Do you need a visa?
Yes, for every nationality. The main routes for skilled jobs:
- Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482): sponsored by an approved employer, for a job on the occupation lists, with a salary at least at the threshold shown above and at the market rate.
- Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189): permanent, by points (age, English, experience, qualifications), without an employer.
- Working Holiday (subclass 417 or 462): for young people from eligible countries, with age limits; check whether your country takes part.
Department of Home Affairs: Skills in Demand visa
Documents and where to get them
In your country, before you leave
- Passport, valid for the whole move; the visa is issued in the passport.
- Birth certificate (and marriage certificate, if married). Usually with an apostille (or legalisation) and a certified translation; check with the embassy.
- Criminal record certificate from your country of nationality and, if different, from where you lived recently: visa applications often require it. Request it close to the date it will be used.
- Degree, transcript and references from previous jobs, digitally, with certified translations if the visa asks for them.
In Australia
- Tax File Number (TFN): give it to your employer, otherwise more tax is withheld; requested online from the Australian Taxation Office.
- Health cover: Medicare is for permanent residents and citizens of countries with a health agreement with Australia; otherwise you need private health insurance, often a condition of the visa.
- Superannuation: the employer pays into a pension fund on top of your salary; choose a fund or the employer uses its default one.
Step by step
Before you leave
- Confirm in writing the gross annual salary (in Australian dollars, with or without superannuation), the start date and the relocation support.
- Make sure the employer has applied for the nomination, then apply for the visa.
- Take out private health insurance if Medicare does not cover you.
- In your country, tell the authorities you are moving: update your registered address and your tax residence. In the year you leave, tax may be due for the part of the year you were still resident.
First week
- Apply for your Tax File Number.
- Open a bank account and give the details to your employer, with your superannuation fund.
First month
- Register with Medicare, if you are eligible.
- Check the tax withholding and superannuation on your first payslip.