Australia's 482 Visa

How the 482 Visa Works

The subclass 482 is Australia's main temporary visa for skilled workers sponsored by an employer. Since December 2024 it has been called the Skills in Demand visa, replacing the Temporary Skill Shortage visa that used the same subclass number. It has three streams: Specialist Skills, Core Skills and Labour Agreement.

The process, run by the Department of Home Affairs, has three steps: the business becomes an approved sponsor, lodges a nomination for a specific position, and the worker then applies for the visa itself. The nominated occupation generally has to appear on the relevant list, such as the Core Skills Occupation List, and the applicant needs matching skills and work experience. Because the visa is tied to sponsorship, a worker who leaves the job has only a limited period to find a new sponsor, switch to another visa or leave Australia.

Many 482 holders later move to permanent residence through the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa. The 482 is often confused with the subclass 494, a regional provisional visa that also requires an employer but leads to permanence through a separate route, the subclass 191.