Employer Nomination Scheme

Overview

The ENS List of Occupations is a list of skilled occupations, detailed on a Government Gazette Notice, in which Australian employers may nominate overseas workers for permanent residence in Australia. The list includes occupational groups 1-4. of the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (2nd edition), published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Major occupational groups in this range are:

• Managers and Administrators
• Professionals
• Associate professionals
• Tradespersons and related workers.

Features of the ENS

• You and any dependent family members included in the visa application will live as permanent residents in Australia.
• As permanent residents, you will be able to study in Australia at school or university
• You will have access to healthcare through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• You will have access to certain social security payments; this is subject to waiting periods.
• You will be eligible for Australian citizenship
• You be will be able to sponsor your family for permanent residence

ENS Process

The ENS process is a two stage process –

1. Nomination by the employer
2. Visa application

The Australian employer is required to satisfy certain requirements in order to obtain sponsorship status under this Visa type

Requirements for the employer

The employer must:

• be actively and lawfully operating in Australia
• have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a position in the employer’s business
• have a satisfactory record of compliance with immigration law and workplace relations law
• have made adequate provision for training existing Australian employees, or if a newly established business, be making adequate provision for future training of Australian employees.

The position in the employer’s business must:

• be full-time and available for at least three years
• be in accordance with the standards for working conditions provided under Australian industrial laws
• correspond to an occupation on the ENS List of Occupations
• attract a base salary that is at least the minimum salary that has been published in a Government

Gazette Notice for the occupation:

• $45,220 for most occupations
• $61,920 for IT professionals

Labour market testing in the ENS category has been waived for positions that involve skills in demand such as ICT, accounting and nursing. Further changes have recently been made to enable overseas students in Australia with these skills to apply for employer nominated migration without meeting the normal experience requirements.

Requirements for the nominee

Once the nomination is approved the visa application should be made. The Visa application must be lodged at the same Business Centre of DIAC as the corresponding nomination, even if the nominee is outside Australia.

Visa applicants under the ENS must be nominated by an Australian employer and should meet with the ENS nomination requirements. The visa application will be assessed against the following: either the applicant:

• has worked full-time in Australia in the occupation for which they have been nominated for the last 2 years, including at least the last 1 year working for the nominating employer
• has been nominated to fill a highly paid senior executive position with a salary of more that $151,500 per annum
  or
  has had their skills assessed as suitable by the relevant skills assessing authority (published in a Government Gazette Notice) and, unless exceptional circumstances apply, has at least 3 years experience in the occupation
• the applicant is able to satisfy any mandatory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements
• unless exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant is less than 45 years of age
• unless exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant has vocational English language ability
• the applicant and all family unit members meet mandatory health and character requirements.

Nomination

The employer in Australia has to apply for nomination on approval, the employer will provide the nominee with a copy of the nomination approval letter from the department, to apply for the visa.

The visa application must be lodged at the same time or within 6 months of the approval of the letter. If the application is made in Australia, the ENS and visa applications can be lodged at the same time; or the ENS application can be lodged and processed first, followed by the visa application.

To apply in Australia, an applicant must hold an eligible substantive visa (limited exceptions apply) and must be physically present in Australia at the time of decision. Where a visa application is made outside Australia, the applicant must be outside Australia at the time of decision.

Fees

Processing Times

The current processing time for migration to Australia under the employer nomination scheme is 8-12 months from the time the application is lodged.

Y-Axis Services

Y-Axis offers two services for candidates intending to apply under the ENS Category.

• Candidates who have a job offer letter from an Australian Employer:
  Please refer to our Skilled Independent Immigration Services Our services for ENS is the same as SIM, the only difference being we need to enclose the successful employer nomination with your application. ENS applications are on top most priority and will be processed in one year. Skills assessment is not required if you had worked for the sponsoring employer for at least 2 years, IELTS required is Vocational English(5 bands in each component).
• Candidates who require a job offer letter from an Australian Employer:
  Please refer to our Job Search Services Once we get you an offer from an employer, we will proceed with your ENS Application. You can also refer to the Y-Axis Smart Applicant Service.Please refer to our Job Search Services Once we get you an offer from an employer, we will proceed with your ENS Application. You can also refer to the Y-Axis Smart Applicant Service.
• Employers who wish to Recruit from India can refer to our Services for Employers section.