For employers
Can’t fill the role? Here’s what sponsoring someone actually involves.
Sponsorship has more steps than most employers expect: sponsor approval, nomination, visa, then obligations that last for years. We run all of it with one team, including labour market testing, for one fixed price agreed up front.
The process
Four steps, in order.
Become a sponsor
Standard Business Sponsorship approval. The business shows it is lawfully operating with no adverse history, and takes on sponsor obligations. Approval lasts for a set period and can cover more than one worker.
Test the market
Where required, advertise the role in the prescribed way for the prescribed period before nominating. Our recruitment arm places the ads and prepares the report. Exemptions exist; we check them first.
Nominate the role
Occupation, duties, salary at or above the threshold and the market rate, location, genuine position. Pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy. This is the application that decides most matters.
The worker applies
Skills, experience, English, health and character for the nominated occupation. If the worker needs a skills assessment or recognition of prior learning, it is sequenced before this step.
Who pays what
Some costs stay with the business by law.
If your business is an approved sponsor, it must not pass sponsorship, 482 nomination or recruitment costs to the worker or anyone else, whether by asking them to pay, recovering the money later or making deductions. That includes the nomination fee, the Skilling Australians Fund levy and migration agent fees for that work. A breach can lead to sanctions.
For the 482 and the 186 alike, it is also against the law to ask for or accept a payment or other benefit in return for sponsoring, nominating or employing a worker, apart from a reasonable fee for professional services. Your SolvePlan sets out the amounts for your matter.
| Cost | Paid by |
|---|---|
| Standard Business Sponsorship application charge | Business |
| Nomination application charge | Business |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy (per year of nomination for a 482, one-off for a 186; amount depends on business turnover) | Business |
| Professional fees for sponsorship and the 482 nomination, labour market testing and recruitment | Business |
| Professional fees for a 186 nomination | Usually the business; get advice before asking the worker to contribute |
| Visa application charge for the worker and any family | Worker, or business if agreed |
| Professional fees for the worker’s visa application | Worker, or business if agreed |
| Skills assessment, English test, health checks, police checks | Worker, or business if agreed |
Amounts and the current list of non-recoverable costs are confirmed against Home Affairs and the Migration Regulations on the day.
What one fixed fee covers
The whole team, not one agent.
A sponsorship matter touches HR, finance and recruitment as much as migration law. Solve Migration’s fixed fee covers all of it:
- Migration Specialists who run the strategy and the applications
- In-house writers who build the position description and duties documentation the nomination is judged on
- HR and business analysts who prepare the genuine-position and financial evidence
- Recruitment that runs labour market testing and prepares the report
- Employer Client Services who speak to your worker, your accountant and your managers as often as it takes
Fees are quoted in writing, with the worker’s side and the business’s side shown separately, before you commit to anything.
Google reviews
Sponsors and sponsored workers on the process.
Allykhan S.Following the initial refusal of our nomination, Ameline reassured us … She consistently responded to messages and made a special effort to contact us upon approval of our nomination and visa. We would also like to thank Pia for her diligent follow-up on our visa application.
CJQ ConstructionsGot sponsorship visa granted today, happy the service!
Lucia P.I am so glad I got to do my sponsorship visa with Solve Migration! All the staff support me since day one, giving me professional advice, confidence and very attentive and quick to respond any doubts.
Reviews are of Solve Migration, the firm behind Trade Visa, and are shown as written by clients on Google. Rating as at 18 October 2026. Every matter is different and no outcome is guaranteed. Read all reviews on Google.
FAQ
Common questions
General information only. Figures change: we confirm the current rule for your matter in your SolvePlan.
Can the worker pay for the sponsorship?
No. The sponsorship and nomination costs and the Skilling Australians Fund levy must be paid by the business and cannot be recovered from the worker, directly or indirectly. The worker may pay their own visa application charge and the professional fees for their own visa application. We set the split out in writing before you engage us.
How long does it take?
Three applications, each with its own processing time, plus labour market testing and any skills assessment beforehand. We give you the Department’s current figures in the SolvePlan rather than publish numbers that go stale.
Do we have to advertise the job first?
For most 482 nominations, yes: labour market testing in the prescribed form, within the prescribed period before the nomination is lodged, unless an exemption applies. The ads have to say the right things in the right places. Our recruitment arm runs it and the report is prepared in-house.
What are our obligations once the worker is here?
Sponsor obligations include paying the nominated salary and conditions, keeping records, notifying the Department of certain events, not recovering sponsorship costs, and cooperating with monitoring. They last for the life of the visa and in some cases beyond. We brief you on them before you commit.
Our nomination was refused. What now?
Most nomination refusals carry a right to seek review at the Administrative Review Tribunal, with a strict deadline from the date of the decision. Find that date, then book a SolvePlan. Solve Migration publishes its de-identified nomination decisions so you can see how these matters have been argued.
Can we sponsor someone already working for us on another visa?
Often, yes, and it is one of the most common situations we see: a worker on a student, working holiday or graduate visa whose time is running out. Their current visa conditions and expiry date set the timetable, so start early.
Tell us what you need
One form. A reply the same business day.
Tell us the role, where you are and whether you already have someone. Employer Client Services replies with the steps, the costs for your situation and, if it is the right next step, a SolvePlan booking.
Prefer to call? +61 2 9252 0449, Monday to Friday. Or use the Solve Migration contact form.