EMC Australia / Subclass 482

A temporary employer-sponsored visa — your visa, their nomination.

482 is not a points-tested skilled visa. An approved Australian employer has to nominate you. The employer’s sponsorship or nomination is a separate application from your visa. Streams include Core Skills, Specialist Skills and labour agreement. From 19 September 2026, Direction 121 sets the order the Department looks at 482 applications. A place in that queue is not a grant.

Who this page is for

  • An Australian employer wants to hire you or keep you in an eligible occupation
  • You need a temporary work visa while a permanent 186 is planned
  • You already hold a 482 and the nomination or visa is due to expire
  • A 482 or nomination was refused

How it works

What this visa asks of you

These are the parts of this visa, in the order they usually matter.

  • Sponsorship

    The business, first

    Employer can sponsor

    The employer must be able to sponsor. If they cannot, your visa cannot proceed.

    Standard business sponsorship, or a labour agreement, is the employer’s application. It is not yours. We keep the two files separate.

  • Nomination

    The role, not the person

    Nomination of the position

    The occupation, salary, caveats and labour-market settings have to fit the stream.

    Core Skills, Specialist Skills and labour-agreement streams are not interchangeable. The wrong stream is a wasted nomination fee.

  • 482

    In or from outside Australia

    Your 482 visa

    Skills, English, health, character, and whether you can actually do the nominated work.

    A partner or child included on the same application keeps your place in Direction 121. A later subsequent-entrant application does not.

    Your 482 visa

How EMC works

How we help

  1. 01

    We name the stream

    Core Skills, Specialist Skills or labour agreement. The occupation and salary have to match the stream, not a preferred label.

  2. 02

    Two applications, one plan

    Sponsorship or nomination is the employer’s. The visa is yours. Timing, caveats and English sit in the right file.

  3. 03

    Where you sit in the queue

    Direction 121 is processing order for 482. Priority occupations first, then Specialist Skills, then other onshore applicants. It does not change the grant rules.

First conversation

What to bring

  • Passport, current visa, and a CV that matches the nominated occupation
  • The employer’s business name and the role they want you in
  • Skills assessment if the occupation needs one
  • English test if you have it
  • Any previous nomination or visa refusal

Before you apply

Things that go wrong

  • The employer must be able to sponsor. A job offer from a business that cannot sponsor is not a 482.
  • Caveats on the occupation list still apply. Direction 121 does not switch them off.
  • Working in a different occupation than the one nominated is how 482s are cancelled.
  • A subsequent-entrant partner application does not keep the primary applicant’s queue place.

Questions

People ask this first

  • No. It is temporary. Many people later use Temporary Residence Transition to a 186. Not everyone can. The occupation, the employer and the time on the 482 all have to line up.

Start with your situation.

You do not need to memorise the subclass. Book a consultation, or send us a message.

MARN 1800335 · Level 14, 333 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Related topics

This page is general information, not advice about your circumstances. Australian migration law changes. You should consult a Registered Migration Agent before you apply. EMC Australia is OMARA-registered (MARN 1800335).