On 18 March 2022, the Department implemented legislative changes to the Temporary Skills Shortage visa. From 1 July 2022, existing TSS visa holders in the short-term stream will be able to apply for permanent residence through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa – in line with the Minister’s 25 November announcement. To be eligible to apply as a short-term stream TSS visa holder, applicants must have been in Australia between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021 for at least one year. Applicants must meet all other nomination and visa requirements for the TRT stream of the ENS visa. The pathway will be accessible for two years from its commencement on 1 July 2022.
The above arrangements also apply to subclass 457 visa holders with an occupation on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL). This complements the pathway to permanent residency for TSS visa holders in the short-term stream, by allowing eligible subclass 457 visa holders to apply for the TRT stream of the ENS, without first applying for a TSS visa.
Transitional arrangements for subclass 457 visa holders, seeking to access permanent residency through the TRT stream of the ENS were introduced with the announcement of the TSS visa. The transitional arrangements, were due to end on 18 March 2022, but have been preserved and will continue to be accessible past 18 March 2022. The relevant Procedural Instruction for Regulation 5.19, relating to employer nominations, is currently undergoing review and will be updated with this information, for intended publication by 1 July 2022.
We are continuing to finalise arrangements for:
- subclass 457 visa holders who no longer meet the age requirement, and
- former TSS visa holders who have already held two short term TSS visas
- for this cohort we’d encourage them to consider an appropriate visa that allows them to maintain the lawful status and work in Australia, such as the Pandemic Event (Subclass 408) visa.