An employer sponsored visa agent Perth businesses engage must be entitled to act before anything else follows. Giving immigration assistance for a fee is restricted by law to a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner acting in that capacity, and a Standard Business Sponsorship application sits on the employer's own record, not the candidate's.

This page sets out how to verify that an agent is entitled to act, how the sponsorship pathway proceeds from the employer's side of the desk, and what should be prepared before the first consultation.

The registration check every employer should make

Giving immigration assistance for a fee is restricted by law to a registered migration agent, an Australian legal practitioner acting in that capacity, or a person within a specific exemption. No general exception applies to a recruiter, an HR consultant or an adviser who is simply experienced. An employer engaging the wrong person exposes both the sponsorship application and the business itself.

How to check the OMARA register

Search the agent's name or MARN on the OMARA public register and confirm the status reads "Current." The register is free, public and authoritative. Request the MARN before the first meeting — a registered agent will provide it without hesitation.

Source: Migration Act 1958, sections 276 and 280, compilation C2026C00232, compilation date 4 June 2026, Compilation No. 171. Confirmed as the current compilation and in force on 18 September 2026.

How the sponsorship pathway actually runs

Employer sponsorship is three linked stages, not one application: Standard Business Sponsorship (approval of the business as a sponsor), the nomination (approval of the specific position), and the visa application itself (assessment of the individual). Most delays happen when employers treat these stages as one-after-another instead of running the sponsorship and the nomination side by side once the position is confirmed, or when HR or legal sign-off comes in late instead of as soon as the role is identified as one that may need to be filled from overseas.

The Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa is the usual starting point for a temporary employer-sponsored placement, with a transition to permanent residence available through the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa for many occupations, or the Subclass 494 visa for a position in designated regional Western Australia. Which pathway is appropriate depends on the occupation, the region, and whether the business intends the placement to lead to permanent sponsorship — a question worth resolving before the nomination is drafted, not after. Our employer sponsored visas page sets out all three pathways together, with the criteria specific to each.

Source: Department of Home Affairs, employer sponsored visa program pages, immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. Program structure only, not a statement that any pathway suits a particular business or position.

What sponsorship commits your business to

Approval as a sponsor is not the end of the business's involvement. A Standard Business Sponsorship carries ongoing obligations that continue for the life of the sponsored worker's visa, including cooperating with the Department's inspectors, maintaining records, not passing recruitment costs on to the sponsored worker, and meeting labour market testing requirements before most nominations. These obligations, and the labour market testing window and advertising requirements specifically, are set out in more detail on our own pages linked below.

Source: Migration Regulations 1994, sponsorship obligations provisions and the labour market testing requirements applying to Subclass 482 and 494 nominations — see the practice's dedicated pages on sponsorship obligations and labour market testing for the current requirements in full.

What separates the right Employer Sponsored Visa Agent Perth for an employer

Registration confirms an agent is entitled to act. It does not confirm they handle employer-sponsored matters the way a business needs them handled. Four questions asked before engagement help tell the two apart:

• whether the agent progresses the sponsorship and nomination stages in parallel, or only commences the nomination once the sponsorship is approved
• who personally manages your matter, and how the business is kept informed as the application progresses
• whether the written fee agreement and scope of services are provided before any commitment is made
• whether the agent has direct, current experience with 482, 186 or 494 nominations in your industry

A registered agent who works regularly with employers should answer each of these easily. A vague answer on the sequencing question is usually a sign the agent mostly handles individual applicants, not sponsoring businesses. Our page on sponsoring a chef in Perth shows what a specific industry-level 482 nomination looks like in practice.

Source: Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), Consumer Guide, mara.gov.au.

Fees: what you're entitled to see in writing

The Migration Agents Code of Conduct that binds every registered agent requires a written client agreement before work begins. It must set out the scope of services, the professional fee, what triggers any extra charge, and what happens if a nomination or visa application is refused. This applies to a sponsoring business the same way it applies to an individual applicant.

Source: Migration Agents Regulations 1998, Schedule 2 (Code of Conduct), clause 5, made under section 314 of the Migration Act 1958 — verify against the current compilation before citing a specific clause number in client-facing advice.

A recruitment cost recovered from the sponsored worker rather than borne by the business is a separate compliance issue in its own right, not only a fee question — raise it with your agent before it arises rather than after.

What your Employer Sponsored Visa Agent Perth will need from you as a sponsor

The business side of a sponsorship application should be assembled before the nomination stage, not alongside it. Having the following ready before the first consultation shortens the timeline meaningfully:

• ABN, business registration and evidence of the business's ongoing, lawful operation
• the position description, duties, salary and terms for the nominated role
• evidence supporting the genuine need for the position and its relationship to the business's actual operations
• the labour market testing evidence — advertising records covering the required window, where testing applies to the nomination
• training benchmark or Skilling Australians Fund levy arrangements, where applicable
• the candidate's qualifications, skills assessment (where required) and employment history relevant to the nominated occupation

Source: Department of Home Affairs, sponsorship and nomination document requirements, immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.

Questions employers ask before engaging an agent

Speak with a registered migration agent Perth

There is no obligation until you have seen the written fee agreement and decided it suits your business. We cannot tell you what a decision on a nomination or visa will be, and no registered agent will — we can tell you whether the pathway you are considering fits your position, and what to have ready before you lodge.

Current at 18 September 2026. Migration law changes, and the instruments and provisions referred to on this page are amended from time to time. This page is general information, not immigration assistance for your matter.