The Skills in Demand (SID) visa is is designed to assist Australian companies to fill current skilled staffing shortages in their business.

 

This is a temporary visa that permits the holder to work full time for their sponsoring employer in a nominated position.

 

The position to be filled must be an occupation on the Department of Home Affairs list of occupations eligible for this visa. There are three streams available in the visa subclass. The stream applied for will depend on if the occupation is on the Core Skills List, Specialist Skills List, or via a Labour Agreement. 

 

1) Core Skills Stream

A visa may be granted for up to 4 years. This is a renewable visa and offers a pathway to permanent residency after 02 years on the visa. The occupation must be on the list of designated occupations available and the employer must pay the minimum salary for this stream. The minimum salary is currently $76,515 (2026 Financial Year). 

 

2) Specialist Skills Stream

A visa may be granted for up to 4 years. This is a renewable visa and offers a pathway to permanent residency after 02 years on the visa. The occupation must be in ANZSCO Major Groups 1,2,4,5 or 6 and a salary of $141,210 (2026 Financial Year).

 

3) Labour Agreement Stream

This stream is available if there is a genuine need for the position and the occupation is not identified on the designated list of occupations eligible for the subclass 482 visa. The sponsoring company must have entered into an approved agreement with the Commonwealth to sponsor applicants under this stream.

 

The visa can be approved for up to 04 years. Visa holders in the Labour Agreement Stream will have the option for permanent residency after 02-03 years, depending on the Labour Agreement.

 

Please book a consultation for further information regarding these streams.

 

What are the steps required to apply for the visa?

There are three steps required for a SID visa to be approved. This involves three separate applications. Two of these are the responsibility of the sponsoring employer, one of these is the responsibility of the visa applicant. Each application must be approved in order for the next step application to be approved. It is possible to lodge all three applications at the same time.

 

1) Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS)

The sponsoring business must become an approved Standard Business Sponsor. This requires a sponsorship application to be lodged. The basic requirements for a sponsorship to be approved require the sponsoring business to establish that they are lawfully operating a business with no adverse information against them. 

 

If they have previously obtained approval as Standard Business Sponsor, they must evidence that they have continued to meet the sponsorship obligations in the

most recent years of active sponsorship.

 

Once granted, the sponsorship is valid for a period of 5 years. This is renewable. This can then be used to nominate overseas workers for this visa subclass.

 

Sponsorship Obligations

If approved as a Standard Business Sponsor, the sponsoring company has the

obligation to cover reasonable costs associated with a departing ticket from Australia if their employee ceases work and requests for departure assistance. This obligation extends to any dependent family members.

 

2) Nomination

The sponsoring company must lodge a nomination application for the applicant that identifies the position and the nominee. 

There are several requirements to be filled in order to have the nomination approved.

 

Labour Market Testing

The position to be filled must have been recently advertised on three different sites for a minimum of 28 days each. The advertisements must meet immigration requirements. In most cases, advertising that has already been completed prior to engaging a migration agent does not meet Immigration requirements and needs to be done again. 

 

Some exemptions to the Labour Market Testing are available. 

Market Salary Rate

The employer must evidence that they will pay their employee a salary that is commensurate with their skills and experience and is comparable to what an Australian citizen or permanent resident would be paid. 

 

The applicant must also be paid above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) of $76,515, or $141,210 for the Specialist Skills Stream. The salary must also be at the Market Salary Rate for the occupation. 

 

Your migration agent will assist you to understand the market salary rate for your occupation. 

 

Training Levy

There have been recent changes to the training requirement for employer sponsored visas. The training levy has now been changed to a payment into the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF). This will be known as the SAF levy. The SAF levy is required to be paid at the nomination stage and will be one of the following:

 

• Small Business – businesses with less than $10M annual turnover will be required to pay $1200 for each year of nomination. Up to 4 years. 

• Large Business - businesses with more than $10M annual turnover will be required to pay $1800 for each year of nomination. Up to 4 years. 

 

Genuine Position

The sponsoring company must evidence that there is a genuine need for the position to be filled. They are required to establish that the position has not been created for the purpose of sponsoring the foreign worker.  

 

NOTE: Further requirements may be applicable depending on the occupation and stream. Please contact your migration agent for further assessment. 

Caveats

Some occupations have additional caveats that must be met. These could include requirements such as:

1. Minimum salary

2. Minimum staff numbers at business

3. Minimum business annual turnover in past financial year

4. Not a low skilled position

 

Please consult with your migration agent to understand the caveats of your nominated occupation.
 

3) Visa Application

 

The visa applicant must be able to evidence that they hold the required skills, qualifications and experience required of the role they are nominated to fill. The applicant must evidence a minimum of one year full time work experience in their occupation at 38+ hours per week, or part time equivalent. Applicants who do not have 01 year experience can consider a Training Visa instead. Please discuss this

with your migration agent. 

 

The applicant must evidence that the meet the English language requirement for their stream.

 

If a skills assessment is required, the applicant must have either lodged the assessment or had the assessment approved at the time the application is lodged.

 

It is possible to include your immediate family members in this application.  All applicants must be able to pass a health and character assessment. Adequate health insurance is required for the duration of your stay.

 

Applicants nominated for an occupation under the short-term stream must be able to pass a Genuine Temporary Entrant test. This means that they must evidence that they are not using SID sponsorship to extend their stay in Australia and have an incentive to return to their home country. 

 

All applicants will need to pass the health and character test.

 

NOTE: Further requirements may be applicable depending on the occupation and stream. Your previous Australian immigration history will need to be considered before applying for this visa. Please contact your migration agent for further assessment.

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Next Steps

Our Registered Migration Agents are happy to assist you with the preparation and lodgement of your SID application. We will review your documents and ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements before applying. 

 

Please contact us to book an appointment for further information and assessment of your eligibility.