HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SPONSOR AN EMPLOYEE ?

The TSS visa is a temporary visa and the most common type of employer-sponsored visa in Australia. It allows you to sponsor a skilled foreign worker to fill a position that you cannot find a suitable Australian worker to fill. The worker may stay in Australia for anywhere between one to four years, depending on the occupation and stream they are eligible for under the visa (e.g. short-term or medium-term stream).

When applying for a TSS visa and other employer-sponsored visas, the application process involves three stages:

Employer must pay the fees involved at the sponsorship and nomination stage, whereas the applicant may pay the visa application fees.

Government fees involved with each stage. All fees are in Australian dollars (AUD) and apply at the time of this article.

$420 (paid by employer) This is the cost of becoming an approved sponsor under this visa.

$330 (paid by employer) This is the cost of nominating an applicant under this visa.

Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy – from $1,200 (paid annually by employer) 

The purpose of the SAF levy is for employers to contribute to the broader skills development of Australians.

As the employer, you must pay the SAF levy to the government. You cannot transfer the cost to the applicant.

The levy required to pay falls under two separate categories

Businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million – $1,200 per year (per worker); and

Businesses with an annual turnover of $10 million or more – $1,800 per year (per worker).

For example, if you have a business turnover of less than $10 million and want to employ a worker for 3 years on this visa, your SAF levy would be $3,600 (3 years x $1,200).

$2,645 – for the primary applicant if the occupation is on the medium/long-term list ($2,645 for applicant over 18 and $660 for applicant under 18) 

OR

$1,265 – for primary applicant if occupation is on the short-term list ($1,265 for applicant over 18 and $320 for applicant under 18)

The costs involved with preparing and lodging the visa application can be paid by the applicant and will vary depending on:

which stream the applicant’s occupation belongs to; and

whether there are additional applicants included in the application.

The DOHA may charge a subsequent temporary application charge (STAC), depending on the applicant’s individual visa history. If the STAC is applicable, it is $700 per applicant.

The subclass 186 visa allows businesses to employ skilled workers to live and work in Australia permanently. The ENS visa is a two-stage process, involving: 

There are three streams available under this visa:

ENS Fees

$540 (paid by employer) If the applicant falls within the labour agreement stream and the position is located in regional Australia, there is no nomination fee.

SAF levy – from $3,000 (once-off payment by employer) The SAF levy payable under this visa is as follows:

businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million – $3,000 one-off (per nomination);

businesses with an annual turnover of $10 million or more – $5,000 one-off (per nomination).

$4,045 – primary applicant

$2,025 – secondary applicant over 18

$1,010 – applicant under 18

Employer or employee may pay these costs

The SESR visa replaced the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187) in November 2019. The SESR visa allows employers in regional Australia to sponsor skilled workers to fill positions they have been unable to hire locally. While this is a temporary visa, there is a pathway to permanent residence via the subclass 191 (which will come into effect in 2022).

The process is similar to the TSS visa, as the SESR is a three stage process. 

$420 (paid by employer) This is the cost of becoming an approved sponsor under this visa.

SAF levy – from $3,000 (once-off payment by employer) 

There is no fee to nominate an applicant for either stream of this visa.

However, employer will need to pay the SAF levy of $3,000 (turnover <$10 million) or $5,000 (turnover >$10 million).

$4,045 primary applicant

$2,025 – secondary applicant over 18

$1,010 – applicant under 18

These fees can be paid by the applicant/s or the employer

In addition to government fees, there may be other costs associated with sponsoring an employee, including the professional fees of a Registered Migration Agent or lawyer to prepare and lodge the application on your behalf.

The applicant may need to pay certain costs to assist with their application, including fees for:

English test

Skills assessment

Police check

Health check

Document translation.

The employer, you must pay for all costs associated with becoming a sponsor and nominating an applicant (i.e. the sponsorship and nomination stage). This includes the DOHA fees and costs involved with job recruitment and professional fees.

Employer may also pay for some of the applicant’s costs, however, the employer is not obligated to do so.