We know your story. You met. Compatibility kicked in. You fell in love with each other. Met each other’s family and friends. And decided that you want to spend the rest of your life together in Australia.
And then here comes the challenge of applying and sponsoring for spouse visa. Some people are living under the dread that same sex partners either cannot or will find it hard to secure a spouse visa to Australia due to the nature of their relationship. We are going to tell you right now: Yes, people in same-sex relationships can apply for, sponsor for, and obtain a spouse visa just like heterosexual relationships. It is neither tougher nor impossible. Australia does not discriminate nor does it prejudge what you can do and cannot do when it comes to relationships. As a couple, you are entitled to the same rights and benefits of a spouse visa.
However, just like any other visas, there are requirements you need to satisfy in order to qualify for a spouse, whether you are on the applying or on the sponsoring end. It is our constant mission to help migrants (and loving couples at that!) get a hold of their dreams together in Australia, so here is an idea of where to get started on a 820 spousal visa for a same-sex relationship.
That’s correct. You need to prove that your romantic relationship is genuine and you are not just conspiring to bring the other person to the country. You must have been living under one roof for 12 months. Nothing less. If you are worried that such set ups will raise eyebrows from other people, please know that Australia is a very accepting country. There are no prejudices here against same-sex relationships. Its liberal and open culture allows such ties to be part of the social norm.
In fact, Tasmania recently made a bold move of supporting same-sex marriage, the first of many steps in opening more opportunities for same-sex relationships.
The ability to register same-sex relationships is a way for same-sex couples to be recognised under Australian law for Immigration purposes. So if you don’t have the evidence to support that you have been living together with your partner under the same roof for 12 months or more, you can pop down to your local Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages office and get your relationship registered.
You may check the website for each territory to locate the registrar nearest to you here:
This recognition of families and friends can be proven via the form 888, a document being issued by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to be filled up by someone who fully knows about your relationship. It is also important that the signee of the document is either an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident, and is 18 years of age or older.
Other supporting documents are invitations from families and friends sent to the two of you and your pictures together with your partner and families and friends. Please be advised, however, that falsification of these documents and other witness declarations is considered an offense.
These include joint bank accounts, finances, memberships, loans, mortgages, billing statement (showing the same address), rental agreements, travel tickets, hotel reservations, and other documents of activities/transactions that you are doing/have done together. So go ahead and start gathering your evidence. The stronger the evidence is, the stronger your case is. And always remember, conflicting evidence or evidence that may not make sense to an Immigration Case Officer will get your case turned down.
Just as you need to prove that you are together presently, you also need to do prove that this relationship extends into the future. The establish this via joint investment documents, joint insurances, or a joint last will and testament. These evidences show that you really are in a long-term commitment with each other.
For permanent residency, your partner will be invited to apply for permanent residency after 2 years.
It doesn't matter from what industry your business is, or from which country you are, there is no escape from the problem of skills gap, and this is especially true in Australia, a country who thrives on the aggregates on its workers’ individual talent and ability.
A skills gap happens when there is a huge disparity between the skills required for the job and the actuall ability of the employee doing it. Not that the worker is inept or incompetent, it’s just he/she isn't the right person for the position. Like an ill-fitting piece of the puzzle or a cog grinding on the gears, skills gap results in loss of money, unemployment, and even closure of companies.
If you cannot obtain the right employee in your city or country, the best solution is to hire them from abroad. With the increasing globalisation, better traveling technology, and better migration policies, expatriating people to fill the skills gap has become more common. However, very few companies try to take this step as they do not know how to do it properly and legally.
This article provides a clear and concise step by step process on how you can employ staff from overseas without violating any laws or employees’ rights. The procedure can be taxing and demanding, but with the right knowledge and the right people to help you, this can be done right. And your business can continue to prosper.
Not all businesses in Australia can hire and sponsor overseas staff. As mandated by law, you are required first to meet specific conditions before you are allowed to enlist foreign workers. You need to prove that:
This step is quite complicated as it is essential. You need to closely study the type of visa suitable for your worker, lest be prepared to be entangled with issues from the Immigration Department, jeopardizing your business and your employee(s)’ record.
There are three types of sponsorship visa available, each one with different conditions and obligations:
This visa permits your sponsored skilled workers to come to Australia and work for up to four years. By law, your business is mandated to be actively and lawfully operating, as well as having no conflicting or negative information known about your business or any person associated with your business.
You may either apply to be a standard business sponsor or negotiate a labour agreement to be able to sponsor someone for a temporary work visa. For more information, you may check here.
Your employee can apply for this visa within six months after you have you nominated him or her under a 457 Temporary Work Visa. Also, the employee should be under the age of 50 at the time of application (unless exemption is granted), as well as possessing the required skills and qualifications for the position and the appropriate English language skills. You may check here for other conditions.
As an employer, you may also transition your staff from the temporary work to this visa subclass, given you satisfy the requirements of being an approved sponsor and that you are not subject to any labour agreement, as well as the adhereing to the following (but not limited to) conditions:
You may check the other requirements here.
The 187 RSMS visa is very much like the subclass 186, in function and conditions, except that this visa subclass is applicable only if you (actively and lawfully) operate a business in regional Australia, i.e. outside Gold Coast, Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong or Melbourne. You are in regional Australia if your post code is listed here.
The Sponsored Occupations List (SOL) and the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL) is replete with hundreds upon hundreds of job titles that can sometimes create a lot of confusion among sponsors and visa applicants alike.
Are you looking for a cook with culinary degrees and substantial restaurant or hotel experience? Then you need to hire a chef, not just a cook (both occupations are in CSOL). If you hire an optometrist to deal with eye and injuries and perform surgery, you will be trouble, because that’s an ophthalmologist’s job (optometrists are limited to vision problems and corrective treatments). Also, all psychologists are psychotherapists, but not the other way around.
Australia’s immigration policies are very specific with the kind of workers it will let in the country, to the point that each one has an assigned number. And speaking of which, make sure you and your employee(s) take note and input the number as accurately as possible. A mistake even in a singular digit will land a person to the job of a plumber (334111 in CSOL) instead of the child care center manager (134111 in CSOL) he/she is originally aiming for.
Hiring people is tough work. It requires a large network of applicants and potential employees (which itself takes time to build), a knowledge of the talent market, and expertise in selecting the right person for the job. It is something you don’t do perfectly off the cuff, not to mention it is expensive. And all these challenges will double since you are looking for people across the ocean.
These are the reasons why recruitment agencies such as Manpower Hub, Internations, and Scott Recruitment exist. They know where in the world to find which type of worker, have protracted reach to pools of global candidates, and could better market your company or business as an attractive employer. Also, they save you more money since they have become more efficient in doing this thing.
After you have zeroed in on a couple of possible candidates, it is time that you look for the qualifications to be sure you can nominate them and bring them here in Australia.
For employees to be nominated for subclass 457, they must:
For visa subleases 186 and 187, employees must:
After nomination and all requirements are complete, you are now ready to sponsor your employee. For the 457 visa, you may lodge your application online here. For those who will sponsor for 186 and 187, be sure you complete the document checklist here and here, respectively. You may also lodge the application on any Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) offices. After which your employer can now apply for the visa.
All the nomination and sponsorship process can be done all by yourself. However, doing so can be time consuming, burdening, and be overly expensive. Asking advice from the inexperienced and the shady can be more dangerous, as scams and fraud migration services are everywhere, expanding the already sizable cost without going anywhere, and worse, can land you on legal issues.
Established and competent migration companies like VisaOne have experienced lawyers and migration experts that handle such visa-related inquiries, applications, nominations, and sponsorship, to make sure you maximize your money, get the job done, and no law or policy is being broken. VisaOne has been doing this for more than a decade now, granting visa to people from different countries so they can come to Australia and start a good life.
If you have any questions or clarifications regarding employee sponsorship, just leave a message below. It is free and you will get the reply immediately.