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The 482 Visa Australia is the main route for skilled workers who have a job offer from an Australian employer. If you are an IT professional, engineer, nurse, accountant, teacher or chef in India, this is usually the fastest way to start working in Australia without waiting for a points-based invitation.
The rules changed a lot between late 2024 and mid-2026. The visa has a new name, new streams, higher salary thresholds and a shorter road to permanent residency. This guide explains the current rules, what the visa costs, how the process works from India, and how to move from a 482 to PR.
The Subclass 482 visa is a temporary, employer-sponsored work visa. An Australian business that cannot find a suitable local worker nominates you for a specific skilled position, and you then apply for the visa linked to that position.
It lets you live and work in Australia for up to four years, bring your partner and children, travel in and out of the country freely, and build the work history needed for permanent residency.
Feature | Details (2026) |
|---|---|
Official name | Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) |
Visa type | Temporary, employer sponsored |
Stay period | Up to 4 years |
Streams | Core Skills, Specialist Skills, Labour Agreement |
Minimum salary | A$79,423 (Core Skills), A$146,576 (Specialist Skills) |
Work experience | 1 year in the last 5 years |
English | IELTS 5.0 in each band, or equivalent |
Age limit | None for the 482 visa |
Visa charge | A$4,015 main applicant |
PR pathway | Subclass 186 after 2 years of sponsored work |
Many websites still describe the old TSS rules. Here is how the two compare.
Point | Old TSS visa | Skills in Demand visa |
|---|---|---|
Streams | Short-term, Medium-term, Labour Agreement | Core Skills, Specialist Skills, Labour Agreement |
Occupation lists | STSOL and MLTSSL | One Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) |
Work experience | 2 years | 1 year |
Stay period | 2 or 4 years | Up to 4 years in every stream |
PR access | Mainly Medium-term stream, after 3 years | All streams, after 2 years |
Time to find a new sponsor | 60 days | 180 days |
Salary floor | TSMIT | CSIT and SSIT, indexed every 1 July |
If you already hold a TSS visa, it stays valid until its expiry date. You do not need to reapply.
Four changes matter most for anyone applying this year.
Higher salary thresholds. From 1 July 2026, the Core Skills Income Threshold rose from A$76,515 to A$79,423. The Specialist Skills Income Threshold rose from A$141,210 to A$146,576. The new figures apply to nominations lodged on or after 1 July 2026.
Higher visa charge. The application charge went up from A$3,210 to A$4,015 for the main applicant and each adult dependant. The charge for a child under 18 is now A$1,005.
More employer-sponsored PR places. The 2026–27 permanent Migration Program stays at 185,000 places, but the Employer Sponsored category grew from 44,000 to 58,040 places. That is good news for 482 holders planning to move to a Subclass 186 visa.
New English test options. For tests taken on or after 13 September 2025, the Department accepts a wider list of tests with component-wise minimum scores. Details are in the English section below.
There are three main streams under the Subclass 482 visa:
For occupations on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL)
Valid for up to 2 years (or 4 years if an international trade obligation applies)
You can apply for renewal only once while in Australia
Not usually a direct pathway to permanent residency
For occupations on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
Valid for up to 4 years
You can renew the visa multiple times
Offers a pathway to permanent residency after 3 years
For workers sponsored through a labour agreement between an employer and the Australian government
Suitable when the job is not listed on STSOL or MLTSSL
Can lead to permanent residency depending on the agreement
There are three main streams under the Subclass 482 visa:
For occupations on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL)
Valid for up to 2 years (or 4 years if an international trade obligation applies)
You can apply for renewal only once while in Australia
Not usually a direct pathway to permanent residency
For occupations on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
Valid for up to 4 years
You can renew the visa multiple times
Offers a pathway to permanent residency after 3 years
For workers sponsored through a labour agreement between an employer and the Australian government
Suitable when the job is not listed on STSOL or MLTSSL
Can lead to permanent residency depending on the agreement
To apply for the TSS 482 visa, you must meet these basic requirements:
Be nominated for a skilled position by an approved Australian employer
Have at least 2 years of relevant work experience
Work in an occupation listed on the relevant skilled occupation list
Have the skills and qualifications to perform the job
Meet English language requirements (varies by stream)
Meet health and character standards
You must meet every requirement below on the day you apply.
You need at least one year of full-time work in your nominated occupation, or a closely related one, within the last five years. Part-time work counts on a pro-rata basis.
Experience must be paid and provable. For Indian applicants, the strongest evidence is a set of documents that agree with each other: experience letters on company letterhead with duties listed, salary slips, bank statements showing salary credits, Form 16 and EPF records.
For tests taken on or after 13 September 2025, the minimum scores are:
Test | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
IELTS (Academic or General) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
PTE Academic | 33 | 36 | 29 | 24 |
TOEFL iBT | 8 | 8 | 9 | 14 |
OET | 220 | 240 | 200 | 270 |
CELPIP General | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
LanguageCert Academic | 41 | 44 | 45 | 54 |
MET | 49 | 47 | 45 | 38 |
You may be exempt if you completed at least five years of full-time study in English at secondary level or higher. Passport holders of the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland are also exempt, though this rarely applies to Indian applicants.
A practical tip: if PR is your goal, aim for IELTS 6 in each band from the start. The Subclass 186 visa needs Competent English, and one test can serve both applications if it is still valid.
Most professionals do not need a skills assessment for the 482 visa. It becomes mandatory only when both your occupation and your passport country are on the specified list.
India is on that list for most of the 23 trade occupations covered, including chef, cook, baker, electrician, carpenter, motor mechanic and fitter. These are assessed by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA). Program or Project Administrator is also covered and is assessed by VETASSESS.
A case officer can still ask for a skills assessment in any occupation if your documents leave doubts about your skills.
You and every family member on the application must complete a medical examination with a panel physician approved by the Australian Government. Panel clinics operate in major Indian cities.
You also need a police clearance certificate from every country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years, since turning 16. In India, this is issued through Passport Seva.
You must hold adequate health insurance for your entire stay. India does not have a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, so Indian applicants need private overseas visitor health cover before the visa is granted.
There is no age limit for the 482 visa. Age matters only at the PR stage, where the Subclass 186 visa generally requires you to be under 45.
The process has three linked applications. The first two are lodged by the employer and the third by you.
The nomination and visa applications can be lodged together, which saves time.
While on a 482 visa, you must:
Work only for your sponsoring employer in the nominated position
Not stop working for more than 60 days if you leave your job
Maintain health insurance
Follow Australian laws and visa conditions
The figures below are based on Department of Home Affairs data published in late September 2026. They change every month.
Application | 50% decided within | 90% decided within |
|---|---|---|
Sponsorship | 11 days | 57 days |
Nomination | 64 days | 9 months |
Visa: Core Skills | 4 months | 9 months |
Visa: Specialist Skills | 37 days | 78 days |
Visa: Labour Agreement | 5 months | 9 months |
Core Skills cases now take much longer than the one to four months quoted on older guides. Plan your notice period and relocation around the 90% figure, not the median.
The main thing you control is completeness. Applications lodged with every document, medicals done early and consistent employment evidence tend to sit at the faster end. Requests for more information add weeks each time.
A 482 application involves three linked approvals, and a mistake in any one can sink the others. Working with an experienced temporary work visa Australia consultant keeps the employer’s side and your side aligned.
GIEC Global is a migration consultancy, not a recruitment agency. We do not sell jobs or sponsorships.
It’s a work visa that allows Australian employers to hire skilled workers from other countries when they can’t find an Australian to fill the job.
Depending on your occupation and stream, you can stay for 2 to 4 years.
You must have a job offer from an approved employer, have relevant skills and experience, and meet English language requirements. Contact GIEC GLOBAL for more information about requirements.
The cost depends on the stream you apply for, starting from roughly AUD $1,455 (as of 2023), plus other fees like medical checks and police clearances.
Yes, you can include eligible family members, like a spouse or children, in your application.
Yes, but your new employer must be an approved sponsor, and you must have a new nomination lodged.
Yes, in many cases it can. Certain streams of the 482 visa can lead to PR after working for an employer for a specified period.
Jobs listed on the Short‑term Skilled Occupation List or Medium and Long‑term Strategic Skills List can be sponsored.
It can range from 1 to 4 months, depending on the stream and completeness of your application.
Yes, you usually must prove you have a certain level of English, like an IELTS or PTE test, unless an exemption applies.
Yes, it can, especially if you are in the Medium-Term stream or under a Labour Agreement. After working with your sponsoring employer for 3 years, you may be able to apply for a subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme if you meet the criteria.
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