482 Visa to PR: The Pathways to Permanent Residence

A 482 visa leads to permanent residence mainly through the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, which a 482 holder can use after working full time for an approved sponsor for 2 years in the last 3, if under 45 or exempt, with competent English and a nomination from their most recent sponsor. The employer lodges the 186 nomination at a salary of at least $79,423 and the worker applies within 6 months of its approval, so the first step is to confirm the date the 2-year count is met. Direct Entry, a labour agreement or DAMA, and the points-tested 189, 190 and 491 are the other routes, and each has its own conditions below.

The count is a total of 2 years within the 3 years before the visa application, not 2 continuous years, and every approved sponsor’s employment counts, not only the nominating employer’s (Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2 clause 186.227). The date tool below adds up each period of full-time sponsored work, leaves out unpaid leave and gives the earliest day the count is met.

Which pathways lead from a 482 to PR?

Four routes lead from a 482 to permanent residence:

1. The 186 Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream. For a 457 or 482 holder in any stream, nominated by the most recent approved sponsor after full-time sponsored work for 2 years in the last 3. The TSS short-term and medium-term streams closed to new applicants on 6 December 2024, and the TRT accepts a “subclass 482 visa (any stream)”, according to the Home Affairs Temporary Residence Transition stream page.
2. The 186 Direct Entry stream. For a worker whose occupation is on the Core Skills Occupation List, with 3 years of relevant work experience and a positive skills assessment. No 2-year sponsored count is needed, and any eligible Australian employer nominates.
3. The 186 Labour Agreement stream. For a worker whose employer’s labour agreement includes a permanent residence option. DAMAs are labour agreements, so they sit here.
4. A points-tested visa (189, 190 or 491). No employer is involved: the worker needs an invitation through SkillSelect. This guide covers it only as a comparison.

The 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme closed in 2019 except for certain transitional groups, and the 7 December 2024 TRT changes do not extend to it (Home Affairs news item 1273). The National Innovation visa (subclass 858) is invitation-only (news item 1275). Neither is a 482 route this guide describes further.

What are the new rules for a 482 to PR?

The rules for moving from a 482 to permanent residence changed four times between November 2023 and November 2025. Newest first:

1. 29 November 2025: clause 186.227 now counts employment “by an approved work sponsor”, for 186 applications made from that day (Migration Amendment (Skilled Visa Reform Technical Measures) Regulations 2025, on the Federal Register of Legislation).
2. 7 December 2024: all periods of sponsored employment count toward the 2 years, not only time with the nominating sponsor; work in a related field and after a promotion counts; the applicant, not the employer, provides the evidence of the 2 years; and the Core Skills Income Threshold replaced the TSMIT for 186 nominations. The age exemptions for regional medical practitioners and high-income applicants carried over (Home Affairs news item 1273).
3. 1 July 2024: under condition 8607, a 482 holder can stop working for the sponsor for up to 180 days at a time and 365 days in total across the visa while finding a new sponsor, and is allowed to work for other employers during that time (Home Affairs news item 1213). Days outside sponsored work do not count toward the TRT.
4. 25 November 2023: the TRT opened to holders of every TSS stream, including short-term and labour agreement, the occupation no longer had to be on a skilled occupation list, and the work period became 2 years within 3 (Home Affairs news item 1136).

What has not changed: the applicant must be under 45 at the time of application unless exempt; competent English is required, with no exemption for this stream since 16 November 2019; and the most recent approved sponsor must be the one that nominates.

How does the move from a 482 to a 186 work?

The move is two lodgements, one by each side, followed by one decision:

The 186 step costs the employer a nomination fee of $540 (nil when the TRT position is in regional Australia) and a one-off Skilling Australians Fund levy of $3,000 (turnover under $10 million) or $5,000, and costs the worker a visa charge of $6,140. Who lodges what, with the documents and the step table, is set out on the page on moving from a 482 to a 186 visa.

Which route is open depends on dates that interact (the 2-in-3 count, the 6 months nomination window and your age on the lodgement day), so a migration lawyer who checks those dates against payslips and visa records before lodging makes a grant more likely, and Home Affairs does not refund the $6,140 charge if the visa is refused.

What does the 186 TRT stream require?

The TRT stream has six core requirements, set in Schedule 2 clauses 186.221 to 186.227 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and, for the nomination and salary, on the Home Affairs TRT and salary requirements pages:

1. Visa held: the applicant is the primary holder of a 457 or 482 (any stream), or of a bridging visa linked to a 457, 482, 186 or 187 application if the last substantive visa was a 457 or 482.
2. Sponsored work: full-time employment for 2 years in the last 3, in Australia, in an occupation a 457 or 482 was granted for. Unpaid leave is excluded.
3. Nominating employer: the most recent approved sponsor nominates the same ANZSCO 2022 occupation as the most recently approved nomination. The TRT has no occupation list.
4. Salary: at least $79,423, and at least the annual market salary rate where earnings are below $250,000.
5. Age: under 45 at the time of application, unless an exemption applies.
6. English: competent English.

Each criterion, with worked examples of how the 2 years are counted, is on the page on the 186 TRT stream.

How long does it take from a 482 to PR?

From a 482 to PR takes at least 2 years of full-time sponsored work plus the 186 decision: the TRT count is 2 years in the last 3, and the TRT decision took 14 months for half of recently decided applications and 22 months for 90%, in the Home Affairs global visa processing times published 24 September 2026.

Home Affairs decides 186 applications in the order set by Ministerial Direction 122, in effect from 19 September 2026. Applications relating to construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, or law enforcement and defence interests come first; applications from people who were in Australia when they lodged come second. A 482 holder who lodges in Australia is in the second group unless the application relates to one of those sectors.

Is there an age limit?

There is no age limit for the 482 itself: the Home Affairs Core Skills stream page says “There is no age requirement for this visa.” The 186 is different. The applicant must be under 45 at the time of the 186 application unless one of these exemptions applies (Schedule 2 clause 186.221; Home Affairs TRT page):

1. An academic at Level A to E nominated by an Australian university.
2. A scientist, researcher or technical specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 nominated by an Australian scientific government agency or university.
3. A medical practitioner who worked in a designated regional area for at least 2 years in the last 3 as a 457 or 482 holder, nominated to a regional position.
4. A 457 or 482 holder whose earnings in each year of the 2 years of sponsored employment were at least the Fair Work high income threshold.
5. A person who held, or had applied for and was later granted, a 457 on 18 April 2017: the limit for them is under 50 at application.

The age rules for both visas, and how the exemptions are proved, are on the 482 age limit page.

Do labour agreements and DAMAs lead to PR?

Labour agreements lead to PR only where the agreement includes it. Home Affairs states that permanent residence through the 186 Labour Agreement stream is available only if it was included as an option in the 457 or 482 labour agreement, and the applicant must be under 45 unless the agreement provides otherwise.

A DAMA is a two-tier labour agreement framework: a head agreement with a designated area representative, then individual employer labour agreements under it. Home Affairs lists 13 DAMAs in place. Each head agreement negotiates its own concessions (occupations, age, English and salary), and those concessions are published by the designated area representative, not by Home Affairs. Whether a particular DAMA includes a 186 option is set in that agreement; the regions and their published terms are on the Designated Area Migration Agreements page.

Can you apply for a points-tested visa instead?

Yes. Clauses 482.611 to 482.613 of Schedule 2 impose conditions 8607, 8501 and possibly 8303 on a 482, and none of them is a no-further-stay condition, so a holder can lodge an expression of interest. The 189, 190 and 491 need an invitation, at least 65 points and an age under 45 when invited, and the full comparison of a 482 or a points-tested visa sets out how the two routes differ for someone already on a 482.