Moving to Australia from Kenya on a Skills in Demand (482) visa

What the 482 is

Kenyan electricians, cooks, joiners, welders, nurses and engineers who take up a sponsored post in Australia usually travel on this visa.

Subclass 482 is formally called the Skills in Demand (SID) visa. An Australian business uses it to bring in skilled staff after it has failed to recruit a suitably skilled local for the role. A grant is temporary and lasts 4 years at most; staying longer on a 482 takes a fresh nomination from the employer and a fresh application from you.

It is split into three main streams:

• Core Skills applies to occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). The bulk of the building, trade and hospitality jobs advertised here fall into this stream.
• Specialist Skills covers better-paid jobs in particular occupation groups, with pay at or above the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (AUD 146,576 (as of October 2026, official page)). Tradespeople, machinery operators and labourers are excluded.
• Labour Agreement serves workers nominated by an employer that holds a labour agreement with the Australian Government, and such an agreement may carry its own requirements.

Core Skills stream: the conditions

You must tick every box below.

• Sponsor. An approved sponsor (or a business that has applied to become a Standard Business Sponsor) nominates you for the job.
• Occupation. The job is listed on the Core Skills Occupation List and genuinely calls for your skills.
• Salary. Your pay equals the Annual Market Salary Rate and is not lower than the Core Skills Income Threshold, which is AUD 79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (as of October 2026, official page). It must also equal what an Australian in the same job would be paid.
• Experience. At least 1 year in the nominated occupation or a closely related one (see the next section).
• English, health and character. You meet all three standards and hold adequate health insurance for the full length of your stay.
• Age. There is no minimum or maximum age for a 482.

Measure yourself against real adverts on the sponsored jobs in Australia page.

Work history, qualifications and skills assessments

Australia weighs what you have actually done in jobs, and not only the certificates you hold.

• Work history: a minimum of 1 year in the nominated occupation or a related one within the past 5 years. Interruptions are acceptable provided your full-time time adds up to 12 months or more.
• Qualifications: the ones your occupation demands. If it needs an Australian licence or registration you must have it as well: certain trades, among them electrical and plumbing, call for a state licence, and nurses register with the Australian regulator since Kenyan registration is not transferable.
• Skills assessment: required for some occupations, generally carried out by VETASSESS or Trades Recognition Australia (TRA). Credentials from Kenya, for example KNEC or NITA certificates or a completed apprenticeship, normally get assessed again and are never regarded as equal to an Australian licence by default. For an occupation that needs one, the assessment must have started by the time you lodge or the application is invalid, and its date must fall inside the 3 years before you apply. Begin early.
• No assessment needed? Home Affairs can still request other proof, such as certificates, licences, references and your CV.

English language rules

Both the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams call for English proficiency unless you are exempt (see below). Applicants who must sit a test need at least the following in each component, for tests taken on or after 13 September 2025 (as of October 2026, official page):

• Exempt applicants: holders of passports from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, the US or the Republic of Ireland, plus anyone with at least 5 years of full-time study at secondary level or higher taught mainly in English. Kenya does not appear on that passport list, so the majority of Kenyan applicants sit a test. Employers and registration bodies may still ask for their own English proof.
• Recency: the result has to be from the 3 years before your application.
• Venue: a test centre. Tests taken at home or wholly online, IELTS Online included, are not accepted.
• Alternatives: CELPIP General, LANGUAGECERT Academic, the Michigan English Test and other tests are also on the Home Affairs list, with minimums on the official page.
• Labour Agreement stream: the agreement may set a different level.

Health checks, insurance and police certificates

• Health: everyone on the application has to meet the health requirement, typically through medical examinations, and the results are normally valid for 12 months.
• Cover: adequate health insurance must be in place from arrival and stay in place for your whole time in the country.
• Character: this covers you and any family member who is 16 or older. Usually it requires a police certificate from each country where you spent 12 months or more in total during the 10 years since turning 16. For Kenya, that means a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and a long enough stay in any other country brings its own certificate too.

The path from advert to first day

1. Labour market testing. As a rule the employer must have run 2 or more job adverts in Australia, each for at least 4 weeks, in the 4 months before nominating (labour market testing).
2. Selection. You apply for the job, go through interviews (frequently on video from Kenya) and receive an offer.
3. Sponsor approval. An employer that is not yet an approved sponsor gets approved.
4. Nomination. The employer submits the nomination and gives you the Transaction Reference Number (TRN).
5. Documents. Assemble your passport, proof of skills (and a skills assessment if one applies), English evidence or proof of exemption, police certificates, references and any translations.
6. Application. Lodge it in ImmiAccount with the TRN and pay the visa charge.
7. Biometrics and health examinations as and when Home Affairs asks for them.
8. Outcome. A visa cannot be granted before the nomination is approved.
9. First day. You have 90 days from arrival in Australia (or from the grant, if you are already there) to start. Schedule notice, housing and flights around that date.

Processing times and charges

How long it takes (as of October 2026, official page), according to the Home Affairs processing-time tool:

Figures on the tool shift frequently, and your own application may move faster or slower. Remember the stages before lodging too: locating the job, sponsorship and nomination, any skills assessment or licence, and police certificates can each consume weeks.

What it costs (as of October 2026, official page): the main applicant pays AUD 4,015, as does each family member who is 18 or older, and each family member under 18 pays AUD 1,005. Health examinations, police certificates, biometrics and any English test are separate costs. A reduced charge has applied since 1 July 2026 for eligible citizens of Timor-Leste and the Pacific Island countries.

Working on a 482

• Duties. You carry out the nominated occupation for the sponsor or, in certain cases, an associated entity.
• Starting. Within 90 days.
• If employment ends. You get up to 180 days to find another sponsor or make plans to leave Australia.
• Money and rights. Your sponsor pays its own sponsorship, nomination and recruitment costs and may not claim them back from you (sponsor obligations). At work you hold the same rights as any other worker in Australia; see worker rights.

Family members

• Eligible people: your partner and dependent children, including your partner's.
• Once granted: they can live, work and study in Australia.
• The sponsor's role: it names each family member in the nomination or agrees in writing to sponsor them.
• Name everybody up front: no one can be added after lodgement, and a family member who joins later applies on their own as a subsequent entrant.
• Charges and checks: each person pays a visa charge (see above) and undergoes health checks, with character checks from age 16.

Permanent residence through subclass 186

Most 482 holders who stay for good use the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme, subclass 186, a permanent visa. What it asks (as of October 2026, official page):

• Existing visa: subclass 482 (or 457), or a qualifying bridging visa.
• Sponsor service: a minimum of 2 years of eligible work for the sponsor inside the 3 years before you apply.
• Nominating employer: your latest full-time sponsor under a 482 or 457, with its nomination of you approved in the 6 months before you apply.
• Age: typically under 45 when you apply.
• English: Competent English at least, such as IELTS 6 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking (Competent English); that page lists the other ways of showing it.

The charge for a 186 visa starts at AUD 6,140 (as of October 2026, official page). Settings are revised from time to time, so consult the official page before building long-term plans.

Preparing from Kenya

You do not have to wait for a visa application before you begin. Much of this can be done while the interviews are still going on. What follows applies the general rules of Home Affairs to somebody who lives in Kenya.

1. Passport. Make sure the name matches your certificates, and keep the marriage certificate or deed poll that explains any change. A passport that is about to expire should be renewed before you lodge, as Home Affairs advises, so the visa is attached to the passport you will actually use to fly.
2. Police certificates. Australia asks for one from each country where you spent 12 months or more in total over the last 10 years, counting from your 16th birthday. For Kenya you need a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), usually requested through eCitizen. A few years of work in the UAE or South Africa, for instance, could add a certificate from there. The Home Affairs police certificate list explains how each country deals with it, and under the character requirements a certificate is usually accepted for 12 months from the date of issue.
3. Qualifications and licences. Collect KNEC or NITA certificates, apprenticeship or industrial attachment records, degrees, trade test results, licences and cards. Australia does not treat Kenyan qualifications as equal to its own by default: they are normally reassessed, some trades such as electrical and plumbing also require a state licence, and an occupation that needs a skills assessment should have that process started early.
4. References. One letter per employer, signed and on company letterhead, giving the signer's name, position and contact details along with your job title and start and finish dates. Prepare an English CV that covers at least your last 5 years of work as well.
5. English. A Kenyan passport is not among those that meet Australia's English requirement automatically, so plan to take an approved test (the minimum scores are in the English section of this guide) unless you qualify another way. Read the visa page before you book. Employers and registration bodies can also set separate English rules.
6. Translations. Papers from Kenya are usually in English already, so this matters mainly for anything written in another language, Swahili for example. The translator needs no Australian accreditation, but the translation must state their full name, address, phone number, qualifications and experience. Certified copies of originals may still be requested.
7. Colour scans. Scan every page completely and clearly; the online form becomes far easier.

Currently employed? Carry on working until Australia has made its decision, and find the notice period in your contract so you know when to resign.

Scams and errors that cost visas

Scams aimed at would-be migrants to Australia mostly follow a single script. A social media message or a polished website promises a sponsored job or visa once you have paid. Deal with genuine employers only, and do not pay anyone to "secure" a job or visa.

• Nobody can guarantee a visa. Home Affairs says so plainly. Australia sells no "work permits" and affixes no visa labels to passports, so an offer of either is false.
• Sponsorship is not for sale. Sponsors may not recover their sponsorship, nomination or recruitment costs from you. Requesting, offering or paying a benefit for sponsorship breaches the rules, and doing so in the past 3 years can stop a 482 being granted.
• Charging for advice is restricted. Only registered migration agents (RMAs) and Australian lawyers may do it in Australia. Check the OMARA register first (choosing a migration agent).
• Visa charges go through ImmiAccount. The government has no additional fee for "issuing" a visa.
• Errors that sink applications: a nominated occupation your work history cannot support, a lapsed English result or police certificate, a partner or child left off the form (nobody can be added after lodgement) and names or dates that differ between documents.

Home Affairs' own guidance: visa scams (Home Affairs) and what you need to know (Home Affairs).

Frequently asked questions

For how long is a 482 granted?

For up to 4 years. Staying longer on a 482 means your employer nominates you again and you make a new application.

How much work experience does the 482 require?

At least 1 year in the nominated occupation, or a related one, inside the last 5 years. Gaps are fine as long as your full-time total comes to 12 months or more.

Must I sit IELTS or PTE for a 482?

Most likely. The English exemption covers only passport holders from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the Republic of Ireland (as of October 2026), and Kenya's passport is not one of them; 5 years of full-time study at secondary level or above, mainly in English, can also exempt you. Failing that, a test taken on or after 13 September 2025 needs IELTS 5.0 in each part, or PTE Academic 33 in listening, 36 in reading, 29 in writing and 24 in speaking. The Home Affairs English page gives the rest. Employers and registration bodies may still request their own evidence.

What police certificate is required from Kenya?

A Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), together with a certificate from any other country where you lived for 12 months or more in total in the last 10 years since turning 16. The Home Affairs country list describes the procedure country by country.

I am a nurse registered in Kenya. Can I start work at once?

No. Your Kenyan registration does not transfer, so you must first register with the nursing regulator in Australia. The advert states what the employer needs.

Is there an upper age limit?

Not for the 482. The permanent subclass 186 (TRT stream) normally asks that you are under 45, though.

What does a 482 cost?

As of October 2026, the main applicant and each family member aged 18 or over pay AUD 4,015, and each child under 18 pays AUD 1,005. Tests, health examinations and police certificates are additional. See the Home Affairs page.

What if my sponsored job comes to an end?

You have up to 180 days to find another sponsoring employer or to leave Australia.

Could I eventually settle in Australia for good?

Possibly. Once you have done 2 years of sponsored work in the last 3 years, the TRT stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) may be available, provided your employer nominates you and you satisfy the age and Competent English conditions.