with those provided to Australian citizens and permanent residents in a similar position.
Comply with all relevant Australian immigration and workplace relations laws.

Nominate a skilled position on the Australian Government Federal Register occupation list.

Department of Home Affairs criteria for an employee applying for a SESR Employer Sponsored stream visa includes (but is not limited to):

Qualifications and skills relevant to the nominated occupation.
Employed in the nominated occupations for at least 3 years.
A positive skills assessment. The skills assessment must be provided by the relevant assessing authority.
Competent English in each band.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary only, and full criteria is available on the Department of Home Affairs website.

An employer applying for RCB advice for an SESR nomination application must demonstrate:

The nominee will be paid at least the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR)

Please note: The AMSR must not be less than theTemporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) and this criteria will be assessed by the Department of Home Affairs.

Please see the RCB advice requirements for full details

Once you have ensured that you meet the Department of Home Affairs criteria and are eligible to nominate a skilled migrant, you will need to prepare and supply a range of documentation to complete your application for Regional Certifying Body (RCB) Advice.

Please review the Before you apply information below prior to starting your application via the Skilled & Business Migration portal.

Ensure you fulfil all visa requirements outlined by the Department of Home Affairs.

NOTE: You must be a standard business sponsor or have applied to be a standard business sponsor at the time of application.

Prepare all information and documentation required by Skilled & Business Migration before you apply. Please see the RCB Advice Checklist for full details.

Once you have ensured you meet all the criteria, and prepared all documentation required for your application:

Submit an RCB advice application via the Skilled & Business Migration portal. Ensure that you (the employer) meet the requirements for RCB advice applications and that you have all the documentation to complete Skilled & Business Migration’s online application.
Lodge an employer nomination application with the Department of Home Affairs NOTE: It is your decision whether you apply for RCB advice before or after lodging an employer nomination application with the Department of Home Affairs. When you lodge an employer nomination, it is Department of Home Affairs policy that the RCB advice must have been issued within the last three months.

If the Department of Home Affairs approves the employer nomination, the employee will then need to lodge a subclass 494 visa application with the Department of Home Affairs. For more details on this process, please see the Department of Home Affairs website.

Application Outcomes

You will receive a copy of the RCB advice (Form 1404) to provide to the Department of Home Affairs with your SESR nomination application.

For not satisfied applications, you will receive the RCB advice (Form 1404) with a summary of the reasons for the negative assessment advice. A not satisfied RCB outcome does not prevent you from lodging an employer nomination application with Department of Home Affairs and you can provide additional information to Home Affairs. Department of Home Affairs will consider both the RCB advice provided and the information supplied in the employer’s SESR nomination application.

RCB advice is valid for three months from the date the advice is issued.

Please note: The paying for visa sponsorship framework introduces new laws that allow the Department of Home Affairs to take action in instances where this conduct is identified or suspected. On 14 December 2015 new criminal and civil penalties and visa cancellation provisions were introduced as part of the framework. This allows for sanctions to be imposed on a person who asks for, receives, offers or provides a benefit in return for a visa sponsorship or employment that requires visa sponsorship (otherwise known as a 'sponsorship-related event').

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Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa - Subclass 494

Department of Home Affairs Employer Criteria

Department of Home Affairs Employee Criteria

RCB Advice Requirements

Before you Apply

How to apply