If you have an Australian employer willing to sponsor you, the skilled-migration maze narrows to three main visas. Here is how they work in 2026 — and how a temporary sponsorship can become permanent residency.

The three you'll hear about

  • Subclass 482 — Skills in Demand (SID): temporary, employer-sponsored (this replaced the old TSS visa)
  • Subclass 186 — Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS): permanent, employer-sponsored
  • Subclass 494 — Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional: temporary, for regional employers, with a path to permanent residency

Subclass 482 — Skills in Demand

The 482 lets an approved employer sponsor a skilled worker. It has three streams:
  • Core Skills Stream — your occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), and your salary must meet the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), which rose to $79,499 from 1 July 2026.
  • Specialist Skills Stream — no occupation-list restriction, but a high income threshold ($146,717 from 1 July 2026) and fast, roughly one-week median processing for these high-value roles.
  • Essential Skills Stream — for critical sectors such as aged care, disability support and some regional industries, accessed through sector-specific Labour Agreements and DAMAs, where salaries can sit below the Core Skills threshold.
Your employer must be an approved sponsor, pay at least the market salary rate, and contribute to the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy. Income thresholds index each 1 July, so confirm the current figures with Home Affairs.

Subclass 186 — permanent residency

The 186 ENS is the permanent step, and for most sponsored workers the key route is the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream: work for the same sponsor for around two years on your 482, and you can transition to permanent residency without a separate skills assessment. There is also a Direct Entry stream for those with a skills assessment and the required experience who haven't come through the temporary route.

Subclass 494 — the regional option

The 494 is for regional employers. It's a five-year temporary visa; after meeting income and residence requirements for around three years, holders can apply for permanent residency through the Subclass 191. If a metro employer can't sponsor you but a regional one can, the 494 is a genuine PR pathway.

Do you need a migration agent?

Employer-sponsored visas are employer-driven and paperwork-heavy — there is a sponsorship, a nomination, and the visa application, and mistakes at any stage cost time and money. Many employers engage a registered migration agent to run the process; applicants often do too. Agent fees typically run $2,500–$9,000 depending on the visa and complexity, separate from government charges. Whoever lodges it, the same rules apply: confirm the agent's MARN, insist on a written costs disclosure, and be wary of anyone guaranteeing an outcome. --- Compare MARA-registered migration agents who handle employer-sponsored visas →, check typical migration agent fees, and work through our visa checklist before you lodge.