On 27 April 2023, the Minister for Home Affairs, announced expanded pathways to permanent residence for employer sponsored temporary skilled visa holders by the end of 2023.
All Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa holders whose employers wish to sponsor them will be eligible to apply for Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa very soon.
The applicants will be required to meet all the nomination and visa requirements for the TRT stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme visa except the relaxations that are proposed by the government to provide more equitable access to permanent residence to TSS visa holders including:
- Reducing eligibility requirement for the TRT stream from three years to two years employment with the sponsoring employer
- The applicants will need to continue to work in the occupation nominated for their TSS visa but occupations will not be limited to the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).
- Removing limits on the number of Short-term stream TSS visa applications that visa holders can make in Australia to assist those currently onshore who would normally need to go offshore to make further visa applications.
