186 TRT Stream: Permanent Residence for 482 Visa Holders

The 186 Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream gives permanent residence to a 457 or 482 holder who has worked full time for an approved sponsor for 2 years in the last 3, is under 45 unless exempt, has competent English and is nominated by their most recent sponsor at a salary of at least $79,423. The count covers the 3 years immediately before the visa application, across every approved sponsor, and the worker (not the employer) proves it with employment evidence. The first step is to date the count with the tool below, then confirm the most recent sponsor will lodge the nomination, because the visa application must follow within 6 months of its approval.

The TRT criteria sit in Schedule 2 clauses 186.221 to 186.227 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and on the Home Affairs Temporary Residence Transition stream page:

Who qualifies for the TRT stream?

A worker qualifies for the TRT stream when six conditions are all met on the day the visa application is lodged:

1. The worker holds a 457 or 482 in any stream, or an eligible bridging visa, as the primary holder.
2. Full-time sponsored employment in Australia totals 2 years in the last 3, in an occupation a 457 or 482 was granted for.
3. The most recent approved sponsor has nominated the worker in the same occupation, and that nomination was approved no more than 6 months earlier.
4. The nominated salary is at least $79,423 and the market rate.
5. The worker is under 45, or an exemption applies.
6. The worker has competent English.

The table above gives the source of each rule. The TRT is one of four routes a 482 holder has, and the others are compared on the pathways to permanent residence page.

How is the TRT different from Direct Entry?

The two 186 streams differ on three points:

How are the two years counted?

The two years are a total of full-time employment with any approved work sponsor within the 3 years immediately before the visa application, not counting unpaid leave (clause 186.227(1)). Five worked examples show how the rule applies:

1. Change of employer. A worker spends 14 months full time with Employer A on a 482, then 10 months with Employer B after B’s nomination was approved. That is 24 months with approved sponsors, so the count is met, and Employer B nominates because it is the most recent sponsor.
2. Starting before the new nomination was approved. A worker starts with a new employer while that employer’s nomination is still pending. Once the nomination is approved, the time counts from the date it was lodged (TRT page).
3. Unpaid leave. A worker takes 3 months of unpaid leave inside the 3-year window. Those 3 months are not counted, so the count is met 3 months later than it would otherwise be.
4. Gap between sponsors. A worker stops working for a sponsor and uses days allowed under condition 8607 (up to 180 days at a time) to find a new one. Those days are not sponsored employment and do not count.
5. Bridging visa. A worker’s last 482 ends while a new 482 application is being decided, and the worker keeps working full time for the sponsor on the linked bridging visa. That work counts, because eligible employment includes work “while holding a subclass 457, 482 or eligible bridging visa” (TRT page).

Work in a related field and work after a promotion both count (Home Affairs news item 1273). A worker who held several 457 or 482 visas in the 3 years counts employment in any occupation approved on them (TRT page). Part-time work does not count toward the requirement, because the employment must be full-time (clause 186.227(1)(b)).

The applicant, not the employer, proves the 2 years (news item 1273), so an Australian migration lawyer who maps every period of sponsored employment, unpaid leave and nomination lodgement date against clause 186.227 before lodging makes a grant more likely than lodging on an estimate, because a count that falls short by days is a refusal and the $6,140 charge is not refunded.

Is there an age limit, and who is exempt?

Yes. The applicant must be under 45 at the time of application (clause 186.221) unless one of five exemptions applies, according to the Home Affairs TRT page:

1. Academics: nominated as a university lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level A, B, C, D or E by an Australian university.
2. Scientists, researchers and technical specialists: at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2, nominated by an Australian scientific government agency or an Australian university.
3. Regional medical practitioners: worked as a medical practitioner in a designated regional area for at least 2 years in the 3 years before applying as a 457 or 482 holder, and nominated to a position in a designated regional area.
4. High-income earners: as a 457 or 482 holder, worked in eligible sponsored employment for at least 2 years in the 3 years before applying, with earnings in each year of that period at least the Fair Work high income threshold. The threshold limits who is protected from unfair dismissal under the Fair Work Act, and the Fair Work Commission publishes it: $190,100 from 1 July 2026, and $183,100 for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. The figures for earlier years are not published in this guide.
5. Former 457 holders: a person who held, or had applied for and was later granted, a 457 on 18 April 2017 can apply while under 50.

How age is tested across the 482 and the 186, and what evidence each exemption needs, is on the 482 visa to PR age limit page.

What English level is needed?

The TRT needs competent English (clause 186.222). For tests taken from 7 August 2025 that is IELTS 6 in each of the four components, or PTE Academic 47 listening, 48 reading, 51 writing, 54 speaking (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 by that passport. There has been no exemption from the English requirement for this stream since 16 November 2019.

The level is higher than the one the 482 needed, which is set out on the 482 visa English page. Family members aged 18 or over who apply with the worker and have less than functional English trigger a second instalment of $4,890 each.

What salary must the 186 nomination pay?

The 186 nomination must pay at least $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, and at least the annual market salary rate where earnings are below $250,000. Both the market rate and the worker’s pay, excluding non-monetary benefits, must reach the threshold (Home Affairs salary requirements page, which covers 482, 494, 186 and 187 nominations). The position must also offer terms and conditions no less favourable than those of an Australian citizen or permanent resident doing the same work in the same place (TRT page, sponsor tab).

The TSMIT no longer applies to the 186: the CSIT replaced it for 186 nominations on 7 December 2024, and the TSMIT now applies to 494 and 187 nominations.

What are the steps?

The TRT takes five steps from the count to the grant:

Who lodges what, and what each step costs both sides, is on the 482 to 186 visa page.

How long does the TRT take?

The 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, in effect from 19 September 2026. The tiers, the queue months and what slows a file down are on the 186 TRT processing time page.

The 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme is not an alternative: it closed in 2019 except for certain transitional groups, and the 7 December 2024 TRT changes do not extend to it (news item 1273).