Employer Sponsored Visa Costs

We can break down the costs of sponsoring employees into the 3 steps, and each step will have different costs associated.

Step 1: Costs associated to become a sponsor-First you have to make a separate application to the Department to become an approved sponsor to be eligible to sponsor employees and it will have a different cost.

Step 2: Costs associated in nominating your employee- Next your company will have to make another application to nominate the employee for the specific role in the company which will have a different cost

Step 3: Costs associated in applying for the visa application- This is the final step where you will have to apply for the visa application of the employee which will enable the employee to live, stay and work in Australia.

You will not need to undergo costs associated with the 1st step if you are sponsoring an employee for the SC 186 visa. The SC 186 visa doesn’t have a sponsorship application, it only has the nomination application and the visa application.

There are 3 main types of sponsorship; they are:

1. Standard business sponsors: If you are sponsoring an employee for the Skills in Demand visa (SC 482) or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), then this is the sponsorship type that is best for you.

2. Accredited sponsors: Same as the Standard business sponsors, this sponsorship allows you to sponsor employees for the Skills in Demand visa (SC 482) and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494). One of the main differences between the standard business sponsor and accredited sponsors is that the latter will receive priority in processing the relevant visa.

3. Temporary activity sponsors: This will be the best option for you if you are sponsoring employees under the following visa categories.

   • Temporary Activity visa (SC 408)

   • Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (SC 403) under the PALM scheme

   • Training visa (SC 407)

The Department costs to process the sponsorship application is AUD 420 for all of the above sponsorship types. The cost is not refundable whatever the outcome of the application is.

Depending on the type of visa that you are applying to the costs will vary:

What is the Skilling Australians Fund(SAF) Levy?

This is a mandatory nomination training contribution charge which is applicable for most of the employers. This levy must be paid in full by the sponsoring employer at the time of making the nomination application, this payment cannot be transferred to the employee.

The amount you pay as the levy will depend on the size of your business and the period of stay of the employee.

Example: If your business has an annual turnover less than AUD10 million per year and you are to nominate an employee for a period of 4 years, you would be liable to pay a levy of AUD 4,800 (4 years x AUD1,200).

If your employee already holds an SC 494 visa then the levy will be reduced depending on the number of years remaining on their visa.

• The SAF levy is tax deductible

• Only ministers of religion and religious assistants nominated under the Labour Agreement streams of the TSS or ENS visas are exempt from the SAF levy

• Refunds of the levy and the nomination application will be refunded in very limited circumstances for example where you have withdrawn the nomination application before a decision was made.

The visa costs would depend on the type of visa and the stream the applicant is applying to.