Australia
Sponsorship Visa

Once you contact us on the phone or on the web to request information for one of our services we will provide you with a free eligibility assessment which will determine the most appropriate visa for you. The assessment will include preliminary information on the visa conditions and how you meet the eligibility requirements. Once you agree to use our service we will process your visa application through to completion. Our service covers the checking of your documents and personal details for correctness before we lodge your application with the relevant Government/Embassy. In the event that we spot any missing information/documents from your application we will follow up by giving you a phone call or sending you an email to request the necessary details.

Thousands of customers choose Visa First to organise their working holiday visas every year because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We provide a free initial assessment on the process.
• We developed the unique online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your status now.
• We're visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• We have a price and service promise to you to ensure a low cost effective service.
• We offer a step-by-step consultation as we do the visa.
• We provide an end-to-end service from assessment, through gathering and processing the documents till visa grant.
• We have local offices supporting the visa process.

 

 

This Australian Visa is a multiple-entry visa that allows you to live and work in Australia for up to a period of four years through being sponsored by an Australian employer. To be eligible you must have proof of a job offer in line with your skills and experience that meets the market salary requirements.

Under this Australian programme you will be sponsored directly by your employer and the company would then be your sponsor. Note that your employer will need to be eligible to sponsor you. Visa First will check that the employment position is approved.

Visa First will give you a free assessment of your Australian employer’s eligibility to sponsor.

Your position must be consistent with the position description lodged with DIAC (Department of Immigration and Citizenship) at the time of your sponsorship. If your position is to change, we must first seek approval from DIAC by lodging a new position description.

If the new position is outside your initial position description at the time of your sponsorship or you wish to change employer, you will need to lodge a new sponsorship and nomination application.

No, but we will not apply for your visa unless we are confident that you are eligible. Visa First will assess your eligibility for a visa for free and this will be based on a number of criteria including your qualifications and work experience. We will need a letter of job offer and a detailed copy of your CV.

No.

No, any nationality can apply once they have an approved job offer.

Please do not take any health examinations in advance. If such are required, Visa First will contact you back with detailed information.

Your letter of offer/employment contract should include:

• Company business and trading names, ABN and ACN (if available);
• Company contact details (postal address, telephone/ fax numbers, etc.);
• Title of the job position, as well as a description of the occupation to be filled, including skill and qualification requirements and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position;
• Period of employment and working hours (not less than 38 hours per week);
• A salary which meets the requirement of the market salary rate amount that is paid to an equivalent Australian in the sponsor's workplace (Note: The Temporary Income Threshold, is currently set at $49 330 per annum (for 38 working hours week). Base salary is the gross salary paid, excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals and vehicles).

Your updated CV should be at least one page and no longer than four. It should include:

• Your full contact details;
• Your education history;
• Your fluency in English, written and spoken;
• Full employment history, including information for each employer/ position:
- Employer's name;
- Position held / name of occupation;
- Date started;
- Date finished;
- Duties, tasks, responsibilities required and performed on this position.

To be eligible for this sponsorship visa you must meet the following requirements:

• If you have tertiary qualifications, then a MINIMUM of 1 year experience relevant to the nominated position is required.
• If the tertiary qualification is less than a degree (i.e. diploma or certificate) then the MINIMUM experience required will be at least 2-3 years.
• If there is no tertiary qualification, a MINIMUM of 5 years experience relevant to the nominated position is required. This also depends on ANZSCO as to what is actually required of prospective applicants, according to what ANZSCO deems as the qualification requirement of the position that is nominated. ANZSCO is the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations.

In some instances certain occupations require:

• An Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) certificate or diploma or higher qualification and 12 months relevant employment experience; or
• At least three years relevant employment experience.

All relevant employment experience must be evidenced via references from previous employers.

Certificates (e.g. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Training, Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Training) do NOT equate to a formal qualification. The certificate courses referred to vary in duration. You may be able to tally the duration of each and come up with something meaningful. It would depend on each case and the level of experience combined with what you have. A couple of those certificates with 2 years experience may not suffice.

Australian Sponsorship Visa applications are discretionary and depend on the examination of each individual case. Average time frame is between 6-8 weeks, but processing periods may vary beyond this period. Please note that insufficient information from either yourself or your sponsoring employer may result in additional delays or visa refusal.

Yes. You do not have to be offshore to apply for this visa.

Yes, provided you do not have a "no further stay" condition on your Tourist 600 Visa. All other conditions that may be on your Tourist Visa will change when your Sponsorship Visa is issued.

No, this will not be necessary if you are granted a sponsorship visa in Australia.

Yes, but until your new Oz Sponsorship Visa is issued you must continue to conform to the conditions of your Working Holiday Visa. If these conditions are breached, for instance if you stay with the one employer for more than 6 months, your Australian sponsorship application may be rejected.

Provided that your Australian Sponsorship Visa application is lodged before your working holiday visa expires, then you can be issued with a Bridging Visa, which has the same terms and conditions as your original Working Holiday Visa, for example you will still not be able to work for more than three months with a single employer.

If a visa application is made to the Australian Department of Immigration and there is an indication that the conditions of an existing visa have been breached, the Department will reject the application. If this is your case, knowing that the application would most likely be rejected, Visa First would not be in a position to be able to lodge the application on your behalf.

If your 417 Working Holiday Visa has not yet expired, you will still retain the visa. However, if the working holiday visa has expired, you will be given notice that you have 28 days to either obtain another visa, or depart the country.

A dependant is a member of the family unit of the visa applicant. This may include the spouse/ partner of the applicant, any dependent children (under 18 years of age) or some other dependent relative.

Spouse, de-facto and dependants of sponsorship visa holders are able to work and study during their stay in Australia. Spouses and dependants, however, may incur education/tuition costs for any study undertaken in Australia. You should contact the relevant education provider about such costs. You should note that under State legislation, school-age dependants may be required to attend school while in Australia. Dependants studying at tertiary level attract the same fees as those which apply to overseas students.

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will not be able to receive a refund of the application charge.

If your Australian Visa application is refused, you may apply for a review of the decision. You will be notified of your review rights in writing. You will also be advised how to apply for a review and the time limits for lodging such an application.

Make sure you print and keep a copy of your Oz visa approval letter. You should discuss health insurance arrangements with your sponsor. Generally, temporary business entrants are not entitled to access Australia's national health insurance scheme.

When you obtain your Australia Sponsored Visa, your requirements for health insurance change. As a Sponsorship visa holder you are responsible for all health costs for yourself and your family.

Our partner Traveltowork can open your Australian bank account before you leave home. Traveltowork partners ANZ and will provide you with your account details by email within 4-5 working days of your application. Once you arrive in Oz, you simply present your passport or driver’s licence at any ANZ branch to access your account. Apply now to get your account set up.

You will need an Australian Tax File Number (TFN) to work and pay tax in Oz.
With the Visa First Tax Saver Pack we’ll start organising your TFN before you leave home so you can start working and earning as soon as you arrive in Australia. Apply for your Tax File Number here.

Yes, you can apply for permanent residency after your sponsorship visa expires, however, you will need to be outside Oz to get your permanent residency visa granted as this is an offshore visa.

Yes, a student can apply for a sponsorship visa while in Australia unless there is a condition 'No further Stay' bound to your student visa. You will be granted a bridging visa until the sponsorship visa is finalized.

The eternal question!! The best thing about Australia is that there are loads of great ways to get around. Compared with the UK, buying and running a car is a LOT cheaper. You can get a backpacker's car from around 200 dollars, insurance from 100 dollars and petrol is around 40p a litre! If you are going with friends you can share the costs, or why not buy a campervan and sleep in it as well? Another good transport option is to get a hop on hop off bus pass which allows you to travel around NZ but jump off when you see somewhere you like!

Right, your luggage allowance is currently based on one thing - whether you fly through America on your way out or Asia (eg Hong Kong, Singapore etc). If you fly through Asia your maximum luggage allowance is 20kg and 7kg for your hand luggage. If you fly through America you have an allowance of 32 kg for your luggage and 7kg for your hand luggage. Hong Kong and Singapore are great places to have a stopover on the way out. Also, airlines such as Singapore Air offer a great flight service. If you are thinking of taking over 20kg – Don’t!!

Well, that depends... Based on the time of year you want to travel and the current offers available with the airlines, it can be between £600 and £900. It's also worth looking into a round the world ticket which will let you visit a lot more countries for not much more money.

Hostels are the main accommodation that travelers stay in when in Australia and they offer both long term and short term accommodation. If you've ever been to a hostel in the UK you might be thinking of raincoats, old men with beards and birdwatchers! Well, in Australia they are great places to stay with cinema rooms, internet, decking, bbq areas and spa pools. You can choose to have your own room or share with others and you all cook and socialize in well-equipped areas.

If you have a valid UK drivers license and an International Driving Permit then you are eligible to drive in Australia for up to a year without doing anything else. After this time, you would need to take an Australia driving test. Be aware that it is against the law not to have your license on you while driving.
With petrol and insurance being so cheap, many backpackers buy a car to travel around Australia then sell it on when they leave.

The drinking age in Australia is 18, the same as the UK. You'll also be happy to know that you can go on drinking throughout the night.

Yes, the working holiday visa is a multiple entry visa.

If your company is willing to keep you on they can apply for a sponsorship visa. This allows you to work for that company for up to four years. Beware though...If you leave or are terminated your visa expires immediately and you have to leave Australia.

You will need to visit your GP or nearest travel clinic for vaccination advice. Please ensure you allow sufficient time to obtain any vaccinations or boosters you may need before travel.

Yes, you can.

Yes, however there will be additional documents required and there will be a delay.

You can use a debit or credit card. Alternatively you can send us a postal order or bank draft.

At Visa First we do everything we can to make sure you receive the best possible service. If you feel that we have not achieved this goal we have set up a complaints handling process:

Complaints Process:

1. Where an official complaint is received by Visa First, the company will record the nature of the complaint and issue an acknowledgement email to the client within 5 business days of receiving the complaint. The acknowledgement will provide the client with the contact name who is responsible for dealing with the complaint. The official complaint must be made by email (you may also write, although this will slow down the process), and confirm that the client wishes to enter this process. Please email your complaint to complaints@visafirst.com
2. Visa First will investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible and where applicable, the complainant will receive a regular written update on the progress of the investigation at intervals of not more than 20 business days.
3. Visa First will try to resolve the complaint within 40 business days of having received the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved within 40 business days, the Firm will write to the complainant notifying them of the anticipated timeframe for the conclusion of the investigation.
4. Within 5 business days of the conclusion of the investigation of the complaint, Visa First will issue a resolution letter detailing the outcome of the investigation. This letter will include, if applicable, an explanation of the terms of any offer that the company is prepared to make in settlement of the complaint.

WA-$512; SA-$352; NSW-$497; VIC-$485; QLD-$387; NT-$610