The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (subclass 187) is a Permanent Resident Visa for skilled workers who have been nominated by an approved Australian employer and want to work in regional Australia.
This visa involves a three-step process, firstly, approval from Regional Certifying Body (RCB), secondly, nomination by an approved Australian employer and then finally visa application under the nominated stream. If the visa application is lodged after receiving an approved nomination, it should be done within six months of the nomination being approved.
A nomination made under the RSMS Direct Entry stream cannot be approved by the department unless a regional certifying body has provided their advice in regard to the application.
The prospective sponsor, an eligible Australian business in the regional area, must obtain advice from the relevant regional certifying body about the position they want to fill prior to approval of the nomination and the advice can be sent to DIBP before or after the lodgement an employer nomination application.
Regional certifying bodies are a diverse network of state and territory government agencies, local chambers of commerce, local government councils and regional development bodies. The advice provided by a regional certifying body is intended to ensure all RSMS Direct Entry stream nominations have been scrutinised by a third party who is familiar with local labour market conditions and who may be able to provide information on regional matters which the department may not be aware of. The regional certifying body assesses the nomination against the following criteria:
Employer can nominate a skilled worker for this visa if:
Employer must nominate the applicant in one of the three streams and meet the requirements of that stream.
1. Temporary residence transition stream
The employer can use this stream if they have already sponsored the applicant for a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) and meet the following requirements:
2. Direct entry stream
The employer can use this stream if they want to nominate an applicant to fill a position that is:
3. Agreement stream
The employer can use this stream to nominate an applicant through a labour agreement that has been negotiated with the government before you lodge the nomination.
A labour agreement is a formal arrangement negotiated between an Australian employer and the Australian government. The employer might consider entering into a labour agreement if there is a genuine and systemic shortage of suitably skilled Australian workers in the industry and/or geographic location, and standard immigration options are not suitable.
A labour agreement comes into effect when it has been signed by all parties involved in the negotiations and is typically valid for three years.
The employer must provide terms and conditions of employment that are no less favourable than those that would apply to an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident doing equivalent work in the same workplace.
Terms and conditions include the nominated position's salary, hours of work and leave entitlements (among other things). The salary paid to an Australian worker under these terms and conditions of employment is known as the market salary rate.
The employer must prove that it will pay its skilled worker the market salary rate. Depending on whether the employer has an Australian doing similar work, the employer can do this by:
The visa applicant might be able to get this visa if s/he:
1. Temporary residence transition stream
The visa applicant might be able to get this visa under the Temporary Residence Transition stream if s/he meets the following criteria at the time of visa lodgement and provides documented evidence of the same:
Skill assessment is not required as the employee has already worked for the nominating employer for two years in Australia.
2. Direct entry stream
The visa applicant might be able to get this visa under the Direct Entry stream if one of the following applies to the applicant:
At time of application lodgement, the applicant must provide evidence that s/he satisfies the following requirements:
3. Agreement stream
The applicant might be able to get this visa under the Agreement stream if s/he is being sponsored by an employer through a tailored and negotiated labour agreement. The employer can advise if such an agreement is in place for the industry or occupation.
The applicant must meet the age, skills and English language requirements stated in the agreement.
The visa applicant can show that s/he possesses adequate English skills by providing the following evidence at the time of application:
English Language Proficiency Level |
Test component | IELTS | TOEFL iBT |
PTE Academic |
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)* |
OET |
Vocational | All Modules | 5.0 each | 4 each in Listening and Reading; 14 each in Writing and Speaking | 36 each | 154 each | B each |
Competent | All Modules | 6.0 each | Minimum score in each band as follows: Listening-12, Reading – 13, Writing – 21 and Speaking -18 | 50 each | 169 each | B each |
Note: *From 1 January 2015 and only for a Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test taken on or after 1 January 2015.
The visa applicant must meet certain health requirements. The results of health examinations are generally valid for 12 months.
The visa applicant must meet certain character requirements and provide a police certificate from each country s/he has lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after s/he turned 16 years of age.
Health and character requirements applies to the main applicant and all the dependent family members listed in the application, whether they are migrating or not. ???
The visa holder has to begin employment with the nominating employer within six months of:
The visa holder also needs to live in the regional area and remain in the position for the full two years. DIBP may cancel this visa if the visa holder fails to do so.
The main applicant can include the following people in the visa application at the time of lodgement:
The visa application must include documentary evidence of their relationship to the main applicant and family members must meet health and character requirements.
This is a permanent residence visa. It lets the visa holder and any family members who have also been granted this visa to:
Yes, the prospective sponsor may have to pay a charge to obtain advice from a RCB for the position they want to fill. The charges may vary based on the regional certifying body.
An applicant older than 50 years of age can still apply for this visa if the applicant:
The visa applicant might be exempted from English language skills if s/he:
However, if the applicant is not able to demonstrate that s/he has functional English, s/he will be required to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge.
No, a skills assessment which is issued for the purpose of subclass 485 visa is not appropriate to demonstrate skills under the RSMS programme.
If the applicant has not obtained a necessary Australian qualification suitable to the occupation, then s/he must obtain a valid skills assessment prior to the application lodgement. However, if the applicant has obtained the necessary Australian qualification relevant to the occupation, s/he is not required to obtain a skill assessment.
English Language Proficiency Level | Test Component | IELTS | TOEFL iBT |
PTE Academic | Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)* | OET |
Functional | Average/total/overall across test components only | 4.5 | 32 | 30h | 147 | n/a |
Vocational | All Modules | 5.0 | Minimum score in each band as follows: Listening and Reading – 4, Writing and Speaking -14 | 36 | 154 | B |
Competent | All Modules | 6.0 | Minimum score in each band as follows: Listening-12, Reading – 13, Writing – 21 and Speaking -18 | 50 | 169 | B |
Proficient (for points tested Skilled visas) |
All Modules | 7.0 | Minimum score in each band as follows: Listening and, Reading – 24, Writing – 27 and Speaking -23 | 65 | 185 | B |
Superior (for points tested Skilled visas) |
All Modules | 8.0 | Minimum score in each band as follows: Listening-28, Reading – 29, Writing – 30 and Speaking -26 | 79 | 200 | A |
Note: *from 1 January 2015 and only for a Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test taken on or after 1 January 2015.