For skilled workers who want to be sponsored
Before you pay anyone, watch this.
There are four employer sponsored visas, plus agreements beyond them, and they have different rules on age, English, work experience and where the job is. In 30 minutes a registered migration agent will tell you which one you have a real chance at, and what is standing in your way.
A proper assessment with a registered agent, and your options in writing afterwards. If you do not qualify yet, we will tell you that too, and tell you what would change it. There are three consultations below. Pick the one that matches you.
MARN 1800859
Registered Migration Agents
8+ years
As a Registered Migration Agent
1,000+
Applications lodged
300+
Five star Google reviews
482 / 186 / 494
All pathways assessed
Australia wide
Metro and regional
Any size
Family business to $100m turnover
★★★★★
"I had a great experience working with Nationwide Migration and Education on my Subclass 482 visa. They were professional, knowledgeable, and clear throughout the process. Communication was timely, and everything was handled efficiently. Thanks to their expertise, my visa was successfully approved. I highly recommend their services for visa and immigration matters."
★★★★★
"Thank you so much to Suman and the team for supporting me in successfully obtaining my SC 482 visa. I highly recommend Nationwide Migration to anyone looking for expert advice on work visas. They guided me professionally throughout the entire process, starting from my skills assessment. The journey was hassle-free, and I couldn't have done it without you. Highly recommended!"
★★★★★
"I'm incredibly grateful to Nationwide Migration for their outstanding support throughout my 482 visa process. From the initial consultation to the final grant notice, their team was consistently professional, responsive, and thorough. Their expertise and dedication truly made a difference."
Reviews are published as the client wrote them, shortened only for length. Every application is decided by the Department of Home Affairs on its own facts, and no outcome can be guaranteed.
Recent grants
Four real files: a 186, a 494 and two 482s. Tap any notice to see it full size.
Subclass 186 · Granted
Subclass 494 · Granted
Subclass 482 · Granted
ANZSCO 421111
Subclass 482 · Granted
These are past outcomes for individual clients. Every application is decided by the Department of Home Affairs on its own facts. Processing times are set by the Department, they vary case by case, and no registered migration agent can influence, prioritise or speed them up. Nothing here predicts your result and no outcome can be guaranteed.
Book your consultation
Three calls. Read the first line of each one and pick whichever describes you. Online or by phone. We act for people and businesses across Australia, metropolitan and regional.
Most people book this one
Best for: skilled workers who have an employer sponsor, or who are seeking one.
No employer sponsor
Best for: skilled workers comparing points based options, 189, 190 or 491, or moving from a 491 to permanent residence through the 191.
Regional and country areas
Best for: workers looking at a Designated Area Migration Agreement, and the employers in those regions.
Payment secures your time. Reschedule free with 24 hours notice. With your confirmation you receive a receipt, a copy of the OMARA Consumer Guide and our refund policy. Not sure which one? Book the first. It is the general sponsored visa call. If your situation turns out to suit one of the others, we will tell you on the day rather than send you away to rebook. Your consultation is with Suman Dua, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 1800859.
How it works
No guesswork and no surprises. Here is exactly what happens, in order.
Thirty minutes, AU$150, booked and paid online. Bring your passport details, your current visa, your qualifications and your work history.
Your occupation, your experience, your English, your age and where the job is, checked against every employer sponsored pathway open to you.
Which visas are realistic and which are not, what is missing from your profile, what it would take to fix it, and what the whole thing costs.
Once you have an employer, we prepare and lodge the sponsorship, the nomination and your visa application together.
Every sponsorship, nomination and visa decision is made by the Department of Home Affairs on the evidence in front of it. Processing times are theirs, they vary case by case, and no registered migration agent can influence, prioritise or speed them up. What we control is that your case is put together properly the first time.
Start here
Most people arrive having been given advice by someone who is not allowed to give it. Some of what you have heard is wrong, and some of it is illegal.
The first one is not that simple. The business has to be lawfully operating, the job has to be genuine and full time, and the business has to be approved by the Department before anything happens.
The second one is often wrong. There is more than one occupation list, the 494 uses a different list to the 482, and a labour agreement or a regional agreement may cover occupations the standard lists leave out.
The third one is the dangerous one. The sponsorship rules are written specifically to stop an employer taking a financial benefit in return for sponsoring someone. Be very careful with anyone who offers to sell you a sponsorship, and never hand money to someone who is not a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner.
What actually decides your case is your occupation, your work experience, your English, your age, and where the job is located.
The sponsored visas
Every line here comes from the Australian Government's own website. Occupation lists, income levels and rules change without warning, so always check the current position at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.
| Compare | 482Skills in DemandTemporary | 186Employer Nomination SchemePermanent | 494Skilled Employer Sponsored RegionalRegional, 5 years | 407Training visaTraining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You get | Live and work for the sponsoring employer, with family | Permanent residence from the day it is granted | 5 years living, working and studying in a designated regional area | Workplace based training. This is not a work visa |
| How long | Up to 4 years. Up to 5 years for a Hong Kong passport holder | Permanent | 5 years | Up to 2 years may be granted |
| Age | The published criteria do not include an age requirement | Under 45 for Direct Entry, unless exempt | Under 45, unless an exemption applies | Check the current criteria |
| Experience | At least 1 year in the occupation or a related field | 3 years for Direct Entry, or about 2 years sponsored work for the transition route | At least 3 years in the occupation | Not an experience based visa |
| Occupation list | Must be on the list the stream uses. Core Skills uses the Core Skills Occupation List | Core Skills Occupation List for Direct Entry | On the relevant list, with a skills assessment unless exempt | The training has to match the job, the study or the field |
| Watch out for | Work only for the sponsor, and only in the nominated occupation | Higher English than the 482. For the transition route the nomination must be approved in the 6 months before lodging | Live and work only in the region for the 5 years | Refused when the training plan does not hold up. Not a shortcut into a work visa |
| Then what | May lead to permanent residence later, if eligible | Already permanent. Citizenship later if eligible | Permanent residence 3 years after grant, through the subclass 191 | Not a pathway to permanent residence |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone
Source: Department of Home Affairs, immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, checked 7 September 2026. This is general information, not advice about your own situation, and there are more exemptions than a page like this can list.
If you have no employer
There is a second route that has nothing to do with an employer. It is points tested, and it is assessed completely differently. If that is where you are, it is a different conversation and a different consultation.
| Compare | 189Skilled IndependentPoints tested | 190Skilled NominatedState nominated | 491Skilled Work RegionalRegional, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| You get | Permanent residence, live and work anywhere in Australia | Permanent residence, nominated by a state or territory | 5 years in a designated regional area, with a route to permanent residence |
| Who backs you | No sponsor and no nominator needed | A state or territory government, not a business | A state or territory nomination, or sponsorship by an eligible relative |
| You must | Be invited to apply, and be under 45 to be invited | Meet the state’s own requirements on top of the visa criteria, and they change | Have an occupation on a relevant list, a suitable skills assessment, an invitation, and satisfy the points test |
| Then what | Already permanent | Already permanent | Permanent residence 3 years after the visa is granted |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone
If this is you, book the 191 / 189 / 190 / 491 consultation further down instead. It is a different call and a different fee. Source: Department of Home Affairs, checked 7 September 2026.
If your occupation is not on the list
Where the standard program cannot serve an industry, a business negotiates an agreement directly with the Department.
One type of labour agreement, made between the Government and a particular region.
Those easier rules are set occupation by occupation, not across the board.
Source: Department of Home Affairs labour agreements and DAMA pages, plus the region's own published occupation and concessions list. Checked 7 September 2026.
A quick honest check
We would rather you worked this out before you pay than after. Read both columns.
Where are you right now
Find your own case in this list. Most people are in one of them.
"My employer is willing but has no idea how."
Very common. We handle the business side and the worker side together, so your employer is not left to work it out alone. Where we act for both of you, we put the conflict of interest to each of you in writing first.
"I am on a student or graduate visa and it is running out."
Timing is everything here. What you can do while you are onshore depends on the visa you hold right now and the conditions on it. The earlier this starts, the more options you have.
"I am overseas and I have never been to Australia."
Employer sponsorship works from offshore. The Department says a business can sponsor a skilled worker who is living overseas, living here on a visa that does not allow work, or already working here on another visa.
"I am over 45."
The published criteria for the 482 do not include an age requirement. The 186 and the 494 generally require you to be under 45, and both have exemptions in specific circumstances. The 189 requires you to be under 45 to be invited. This is worth checking properly rather than assuming.
"My occupation is not on the list."
There is more than one list, and the 494 uses a different one to the 482. The Department itself says that where the occupation you need is not on the list of eligible skilled occupations, a labour agreement may be possible.
"I was refused before."
A past refusal changes what you can lodge and where, especially if you are onshore. Tell us early rather than late. It is much easier to plan around than to fix afterwards.
Who you are dealing with
You can check our registration on the public register before you speak to us. Do that with anyone you are thinking of paying.
Suman Dua
Registered Migration Agent · MARN 1800859
Registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority and bound by the Migration Agents Code of Conduct. You will be speaking with a registered migration agent, not an offshore call centre and not a salesperson.
Suman was featured in
We work with employers as well as workers, so we see both sides of a sponsorship.
Every fee is quoted in writing before you pay anything.
If you do not qualify, we tell you and we tell you why.
We do not find you a job, we do not have a list of sponsors, and we will never sell you a sponsorship.
We do not take money for applications that cannot succeed.
Where we act for both you and the business, we put the conflict of interest to each side in writing first.
Straight answers
Tap a question to open the answer
No. We are migration agents, not a recruitment agency. We assess whether you can qualify and we run the visa process once you have an employer. Be very careful with anyone who offers to sell you a sponsorship. The rules are written specifically to stop an employer taking a financial benefit in return for sponsoring someone.
Because it is advice, not a sales call. You get thirty minutes with a registered migration agent who looks at your own occupation, experience, English and situation against the real criteria, and a written summary afterwards. You leave knowing where you stand, whether or not you go any further with us.
No, and this is the misconception that stops the most people. The Department says any legally established and operating business can apply to be a sponsor. Becoming one is the first step of the process, not something your employer has to have done before you start.
Then you have saved yourself a lot of money and possibly years. You also get the specifics: what is missing, and what would have to change. Some people close that gap and come back later.
Your partner and dependent children can be included. On the 482, a partner or dependent who holds the visa can live, work and study in Australia while the visa is valid. Family members can also apply separately later to join you.
Often yes, including people on student, graduate and working holiday visas. The Department says a business can sponsor someone who is living overseas, living here on a visa that does not allow work, or already living and working here on another visa. The visa you hold right now changes the timing and sometimes the options, so bring your visa details to the call.
Not necessarily. The published criteria for the 482 do not include an age requirement. The 186 and the 494 generally require you to be under 45, and both have exemptions in specific circumstances. The 189 requires you to be under 45 to be invited. Which of these matters depends on which pathway you are actually on, which is exactly what the consultation is for.
Not necessarily. The 494 uses a different occupation list to the 482, and the Department itself says that where the occupation is not on the list of eligible skilled occupations, a labour agreement may be possible. A regional DAMA may also cover it. We check all of it before telling you no.
Usually. The sponsored visas each set a minimum English standard, and there are exemptions for some passport holders and some situations. The standard is not the same across the visas, and the 186 asks for more than the 482. We will tell you which test and which score applies to your pathway.
It depends on your occupation and the visa. Some occupations require a formal skills assessment and some do not, and there are exemptions. The assessing authority also differs by occupation. We will tell you what you actually need before you pay for the wrong assessment.
The 186 is permanent from the start. The 482 may lead to the 186 later. The 494 may lead to permanent residence through the subclass 191, which needs three years on the visa, compliance with its conditions, and taxable income at or above a set level for three years.
Whether any of them apply depends on your occupation, your employer and your own circumstances. The decision is always the Department's.
It depends on the visa, the occupation and whether the business is already an approved or accredited sponsor. The Department publishes current processing times for every visa and those figures move constantly. We will give you a realistic range rather than a number that sounds good. No migration agent can influence, prioritise or speed up how long the Department takes.
No. No migration agent can guarantee a visa outcome or a processing time, and anyone who tells you otherwise is breaking the rules they work under. All decisions are made solely by the Department of Home Affairs. What we can do is prepare your application carefully, make sure the evidence answers what the Department actually asks for, and tell you honestly when a pathway is not realistic.
Answers reflect Department of Home Affairs information checked on 7 September 2026. Occupation lists, income thresholds, English requirements and processing times change without notice. Always check the current position at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.
Ready when you are
Thirty minutes with Suman Dua, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 1800859. You finish the call knowing which pathway may be open to you, what is standing in the way, and what to do next. If nothing is open yet, we will say so plainly.
See the consultation optionsRather ask a question first? Call +61 7 3726 5183 or message us on WhatsApp.
