The Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) allows skilled workers to come to Australia and work for an approved business for up to four years.
You must be sponsored by an approved business. A business can sponsor someone for this visa if they cannot find an Australian citizen or permanent resident to do the skilled work.
You can be in or outside Australia when you lodge your application.
This visa allows you to:
work in Australia for up to four years
bring your family to work or study in Australia
travel in and out of Australia as often as you want.
Before you apply
This is a sponsored visa. Before you can apply for the visa, your employer must:
become an approved sponsor
nominate you for a position.
You can apply for this visa at the same time your employer lodges their applications to sponsor and nominate you.
No further stay
You cannot apply for this visa if you already hold another visa that has a No further stay condition.
Your passport
You must have a valid passport or other travel document for this visa.
Who could get this visa
To apply you must:
be nominated to work in an approved occupation on the Skilled Occupation Lists
meet the skill requirements for the nominated occupation
meet registration and licensing obligations
speak vocational English
have been nominated by an approved business.
Approved occupations
You must work in a skilled occupation that has been approved by the Australian Government.
The list of eligible occupations is available on the Skilled Occupation Lists
Skill requirements
You need to show that you have the skills and experience necessary to work in the nominated occupation. The evidence that you can provide is listed in the Document checklist for visa applicants.
If your nominated occupation is a trade occupation, you might need to do a skills assessment.
If your nominated occupation is 'Project and Program Administrator or Specialist Manager not elsewhere classified', you will need to a skills assessment for migration purposes.
Registration and licensing
If requested by your visa processing case officer, you must provide evidence from the relevant Australian registration or licensing authority that you hold, or will be able to meet, the registration or licensing requirements to work in your nominated occupation.
Your approved sponsor should be able to provide you with the necessary licensing and registration information.
English language proficiency
It is important that you can speak, write and understand a sufficient level of English while you are in Australia. We use the following tests to determine your level of English language proficiency: