The purpose of the ENS is to allow Australian employers to fill highly skilled positions with suitably qualified migrants if they’re unable to meet their skilled Australian workforce needs from the local labour market. The subclass 186 visa has two streams; the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) Stream and the Direct Entry (DE) Stream. Each stream has different criteria.

You may be eligible if you:

• have been nominated by an approved Australian employer
• are younger than 45 years of age, unless you are exempt
• meet the skills, qualifications and English language requirements, unless you are exempt
• apply under the stream for which you were nominated.

The ENS application involves two stages which are the nomination and the visa application. Applicants must lode the nomination first and then proceed to the visa lodgement.

A positive skills assessment is required for ENS Direct Entry and applicants must show at least 3 years of work experience in their occupation. No mandatory skills assessment is required for ENS TRT.

Similar to the 482 program, the current minimum salary level for the ENS is $53,900, however the employees must be paid at the market rate.