RSMS 187 Visa – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (Subclass 187)

To be eligible for the RSMS subclass 187 Visa, you must meet the following requirements:

Work Experience Requirements

You must have held a 457 Visa or 482 Visa and worked for your employer for a minimum of two or three years.

English Requirements

You must have at least Competent English. You must provide the evidence of English requirement by the time of application. The test cannot be completed more than three years prior to the application date.

If you have completed at least five years of full-time study at a secondary or postsecondary educational institution where all instruction was given in English, you are exempt from the English requirement.

Age Requirements

You must be under 45 when applying for the RSMS 187 Visa. You may be exempted from the age requirement if one of the following:

• A university in Australia has nominated you as an academic (a lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level A, B, C, D, or E).
• An Australian university or scientific government body has nominated you for ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 as a scientist, researcher, or technical specialist.
• You are nominated as a medical practitioner and have worked in the field for at least two years as a subclass 457 or 482 visa holder in a selected regional area of Australia in the three years prior to your application. The position that has been nominated is located in a specific Australian regional area.
• You must have held a subclass 457 or 482 visa and worked in the designated occupation for the nominating employer for at least two of the three years that ended right before you applied, with each year’s earnings having to meet the Fair Work High Income Threshold.

Health & Character Requirements

You must meet the specified health and character requirements for the RSMS 187 Visa.

Nomination Requirements

You must be nominated by an Australian employer and apply for the 187 visa within six months of the nomination being approved (if the visa and nomination applications were not lodged concurrently).

Should the nomination be withdrawn, the visa will not be issued. The Department doesn’t connect recently submitted nominations to previously submitted visa applications.

Employer Requirements

As the employer, they should meet some criteria as per below:

1. Must be an eligible business, including pay the SAF Levy;
2. Must be the applicant’s most recent approved sponsor.
3. You run a business in regional Australia in an active and legal manner.
4. In order to fill a skilled position, you genuinely need a paid employee. You offer the applicant a full-time, ongoing skilled position in their profession that will last for at least two years. You pay a market compensation rate.
5. You abide by Australian immigration and workplace relations rules, and no negative information about you, your company, or any of its affiliates is known.