For employers

Sponsor the skilled workers you cannot find locally

Migration Star keeps a register of skilled workers looking for employer sponsorship in Australia. Tell us the role you are trying to fill and we will tell you honestly whether a sponsorship pathway is realistic for it, before you spend anything.

Tell us about a role See the DAMA regions

★★★★★4.9 from 113 Google reviews MARA registered agents · MARN 1797395

Free for employers

No fee to access the register
No fee for an introduction to a candidate
Anonymised profiles first, you choose who to meet
A straight answer on whether the pathway works

Migration Star is a registered migration agency, not a recruitment agency.

Important

What Migration Star is, and is not

Migration Star is a registered migration agency. We are not a recruitment agency, a labour hire provider or an employment agent. We do not employ workers, supply them to you, or place them with you. Any employment is directly between you and the worker, and every hiring decision is yours alone.

Migration Star charges no fee for finding you an employee. Access to the register is free. We do not charge you to search it, to be sent profiles, to be introduced to a candidate, or to interview one. No fee of any kind is payable to us for an introduction.

If you decide to proceed with a nomination, we can act as your registered migration agent for the visa work. Those professional fees are agreed with you in writing before any work begins, and they are separate from, and never a condition of, an introduction.

No one can guarantee that a candidate will suit you, that a nomination will be approved, or that a visa will be granted.

Migration Star, Registered Migration Agent Rohit Sharma, MARN 1797395.

How it works

Four steps, and you can stop at any of them

Tell us the role

The occupation, where the work is, and what you have already tried locally. A short conversation is usually enough to know whether this is worth pursuing.

We check the pathway

Whether the occupation sits on the Core Skills Occupation List or a Designated Area Migration Agreement list, and what would be involved in your business becoming an approved sponsor.

We send profiles

Anonymised first, showing occupation, experience, location, skills assessment and English status under a reference number. You tell us who you want to meet, and only then are contact details exchanged.

You decide

You interview and you hire, or you do not. If you go ahead, we can handle the sponsorship, nomination and visa work as your migration agent.

Before you sponsor

Four things worth knowing early

General information about employer sponsorship in Australia. It is not advice about your business, and we will set out what actually applies to you before you commit to anything.

Some costs are yours and cannot be passed on

Under the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), the costs of becoming a sponsor and of nominating a worker must generally be borne by the sponsoring business. They cannot be recovered from the worker or from anyone else. The Skilling Australians Fund levy falls into this category.

Payment in return for sponsorship is an offence

Section 245AR of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) makes it an offence to ask for or receive a benefit in return for a sponsorship related event. The offence reaches the person who asks and the person who pays. If anyone offers to pay you to be sponsored, the answer is no.

Sponsorship obligations continue after the visa

An approved sponsor carries ongoing obligations, which generally include paying equivalent terms of employment, keeping prescribed records, and notifying the Department of certain events. These continue for a defined period and are enforceable.

Labour market testing may apply

Depending on the visa subclass, the occupation and any applicable agreement, you may need to show that you advertised the position and tested the local labour market first. Requirements differ between pathways, so it is worth checking before you advertise rather than after.

Pathways

The three routes most employers use

Subclass 482, Skills in Demand

A temporary visa for a nominated occupation. The occupation generally needs to appear on the relevant occupation list, and the stream determines how long the visa runs and whether it leads to permanent residence.

Most common starting point

Subclass 186, Employer Nomination Scheme

Permanent residence through employer nomination, either directly or after a qualifying period of employment. Requirements differ significantly between the streams.

Permanent from the outset or later

Designated Area Migration Agreements

Regional labour agreements covering defined areas. Occupation lists are often broader than the national lists and concessions may be available. Thirteen regions currently operate across Australia.

See the 13 DAMA regions

The register

Who is on it

Skilled workers register with us free of charge. They are trades and technical workers for the most part, both already in Australia and offshore, and each registration records the occupation, years of experience, country, current location, the sponsorship pathway they are looking for, and whether a skills assessment and an English test have been completed.

We do not publish anyone's name, contact details or resume. Those are released only after the candidate agrees to a named employer, and a candidate can withdraw at any time.

Tell us the occupation and the location below and we will send you the matching profiles, or tell you plainly if there are none.

Enquire

Tell us about the role

A registered migration agent reads every enquiry. You will hear back within one business day, and there is no cost and no obligation for this conversation.

No fee for an introduction, ever
A straight answer on whether the pathway works
Your enquiry is not shared with candidates

Prefer to talk? Call 07 3519 5619 or email info@migrationstar.com.au.

Employer enquiry

A registered migration agent reads every enquiry. Enquiring is free.

Questions

What employers usually ask first

What does this cost us?

Nothing to access the register and nothing for an introduction. If you decide to proceed with a nomination and you want us to act as your migration agent for the visa work, we agree those professional fees with you in writing first. They are never a condition of being introduced to anyone.

Are you finding us staff, or are you a migration agency?

A migration agency. We are not a recruitment agency, a labour hire provider or an employment agent. We hold a register of people who want sponsorship and we introduce them to employers who want to sponsor. We do not employ them, supply them or place them, and every hiring decision is yours.

Can the worker pay the sponsorship costs?

No. Certain costs of sponsorship and nomination must be borne by the sponsoring business and cannot be recovered from the worker. Asking for or receiving a benefit in return for sponsorship is an offence under the Migration Act. We will tell you which costs sit with you before you commit to anything.

Our occupation is not on the Core Skills Occupation List. Is that the end of it?

Not necessarily. Each Designated Area Migration Agreement covers a defined region and carries its own occupation list, often broader than the national lists. Whether a region applies depends on where the work is performed. It is worth checking before you rule the role out.

How long does sponsorship take?

It depends on the pathway, whether your business is already an approved sponsor, the occupation, and Departmental processing at the time. We will give you a realistic range for your situation rather than a number that sounds good. No agent can promise a processing time or an outcome.

What if we are not ready to hire yet?

That is fine. Plenty of employers enquire to find out whether sponsorship is realistic before they plan a role. There is no cost and nothing starts until you say so.

The information on this page is general information about Australian employer sponsorship and is not immigration assistance or legal advice about your business. Migration Star is a registered migration agency and is not a recruitment agency, a labour hire provider or an employment agent. No fee is payable to Migration Star for finding you an employee or for an introduction to a candidate. Migration Star provides immigration assistance through its registered migration agents under a written agreement. No agent can guarantee that a nomination will be approved or that a visa will be granted. Migration Star, Registered Migration Agents, MARN 1797395.