Employer Sponsored Visa Costs Podcast by Lisa Takis

Introduction

“Hi everyone, welcome back to another podcast from the Visa Executive team. I’m your host today, and my name is Lisa Takis. I’m an Australian registered migration agent. I’ve worked in the global mobility space for over 20 years, helping organizations with their globally mobile workforce-moving the globe and navigating employment tax, personal tax, payroll solutions, share schemes, technology solutions, and most importantly, immigration considerations.”

“Today, we’ve got a topic that comes up almost daily: employer-sponsored visa costs and the financial obligations for employers and visa applicants. I will also touch on fringe benefits tax. So, grab your favorite cuppa, and let’s get started.”

Understanding Visa Costs

“All right, let’s start with the elephant in the room: costs associated with visa applications. Applying for a visa can be a significant financial commitment, and it’s crucial to understand what you’re getting into, especially as an employer. There’s a myriad of visas available, each with its own set of fees, and these can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the visa subclass, purpose, and your individual circumstances.”

“When an eligibility assessment is done for a potential candidate, that’s when normally the costs are all outlined, and it’s at that point there that discussions will be had around costs and who’s covering what part of it.”

Who Pays for the Visa?

“We often see that where it’s a business need or a skill shortage need, the business is likely to cover more of the costs as opposed to having a candidate already onshore looking for sponsorship-and there we find the business might ask that applicant to pay more towards the costs associated with the visa application.”

“These are things that really should be sitting in your global mobility policy or framework so that there’s no confusion and that it’s fair across the business. Putting that sort of information on an organization’s intranet is also very useful; it saves your talent team from getting lots and lots of questions.”

Breakdown: Subclass 482 Visa

“I thought it might be a good idea just to run you through a typical Subclass 482 and what the costs are there. There are two applications when you’re doing a Subclass 482: firstly, the Nomination Application, and then the Visa Application.”

1. Nomination Application

• Nomination Fee: Currently $330.
• SAF Levy (Skilling Australia Fund): For organizations with a turnover of over $10 million, it is $1,800 per year of the visa. For a 4-year visa, you are paying $7,200 in SAF levy upfront.

2. Visa Application Fees

• Medium-to-Long-Term List: $3,035 for the primary applicant.
• Short-Term Occupation List: $1,455.
• Dependents: Additional costs apply for partners and children in both cases.

3. Additional Costs

“For the Subclass 482, you’ve also got health testing, English testing, police checks, and translation costs. Often, these will be picked up by the candidate themselves.”

Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) & Clawback Clauses

“Where an employee is onshore and you are paying towards their visa application fees, there will be fringe benefits tax associated with those fees. Because the nomination and SAF levy must be borne by the employer-they cannot be passed on to the employee-those wouldn’t come into the fringe benefits tax realm.”

“However, the visa application fees that you are paying on behalf of your onshore employee would be subject to fringe benefits tax. It’s always important to run this past your in-house tax team. This is particularly important in project-based organizations where you might want to on-charge those costs to a project team later; you don’t want to come to them a year later and say it’s almost double because you’ve added FBT.”

Clawback Clauses

“If you are sponsoring someone and you really want them to stay for two years, a lot of employers are putting in clawback clauses. If the employee doesn’t stay for the full two years, the employer has the right to claw back some of those visa application costs. This is also relevant for permanent visas where the costs can be quite substantial.”

Conclusion

“In conclusion, navigating the costs associated with visa applications can be complex, but it all comes down to the planning and the thinking upfront. Understand the costs, who is wearing what, and the FBT implications. Adhere to your global mobility policy, or put one in place if you don’t have one.”

“That’s all for today’s episode from Visa Executive. I hope you found the discussion useful. If you have any questions, please drop us an email. Thank you.”