From a 482 to a 186 Visa: How the Transition Works

A 482 holder moves to a 186 visa through the Temporary Residence Transition stream after full-time sponsored work for 2 years in the last 3, once the most recent sponsor lodges a 186 nomination and the worker applies within 6 months of that nomination’s approval. The employer pays the nomination fee of $540 (nil for a position in regional Australia) and a one-off Skilling Australians Fund levy of $3,000 or $5,000, and the worker pays the visa charge of $6,140. The first step is to find the exact date the 2-year count is met, which the date tool below works out from each period of sponsored employment.

The nomination and the visa are separate lodgements by separate people, each with its own charge and time limit:

When can you apply for a 186 after a 482?

After 2 years: a 482 holder can apply for a 186 on the day full-time sponsored employment totals 2 years in the last 3, provided the employer’s nomination is already approved. Under Schedule 2 clause 186.227(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Home Affairs TRT page, that employment must be:

• full-time;
• in Australia;
• with an approved work sponsor, while holding a 457, 482 or eligible bridging visa;
• in an occupation a 457 or 482 was granted for;
• counted without any unpaid leave.

Two separate tests apply. Clause 186.226(1) requires the applicant to have held a 457 or 482 (or a linked bridging visa) for a total of at least 2 years in the 3 years before applying, and clause 186.227 requires the employment itself to total at least 2 years in the same 3 years. The count is a total, not a continuous period, and it is not limited to one employer.

A worker who started full-time sponsored work on 1 March 2025, with no unpaid leave and no gaps, reaches the count on 1 March 2027 and can lodge from then, provided the nomination is approved first.

What changed on 7 December 2024?

Home Affairs news item 1273 lists four changes to the TRT that answer most “new rules” questions:

1. All periods of sponsored employment count toward the 2 years, not only employment with the nominating sponsor.
2. Work in a related field, or after a promotion, counts.
3. The applicant, not the nominating employer, provides the evidence of the 2 years.
4. The Core Skills Income Threshold replaced the TSMIT for 186 nominations; it is $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026.

Who can move from a 482 to a 186?

Three 186 streams take a worker who is, or was, on a 482:

1. Temporary Residence Transition (TRT). A 482 in any stream qualifies, whether TSS or Skills in Demand, and the most recent approved sponsor nominates. The criteria are on the 186 TRT visa page.
2. Direct Entry. The occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List, with 3 years of relevant experience and a positive skills assessment; no 2-year sponsored count is needed.
3. Labour Agreement. Only where the 482 labour agreement includes a permanent residence option.

In the TRT and Direct Entry streams the applicant must be under 45 at the time of application unless exempt, and must have competent English; in the Labour Agreement stream the age and English rules are those the labour agreement sets. How these three compare with the other routes is on the 482 PR pathway page.

What does the employer lodge?

The employer lodges the 186 nomination in ImmiAccount and pays the levy with it. According to the sponsor tab of the Home Affairs Temporary Residence Transition stream page, the nominating business must:

1. Be the applicant’s most recent approved sponsor, as a standard business sponsor or a party to a labour agreement.
2. Offer a position that is full-time and ongoing for at least 2 years, under a contract that does not limit the position to 2 years.
3. Nominate the same occupation as its most recently approved nomination for the worker. ENS occupations use ANZSCO 2022, and a code that changed from a 457 or TSS nomination does not disadvantage the worker.
4. Pay at least $79,423, and at least the annual market salary rate where earnings are below $250,000.
5. Pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy when it lodges the nomination.
6. Show the worker is eligible for any licence, registration or membership the job needs at the time the nomination is lodged.
7. Have no adverse information known about it or an associated person, or information it is reasonable to disregard.

What if the business restructured?

A restructure that produced a new ABN or ACN has to be reflected in the worker’s temporary sponsorship before the 186 nomination is lodged: the new entity must already be the worker’s most recently approved sponsor. Where ownership changed through a sale or takeover, the nominator must show it and the previous sponsor would be considered the same employer.

What does the worker lodge?

The worker lodges the 186 visa application, TRT stream, in ImmiAccount within 6 months of the nomination’s approval, with:

1. Evidence of the sponsored employment covering the 2 years. The applicant, not the employer, proves the count (news item 1273).
2. Competent English.
3. Health examinations for the applicant and every family member in the application.
4. Character evidence, including police certificates, for the applicant and each family member aged 16 or over.
5. The Australian values statement, signed by every applicant aged 18 or over.
6. Family members: a partner and dependent children can be included at lodgement or added before the decision, and a family member who holds a 482 as a member of the worker’s family must be included when the application is lodged.

Home Affairs cannot link a new nomination to an existing visa application. If a replacement nomination is needed, the worker withdraws the first visa application and lodges a new one, and a refund of the first charge depends on the circumstances (TRT page).

The nomination and the visa are two applications with separate fees, and a migration lawyer who prepares both keeps the same-occupation rule, the 6 months window and the salary evidence aligned, which makes a grant more likely than lodging them apart; Home Affairs does not refund the visa charge on refusal and cannot link a new nomination to an existing visa application.

What English score is competent?

Competent English is IELTS 6 in each of the four components, or PTE Academic 47 listening, 48 reading, 51 writing, 54 speaking, for tests taken from 7 August 2025 (Home Affairs competent English page). A citizen who holds a passport of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States proves competent English with that passport. There has been no exemption from the English requirement for this stream since 16 November 2019.

How long does the 186 take after lodging?

The 186 TRT took 14 months for 50% of recently decided applications and 22 months for 90%, in the Home Affairs global visa processing times published 24 September 2026. Applications are processed in the order set by Ministerial Direction 122 from 19 September 2026, which puts applicants who were in Australia when they lodged ahead of offshore applicants, after the priority sectors.

What does the 186 step cost?

The 186 step carries charges on both sides:

The employer must pay all nomination and levy costs and cannot transfer them to the worker (Home Affairs cost of sponsoring page). By comparison, keeping the worker on a new 482 instead costs a new 482 nomination ($330), a levy of $1,200 or $1,800 for every year nominated, and a new visa charge of $4,015.

What if you are not eligible before your 482 ends?

A 482 cannot be extended. Staying longer needs a new nomination and a new 482 visa (Home Affairs Core Skills stream page: “You can’t stay longer by extending the visa”), and the new nomination must meet the income threshold in force on its lodgement date. The steps and costs of a 482 visa renewal are set out separately.

Time on a bridging visa still counts. Clause 186.226(1)(d) counts a bridging visa granted with a 457, 482, 186 or 187 application toward the visa-held test when the last substantive visa was a 457 or 482, and full-time work for an approved sponsor while holding that bridging visa counts toward the employment test (TRT page).

Supplementary: the 482 and the 186 side by side

The 482 is temporary and tied to the sponsor’s business and occupation, while the 186 is permanent from the day of grant and adds an age limit and competent English. Salary, experience, cost and processing are compared row by row on the 482 vs 186 page.