187 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)

To apply for this visa you must:

• be nominated by a business owner who is willing to nominate you for a position in their business in regional Australia
• be under 50 years of age
• meet the skills and qualification requirements for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme
• meet the English language requirements

Depending on your nominated occupation, salary and past work experience there may be certain exemptions application to the age, skills and past work experience criteria.

If you cannot find an employer who is willing to sponsor you, you can still lodge an Expression of Interest through the new SkillSelect migration program. The information provided in the EOI will then be visible to potential employers and state and territory governments. From there you may be nominated for skilled migration to Australia.

If you have been nominated for this visa you must lodge your application online within a 6 month period from the date the nomination was approved. When you apply, you must select one of the three possible streams:

• the Temporary Residence Transition stream which is for applicants who hold a 457 visa, who have worked for at least 2 years and who have been offered a permanent role through their current employer
• the Direct Entry stream which is for applicants who either haven’t worked, or who have only briefly worked in the Australian labour market and who have not held a 457 visa for the last 2 years, or are applying directly from outside Australia
• the Agreements stream is for skilled workers who are sponsored by an employer through a labour or regional migration agreement

The requirements for skills, qualifications and English language ability depend on whether you apply for the Temporary Residence Transition stream, the Direct Entry stream or the Agreement stream.

Temporary Residence Transition stream

If you apply for the Temporary Transition Stream you must have at least vocational English. There is however no need for your skills to be assessed, as you have already worked in Australia for two years for your nominating employer.

You can only apply for the Temporary Residence Transition stream if you hold a 457 visa. If you hold another 400 series visa you may have the option of applying for a permanent visa through the Direct Entry stream.

Direct Entry stream

In order to apply for the Direct Entry stream, you must:

• have skills and qualifications which are pertinent to your nominated occupation
• obtain a skills assessment by the application assessing body if you are nominated as a trades person and your qualification must be obtained outside Australia
• have at least competent English (equivalent to a score of 6 in each of the four components of the IELTS test

Agreement stream

To apply for the Agreement stream you must meet the age, skills and English language requirements as stated in the agreement.

It’s compulsory for you and any secondary applicants to undergo a health examination. The purpose of this examination is that it protects the Australian community from any health risks.

To be considered risk free, you and any additional applicants must be free from diseases or conditions considered to be health risks.

The health examination is critical because it:

• helps reduce and constrains public spending on health and community services, which also affects social security, pensions and allowances
• reduces the threat of the Australian community being exposed to potential health risks and illnesses
• improves access to health care and community services in short supply

Generally all visa applicants must meet the health requirements, and sometimes their dependents must also meet the requirements, regardless of whether they are migrating to Australia.

In certain cases where a condition or disease has been identified which requires a follow up medical check, you may be required to sign a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC). In this case you will need to sign a Health Undertaking to meet the health requirement.

Every visa applicant is required to meet the character requirements set out by the Department of Home Affairs before entering Australia.

Character requirements for temporary and permanent migration

To be considered good of character, you will be asked to provide police clearance certificates for every country that you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16 years of age.

Employer obligations

The employer is obliged to ensure that all the applicable workplace laws and award conditions are met. The employer must also ensure that the employee receives a letter confirming employment prospects which state that the employee will be employed:

• on a full-time basis
• for at least 2 years or more
• in a regional area of Australia

Employee obligations

The employee must:

• start employment within 6 months of the visa being granted if the applicant is already in Australia, or within 6 months of arriving in Australia if the applicant is abroad at the time the visa is granted
• remain in the same regional area of Australia in addition to the nominated position
• The department may cancel this visa at any time if the employee fails to demonstrate that the 2 year employment condition has been met