Subclass 186 Visa: Requirements, Streams and Conditions After Grant

Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa is a permanent visa for a worker whose Australian employer nominates them for a skilled position. It has three streams: Direct Entry, for people with a skills assessment and three years' experience; Temporary Residence Transition, for people moving up from a subclass 482; and Labour Agreement, for employers who have one. All three need two approvals: the employer's nomination, then your visa.

Everything below comes from the current Migration Regulations and the Department of Home Affairs. Costs are those in force from 1 July 2026, and processing figures are what the Department published this week.

What the 186 gives you

It's permanent residence from the day it's granted. You can live, work and study in Australia without a time limit, and the visa lets you travel in and out for 5 years from the grant date. After that, you'd need a Resident Return visa to come back from a trip, which our guide to the travel facility and Resident Return visas explains.

Which 186 stream fits you?

Direct Entry has two details that catch people. Your skills assessment can't be one done for a subclass 485, and it must be no more than 3 years old when you apply, or still inside the shorter validity period the assessing authority set. Our post on how long a skills assessment stays valid covers the timing in more detail.

Holding a subclass 491 or subclass 494? You need to have held it for at least 3 years before applying for a 186 in the Direct Entry or Labour Agreement stream, unless a circumstance the Minister has specified applies. Transition stream applicants don't face that rule.

Moving from a 482 to a 186

This is the route most of our 186 clients take, and the two-year rule is the one to plan around. In the 3 years before you apply, you must have held a 482 (or 457) for a total of at least 2 years and worked full-time in Australia in that occupation for an approved sponsor. Unpaid leave doesn't count toward the two years.

Take a chef who has worked 22 months on a 482. Those two years don't have to be with one restaurant: the rule counts full-time work for any approved sponsor in the nominated occupation. What does matter is who nominates her for the 186. It has to be the sponsor that last nominated her for the 482, and the occupation has to be the one that 482 was granted for. So a move to a new restaurant only works if that employer nominates her for a new 482 first.

Once the employer's nomination is approved, the visa application must follow within 6 months. That applies in both the Transition and Direct Entry streams.

What the employer has to show

Your employer's nomination is a separate application, and it's where many 186 cases slow down. For Direct Entry and Transition nominations, the employer must:

• be actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia
• have a genuine need for you in the position, under its direct control
• offer the position full-time for at least 2 years, with no clause ruling out an extension
• have the capacity to employ you for those 2 years and pay at least the annual market salary rate
• pay you at least the core skills income threshold (CSIT), which is $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027

Anyone paid less than $250,000 a year is covered by the market salary rate test. A Direct Entry employer that hires out labour to unrelated businesses can only nominate a position within its own business.

No levy is payable for a Labour Agreement nomination of a minister of religion or religious assistant. Employers can read more about our visa sponsorship and labour agreement services.

What the 186 costs from 1 July 2026

A second instalment is paid before the visa is granted, and some applicants are exempt from it, including those nominated as a minister of religion and their family. Your partner's English is worth checking early, because $4,890 is a cost families often don't see coming.

How long a 186 takes right now

Expect a long wait, and plan around it. On 7 October 2026 the Department's processing time guide showed:

Ministerial Direction 122 sets the order. Construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources occupations, and roles tied to law enforcement or defence, are picked up first. Applicants who were in Australia when they applied come next, then offshore applicants applying alone, then everyone else. Our post on Directions 121 and 122 explains the order in full.

On the Department's 186 page, the applications it was allocating on 7 October 2026 had been lodged in:

• July 2025, for the priority sectors
• March 2025, for applicants who were in Australia when they applied
• July 2024, for everyone who applied from outside Australia

Are there conditions after a 186 is granted?

Very few. If the visa is granted while you're outside Australia, you must make your first entry before the date the Department specifies. And a family member granted the visa outside Australia may have condition 8515 imposed, which means they mustn't marry or enter a de facto relationship before they first arrive. Nothing else is attached to the 186 in the Regulations.

No condition ties you to the employer after grant. Before grant is a different story: the position must still be available when the Department decides the visa, and the nomination was for at least two years' full-time work. If the job disappears before the decision, so does the case.

FAQ

Is the 186 visa permanent residency?

Yes. The subclass 186 is a permanent visa, so you can live, work and study in Australia indefinitely. It lets you travel to and enter Australia for 5 years from the date of grant. After that you need a Resident Return visa to re-enter from overseas.

Can I leave my employer after getting a 186 visa?

No visa condition on the subclass 186 requires you to stay with your employer after it's granted. Before grant, the nominated position must still be available to you when the Department decides the visa, and the nomination is for at least 2 years' full-time employment.

What happens if my 186 visa is granted while I'm outside Australia?

You must make your first entry to Australia before the date the Department specifies. A family member granted the subclass 186 outside Australia may also have condition 8515 imposed, meaning they must not marry or enter a de facto relationship before first entering Australia.

Can I apply for a 186 visa while on a 482?

Yes. The Temporary Residence Transition stream is built for 482 holders. In the 3 years before you apply, you need to have held a 482 (or 457) for at least 2 years and worked full-time in Australia for an approved sponsor in the same occupation, and your current sponsor must nominate you.

How long does it take to go from a 482 to a 186?

At least 2 years on the 482 before you can apply in the Temporary Residence Transition stream, then the processing time. On 7 October 2026 the Department's guide showed half of Transition stream applications decided in 21 months and 90% in 25 months.

What is the new rule for a 186 visa in 2026?

From 1 July 2026 the subclass 186 charge is $6,140 for most main applicants, with a lower $5,035 rate for Pacific-regional passport holders. Nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 must meet a core skills income threshold of $79,423. Since September 2026, Ministerial Direction 122 sets the processing order.

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Weighing up Direct Entry against the Transition stream, or not sure the two-year rule is met yet? Book a consultation and we'll check your dates, the occupation and the employer's nomination before anything is lodged.