Work in Australia for 4 Years, Bring Your Family Along: Here’s the Special Visa for Skilled Workers

Australia continues to be a top destination for skilled workers worldwide, offering lucrative salaries and attractive work opportunities. The country provides a special visa for foreign professionals, allowing them to work for up to four years while also bringing their family members.

Skill in Demand Visa (Subclass 482)

The most popular visa for skilled workers in Australia is the Skill in Demand Visa, also known as Subclass 482. This is a temporary work visa issued to foreign workers when local professionals are not available for certain roles. The visa is valid for four years and is part of Australia’s Skilled Migration Framework, managed by the Department of Home Affairs.

To be eligible, applicants must first secure a job offer from an Australian company and demonstrate proficiency in English.

Jobs Eligible for the Visa

The visa covers two main streams:

1. Core Skills Stream: For jobs where there are no local workers available.
2. Specialist Skills Stream: For hiring highly skilled professionals in fields such as software engineering, AI, healthcare, management, and logistics.

Applicants must be hired by a company willing to sponsor their visa.

Labour Agreement Stream

Under the Labour Agreement Stream, companies can hire foreign workers only if there is a labor agreement with the government. This is typically used in sectors facing worker shortages where standard visas are not available. Workers under this stream also receive a four-year visa, which may include some non-skilled roles when local workers are unavailable.

Family Can Join

One of the major benefits of the Skill in Demand Visa is that foreign workers can bring their family members to Australia. Under the Subsequent Entrant Stream, family members can apply for Subclass 457 or 482 visas to accompany the worker. The visa remains valid as long as the worker continues their employment in Australia.

Visa Application Fee

The application fee for the Skill in Demand Visa is AUD 3,210 (approximately ₹1.93 lakh). Processing times vary depending on individual applications, with some visas being granted within a few weeks.

Skilled Indian professionals looking to explore high-paying opportunities in Australia can benefit greatly from this visa, gaining both career growth and the chance to settle with their families.

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