Temporary Residence | Family Stream | Business Visas | General Skilled Migration Visa | Student Visa I have a company that is willing to sponsor me but am I eligible to apply for a temporary or permanent visa? This depend on a number of factors, including the visa that you are on presently, if any and the occupation that you are going to be employed in. Generally a temporary visa can be for a duration of up to four years, and you need to show that you have the skills, experience and qualifications for the occupation. For the permanent visa you either have to be already employed in the nominated occupation, have a skills assessment and at least three years work experience, or have a salary level exceeding $165,000 in your nominated occupation. Additionally there are English language and age requirements that currently do not apply to the temporary business sponsored visa. I do not have a sponsor, but I am a successful business person in my home country. Can I still apply? Yes, you may be eligible to apply for one of the range of business visas if you have a successful business career and sufficient assets to enable you to be eligible for this visa. There is the option of sponsorship by a state government or territory, which has lower eligibility thresholds than the non-sponsored visa. Also, you need to note that these are two stage visas which grant permanent residence after twelve months to two years if you satisfy the requirements at the second stage. If I apply for a permanent sponsored visa, how long do I have to be employed by the sponsoring company? The company is required to undertake to employ you for a minimum of three years and you have to provide evidence of a signed employment contract to that effect How long do these visas take to be processed, and can I stay in Australia while they are being processed? Each visa has different processing times, but generally temporary visas are processed more quickly than permanent visas. Whether you can stay in Australia while the visa is being processed depends on the visa that you have at the time of application (if any) and the class of visa that you lodge. Generally if you already have a qualifying visa you may be able to stay in Australia on a "Bridging visa" when your previous visa expires. Generally if you lodge your visa application outside Australia, you are not entitled to stay in Australia while it is being processed, although you may be able to enter Australia on a short term visa such as a tourist visa. However, if you lodge an offshore application, you must generally be offshore at time of visa grant. The temporary business sponsored visa (457) is an exception to this.