The Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa remains a major route to permanent residency in Australia. It lets sponsored workers move from temporary employment to permanent residence via their employer — a critical step for many individuals, and valuable for Australian employers’ workforce planning.
Under the Migration Amendment (Skilled Visa Reform Technical Measures) Regulations 2025 (enacted under the Migration Act 1958), from 29 November 2025, the way work experience is assessed will become stricter. Applicants will no longer be able to count employment performed without approved sponsorship toward the permanent residency requirements.
What the “Loophole” Was
Currently, under the Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa (TSS) or Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa (SID), some holders — particularly of the Skills in Demand visa — were able to:
- Work for an alternate employer (not their original sponsor) for up to 180 days at a time,
- Work up to a total of 365 days, if their sponsorship ended,
- And count that time (if in the same occupation) toward the 2-year full-time employment requirement for the 186 visa.
What’s Changing After 29 November 2025
From that date onward:
- Only work carried out under active sponsorship by the employer who nominated you will count.
- Periods of work after changing employers (without a new approved sponsor), or working independently, will not count.
- Work with employers without an active approved sponsorship (e.g. without a valid Standard Business Sponsorship or relevant labour agreement) will be disregarded — even if the work was in the correct occupation, lawful and genuine.
- “Approved sponsor” here refers to a valid Standard Business Sponsor or an employer operating under a labour agreement, tied to the visa grant.
