Australia
Sponsorship Visa

This Australian Visa is a multiple-entry visa that allows you to live and work in Australia for up to a period of four years through being sponsored by an Australian employer. To be eligible you must have proof of a job offer in line with your skills and experience that meets the minimum salary requirements. You have to stay within your chosen profession/occupation while on this visa.

Under this Australian programme you will be sponsored directly by your employer and the company would then be your sponsor. Note that your employer will need to be eligible to sponsor you. Visa First will check that the employment position is approved.

Visa First will give you a free assessment of your Australian employer’s eligibility to sponsor.

Your position must be consistent with the position description lodged with DIMIA (Department of Immigration) at the time of your sponsorship. If your position is to change, we must first seek approval from DIMIA by lodging a new position description.

If the new position is outside your initial position description at the time of your sponsorship or you wish to change employer, you will need to lodge a new visa application.

No, but we will not apply for your visa unless we are confident that you are eligible. Visa First will assess your eligibility for a visa for free and this will be based on a number of criteria including your qualifications and work experience. We will need a letter of job offer and a detailed copy of your CV.

No.

No, any nationality can apply once they have an approved job offer.

The following documents are required for the assessment stage of your Australia Sponsorship Visa application:

1. A genuine job offer from an Australian employer who is willing to sponsor you. The letter of offer/employment contract must state:

• Company business and trading names, ABN and ACN (if available);
• Company contact details (postal address, telephone/ fax numbers, etc);
• Title of the job position, as well as a description of the occupation to be filled, including skill and qualification requirements and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position;
• Period of employment and working hours (not less than 40 hours per week);
• Base salary and total remuneration package offered per annum. The minimum base salary required is AU$43,440 for 38 working hours week, AU$45,730 for 40 working hours week or AU$59,480 for ITs or managers - per annum. Base salary is the gross salary paid, excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals and vehicles.

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV): Please send us an updated copy of your CV, including:

• Certified* copies of any education and training certificates/ diplomas held, as well as any other evidence of qualifications obtained, relevant to your Australian job offer;
• Certified* copies of employer references;
• Full employment history, including information for each employer/ position:

-    Employer's name;
-    Position held/ name of occupation;
-    Date started;
-    Date finished;
-    Duties, tasks, responsibilities required and performed on this position.

*To certify your documents you need to visit a registered Justice of the Peace attorney. On the copies the Justice of the Peace must put the date, sign and stamp, as well as his/ her name and contact details.

On receipt of the above documents we will contact you to confirm your assessment results and to advise you on the next step of your Oz visa application. Additional documentation requirements will follow.

A chest x-ray and/or medical examination will be part of your Australian Sponsored Visa application. Please do not take any health examinations in advance. There is a strict procedure related to all health examinations for visa applications and you will be notified of this procedure in detail at a later stage.

Your letter of offer/employment contract should include:

• Company business and trading names, ABN and ACN (if available);
• Company contact details (postal address, telephone/ fax numbers, etc);
• Title of the job position, as well as a description of the occupation to be filled, including skill and qualification requirements and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position;
• Period of employment and working hours (not less than 40 hours per week);
• Base salary and total remuneration package offered per annum. The minimum base salary required is AU$43,440 for 38 working hours week, AU$45,730 for 40 working hours week or AU$59,480 for ITs or managers - per annum. Base salary is the gross salary paid, excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals and vehicles.

Your updated CV should be at least one page and no longer than four. It should include:

• Your full contact details;
• Your education history;
• Your fluency in English, written and spoken;
• Full employment history, including information for each employer/ position:

-    Employer's name;
-    Position held / name of occupation;
-    Date started;
-    Date finished;
-    Duties, tasks, responsibilities required and performed on this position.

• Certified* copies of any education and training certificates/ diplomas held, as well as any other evidence of qualifications obtained, relevant to your Australian job offer;
• Certified* copies of employer references;

*To certify your documents you need to visit a registered Justice of the Peace attorney. On the copies the Justice of the Peace must put the date, sign and stamp, as well as his/ her name and contact details.

To be eligible for this sponsorship visa you must meet the following requirements:

• If you have tertiary qualifications, then a MINIMUM of 1 years experience relevant to the nominated position is required.
• If the tertiary qualification is less than a degree (i.e. diploma or certificate) then the MINIMUM experience required will be at least 2-3 years.
• If there is no tertiary qualification, a MINIMUM of 5 years experience relevant to the nominated position is required. This also depends on ASCO as to what is actually required of prospective applicants, according to what ASCO deems as the qualification requirement of the position that is nominated. ASCO is the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations.

In some instances certain occupations require:

• An Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) certificate or diploma or higher qualification and 12 months relevant employment experience; or
• At least three years relevant employment experience.

All relevant employment experience must be evidenced via references from previous employers.

Certificates (e.g. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Training, Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Training) do NOT equate to a formal qualification. The certificate courses referred to vary in duration. You may be able to tally the duration of each and come up with something meaningful. It would depend on each case and the level of experience combined with what you have. A couple of those certificates with 2 years experience may not suffice.

Australian Sponsorship Visa applications are discretionary and depend on the examination of each individual case. Though Visa First have priority processing with DIMIA (Australian Department of Immigration) which enables visa applications to be finalised in just 6-8 weeks, processing periods may vary beyond this period. Please note that insufficient information from either yourself or your sponsoring employer may result in additional delays or visa refusal.

Yes. You do not have to be offshore to apply for this visa.

Yes, provided you do not have a "no further stay" condition on your Tourist 676 Visa. All other conditions that may be on your Tourist Visa will change when your Sponsorship Visa is issued.

No, this will not be necessary if you are granted a sponsorship visa in Australia.

Yes, but until your new Oz Sponsorship Visa is issued you must continue to conform to the conditions of your Working Holiday Visa. If these conditions are breached, for instance if you stay with the one employer for more than 3 months, your Australian sponsorship application may be rejected.

Provided that your Australian Sponsorship Visa application is lodged before your working holiday visa expires, then you can be issued with a Bridging Visa, which has the same terms and conditions as your original Working Holiday Visa, for example you will still not be able to work for more than three months with a single employer.

If a visa application is made to the Australian Department of Immigration and there is an indication that the conditions of an existing visa have been breached, the Department will reject the application. If this is your case, knowing that the application would most likely be rejected, Visa First would not be in a position to be able to lodge the application on your behalf.

If your 417 Working Holiday Visa has not yet expired, you will still retain the visa. However, if the working holiday visa has expired, you will be given notice that you have 28 days to either obtain another visa, or depart the country.

A dependant is a member of the family unit of the visa applicant. This may include the spouse/ partner of the applicant, any dependent children (under 18 years of age) or some other dependent relative.

Spouse, de-facto and dependants of sponsorship visa holders are able to work and study during their stay in Australia. Spouses and dependants, however, may incur education/tuition costs for any study undertaken in Australia. You should contact the relevant education provider about such costs. You should note that under State legislation, school-age dependants may be required to attend school while in Australia. Dependants studying at tertiary level attract the same fees as those which apply to overseas students.

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will not be able to receive a refund of the application charge.

If your Australian Visa application is refused, you may apply for a review of the decision. You will be notified of your review rights in writing. You will also be advised how to apply for a review and the time limits for lodging such an application.

Make sure you print and keep a copy of your Oz visa approval letter. You should discuss health insurance arrangements with your sponsor. Generally, temporary business entrants are not entitled to access Australia's national health insurance scheme.

When you obtain your Australia Sponsored Visa, your requirements for health insurance change. You will be advised to consult your insurance company.

Our partner Traveltowork can open your Australian bank account before you leave home. Traveltowork partners ANZ and will provide you with your account details by email within 4-5 working days of your application. Once you arrive in Oz, you simply present your passport or driver’s licence at any ANZ branch to access your account. Apply now to get your account set up.

You will need an Australian Tax File Number (TFN) to work and pay tax in Oz.
With the Visa First Tax Saver Pack we’ll start organising your TFN before you leave home so you can start working and earning as soon as you arrive in Australia. Apply for your Tax File Number here.

Thousands of customers choose Visa First to organise their migration visas every year because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We are the only company with an online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your status now.
• We’re visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• Our visa guarantee means no visa – no fee!*
• We don’t just do visas, we sort out everything you’ll need overseas – from accommodation, bank accounts, airport pick up, jobs and much more.

Yes, you can apply for permanent residency after your sponsorship visa expires, however, you will need to be outside Oz to get your permanent residency visa granted as this is an offshore visa.

Yes, a student can apply for a sponsorship visa while in Australia unless there is a condition 'No further Stay' bound to your student visa. You will be granted a bridging visa until the sponsorship visa is finalized.

The eternal question!! The best thing about Australia is that there are loads of great ways to get around. Compared with the UK, buying and running a car is a LOT cheaper. You can get a backpacker's car from around 200 dollars, insurance from 100 dollars and petrol is around 40p a litre! If you are going with friends you can share the costs, or why not buy a campervan and sleep in it as well? Another good transport option is to get a hop on hop off bus pass which allows you to travel around NZ but jump off when you see somewhere you like!

Right, your luggage allowance is currently based on one thing - whether you fly through America on your way out or Asia (eg Hong Kong, Singapore etc). If you fly through Asia your maximum luggage allowance is 20kg and 7kg for your hand luggage. If you fly through America you have an allowance of 32 kg for your luggage and 7kg for your hand luggage. Hong Kong and Singapore are great places to have a stopover on the way out. Also, airlines such as Singapore Air offer a great flight service. If you are thinking of taking over 20kg – Don’t!!

Well, that depends... Based on the time of year you want to travel and the current offers available with the airlines, it can be between £600 and £900. It's also worth looking into a round the world ticket which will let you visit a lot more countries for not much more money.

Hostels are the main accommodation that travelers stay in when in Australia and they offer both long term and short term accommodation. If you've ever been to a hostel in the UK you might be thinking of raincoats, old men with beards and birdwatchers! Well, in Australia they are great places to stay with cinema rooms, internet, decking, bbq areas and spa pools. You can choose to have your own room or share with others and you all cook and socialize in well-equipped areas.

If you have a valid UK drivers license and an International Driving Permit then you are eligible to drive in Australia for up to a year without doing anything else. After this time, you would need to take an Australia driving test. Be aware that it is against the law not to have your license on you while driving.
With petrol and insurance being so cheap, many backpackers buy a car to travel around Australia then sell it on when they leave.

The drinking age in Australia is 18, the same as the UK. You'll also be happy to know that you can go on drinking throughout the night.

Yes, the working holiday visa is a multiple entry visa.

If your company is willing to keep you on they can apply for a sponsorship visa. This allows you to work for that company for up to four years. Beware though...If you leave or are terminated your visa expires immediately and you have to leave Australia.

You will need to visit your GP or nearest travel clinic for vaccination advice. Please ensure you allow sufficient time to obtain any vaccinations or boosters you may need before travel.

Yes, you can, as long as you are not in Australia.

Your partner can apply for a tourist or sponsorship/migration visa.

Currently, all Australian working holiday visa applications must be made overseas, i.e. outside Australia. Only applications for the new second year can be made in Australia.

No. Working holiday makers on a holiday visa for working are permitted to do any kind of work of a temporary or casual nature. However, if you intend to work in your occupation in Australia, you should be aware that registration or licensing may be required. You may only hold a job for a length of 6 months with each employer.

Working Holiday visa makers are permitted to study or train for up to 4 months.

Yes. You can leave and re-enter Australia within the 12 months from the date of initial entry to Australia on your visa for holiday and working. However, if you depart Australia during your 12 month stay, you are not able to recover in any way the period of time spent outside Australia.

No restrictions on duration spend working with one and the same employer as long as it is not for 12 months.

No, all you have to do is fill out our simple online form. You don't even need to send us your passport. We will confirm all the details over the phone.

Yes, however there will be additional documents required and there will be a delay.

You can use a debit or credit card. Alternatively you can send us a postal order or bank draft.

No. You need a New Zealand Working holiday visa to work in New Zealand.

Yes. You just do not have to bring your children with you.

Basically if the offence was a minor one there should be no problem for your partner to get a visa for Australia. He will be required to provide some supporting documents like a copy of the court transcript and a personal explanation on what exactly happened. Still each application is assessed individually and the final decision depends from the Immigration Authorities so please don’t book any flights before your visa is granted.