It’s often easy to fall into the trap where you assume that someone has the same understanding of a subject matter as yourself.
If I’m honest, I think the same can be said about my original view of the Australian 482 Visa Program. In my mind, the 482 Visa program was pretty straight forward:
482 Visa in its most simple terms:
- There are skills that are considered in demand in Australia.
- Employers need individuals who have these skills.
- There isn’t anyone in Australia readily available who has these skills;
- employers need to look beyond the Australian labour market and advertise to individuals overseas (the jobs advertisements we post here at 482jobs.com).
Then
- An individual outside of Australia has the skills but no job
- They see the job advertised but they aren’t yet legally allowed to work in Australia
- They apply for a Visa to work but they need to prove they are only going to undertaking a role listed as in demand.
- The employer confirms it’s a job in demand via the sponsorship process.
- The individual with this confirmation from the employer applies for their 482 working Visa.
- The 482 visa is granted
- With approved visa papers in hand, the individual moves to Australia and start their new sponsored job down under.
So quite simple right? Not so apparently!
Admin or Driver Jobs Offering a 482 Visa
You see, in the last few weeks, we have received a ton of questions.
The theme of many of these questions indicates that a lot of people who have a desire to move to Australia don’t quite understand some of the fundamental reasons for the existence of the 482 Visa in the first place.
We get a lot of requests on the lines of “I need any type of job” or people telling us that they will do an “admin job or driver job” in order to get an Australian 482 visa.
The thing is….
IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT!
How 482 Visas Work
Let me ask you a couple of questions…
Firstly, how many people do you know that work or used to work in a fast-food restaurant (e.g. McDonalds, KFC or similar)?
Second question; how many people do you know that are currently working as (or used to work as) a Cardiothoracic Surgeon?
The answers are a little different right?
The employment situation in Australia is very similar to this.
What we mean by this is that there are lots of people in the local Australian population who can do the fast-food jobs at McDonalds or the Delivery Driver jobs transporting parcels from one place to another.
These jobs are fulfilled by people who want to earn money after leaving school or are struggling to get the right kind of job because they don’t have an adequate amount of experience or qualifications at this time.
In contrast to this, there aren’t as many people who can do the more specialised jobs such as the Cardiologist job we used in the above example.
Although a slightly extreme example, this is an example of one of the jobs that is classified within Australia as being a skill “in demand”. A job that employers need to sponsor via the 482 Sponsored Visa Stream as the population of Australia simply isn’t sufficiently skilled in the number’s employers need to fulfil all of these requirements.
What this means is that unless the role you’re interested in doing is on one of the Australian Skills Occupations Lists, you won’t be able to use the 482 Visa stream as a means for gaining entry in Australia.
You’ll also need some good experience working in the profession detailed within the list as you may be competing against other international candidates looking for the same job.
Experience is important with the 482 Visa!
So just for a second, let’s ignore the fact that the role being advertised is a 482 Visa opportunity. It’s a job. A job being advertised to a global audience. At this point, we can’t stress enough the importance of experience and why this experience counts.
It should be obvious but if it’s not, let’s just put this out there.
Australian employers are looking for people with experience in the jobs they are advertising. If the experience wasn’t important, they would simply source the positions from the local Australian population who also don’t have the experience they are looking for.
Unless you have experience in a role listed as “in demand” please give some serious consideration to whether the 482 Visa stream is the right visa choice for you.
Also give some thought to the fact that in many instances, the number of sponsored jobs are few but the number of potential candidates is many. Many of whom will have this experience.
Now I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t apply for a job just because you only have 6 months experience and not 6 years, however, please be realistic with your expectations!
Australian employers aren’t going to just hand out Australian visas to anyone. You must have something to offer employers besides your guarantees that you will “work hard and be a first class and loyal employee”!
Summary
So in summary, unfortunately, you cannot get a 482 visa to move to Australia and work in an entry-level position. These jobs are NOT on the list of skills in demand so cannot be used to sponsor overseas applicants.
Similarly, experience in your chosen profession is critical! Like any job you might apply for, here in Australia or anywhere else for that matter, you need to be a strong candidate and have ample experience to be considered for the position.
This is not a 482 Visa requirement but a requirement of any employer looking to spend their hard-earned money on attracting overseas talent.
You will also most likely be competing with other candidates for the role so please be realistic about what you think you can offer an employer versus someone else who might have 5 years more experience than you doing the same job.
Again we aren’t saying don’t apply for these jobs. Just be realistic about the opportunities (or lack thereof) that exist in the roles that you hold an interest in.
Hopefully, this article hasn’t come across as too negative however I think it’s important that people understand that the 482 Visa path is not an easy one. It’s a tough visa class which is very sought after with many conditions associated with it.
With that said, if you have skills and experience doing a certain job and those skills are considered in demand in Australia. The 482 Sponsorship route is perfect for you.
You have a very good chance at securing sponsorship and being granted a ticket to start your new life here in Australia!
As always, if you have any questions or comments? Post them in our comments section below 🙂
To your success!!
Thanks for letting me know about this,it’s not easy having this sponsored visa and I will do my best for the job when I get the offer.
I appreciate what I just read… thankful
The effort (and sometimes the time it takes) is totally worth it @Stallone
Hi… Admin many thanks for bringing the hard reality upfront, which, not everyone is aware of. Furter, just getting curious to know that, I am an experienced professional (15+ years of experience in technical sales – engineered capital equipment). Will this be considered as a skilled job ?? And if yes, do I stand any chance of getting sponsorship for working & settling down in Australia.
Hi there – “ICT sales” is currently listed in the Short Term Occupations List: https://482jobs.com/stsol/ We have seen these roles advertised though they aren’t advertised that frequently.
HD Auto Electrician, I’m looking for such opportunity to travel to Australia. Can you assist
We are really very thankful to you and the staff members who have worked so hard for our help. You have done your work within commited time
Thank you for your kind comments Naleem. We are pleased you found the information helpful.
I have secured a job on a 400 visa and the 482 will be applied for after 3 months should I be worried. I have 15 years experience in my field Mechanical Engineering. And the job is crane technician which I have 7 years experience on. I am concerned that the 482 visa may be declined by the government after I’ve given up my job in the UK and up sticks to Perth WA.
Hi Rob. I’m assuming this is an approach the employer is offering so you can move to Australia a little sooner? If that’s the case, it really comes down to your trust with the employer.
Strictly speaking. Australian employers need to provide evidence (if requested) that they attempted to source a candidate from the local workplace before offering sponsorship from someone overseas. This may include the need to advertise the job for 30 days.
With that said, the approach the company is taking isn’t unusual, however if you do have concerns i’d be inclined to have a chat with the employer to understand your options.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Mark
Thank you for this clarification. Is there a link to find a lost of these “In demand jobs”?
I mean a list of the in demand jobs.
Hi Ojonimi – the occupations lists detail the current lists considered in demand. https://482jobs.com/australian-occupations-lists/
Based on our recent job postings, we’d note that jobs in the medical profession are in very high demand, followed by jobs in hospitality (Chefs and cooks).
Teaching, childcare, construction (carpentry) and mechanic roles and hairdresser professions are also jobs that we frequently post.
I am from Mumbai, India and 56 yrs a Mechanical engineer with vast experience 25 yrs + in EPC project management in various industries including petrochemicals
I would like to know the possibilities to get employment under 482 jobs and is there any age criteria ?