Australia Work Visa from Dubai & the UAE: Skills in Demand (482), 186 and 494

Most people in the UAE move to Australia for work in one of two ways: through an employer-sponsored visa, usually the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), or through a points-tested skilled visa that needs no job offer. If an Australian employer wants to hire you, the 482 is normally the first step, and it can lead to permanent residence through the subclass 186 after two years.

This page covers the employer-sponsored side from Dubai: which visa fits, the 2026–27 salary thresholds, what you and your employer each have to do, the documents, what the process costs in parts, and how the work visa turns into PR.

Who can advise on Australian visas. Australian law restricts paid immigration advice to registered migration agents. Cosmos works with MARA-registered agent Andrew John Kerr (MARN 1069227). You can check any agent on the official register at mara.gov.au before you share personal documents.

Which Australian work visa fits you?

The table below compares the main employer-sponsored options for someone living in the UAE. If you have no employer lined up, the last row is the one to read.

The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) explained

The Skills in Demand visa replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa on 7 December 2024. The subclass number stayed 482, which is why many people still search for “TSS”. The visa lets you stay for up to 4 years (up to 5 years for Hong Kong passport holders). You work only for your sponsor, or an associated entity, and only in the occupation you were nominated for.

The three streams: Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement

• Core Skills stream. Your occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). You must be paid the annual market salary rate for the role and no less than the Core Skills Income Threshold. Most professional applicants from the UAE fall into this stream.
• Specialist Skills stream. Open to occupations across ANZSCO except Major Groups 3, 7 and 8 (trades, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers), where the salary meets the Specialist Skills Income Threshold. There is no occupation list for this stream.
• Labour Agreement stream. For workers nominated by an employer that has a labour agreement with the Australian Government.

There is no “Essential Skills” stream. You may still see that name on older websites, but the Home Affairs listing shows only the three streams above.

Income thresholds for 2026–27

The thresholds are set by Home Affairs and change every 1 July. The figure that applies is the one in force on the date the employer lodges the nomination.

Meeting the threshold is not enough on its own. If the salary is under AUD 250,000, the employer must also show that the annual market salary rate for the role has been worked out correctly and that you will be paid at least that rate. The Core Skills threshold also applies to subclass 186 nominations. Figures last checked on the Home Affairs salary requirements page on 26 September 2026.

The Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)

For the Core Skills stream, your occupation has to be on the CSOL. Home Affairs publishes the list on its skilled occupation list page, where you can check your occupation. Our guide to the Australian skilled occupation lists explains how to read it.

Eligibility checklist for the 482

• At least 1 year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or a related field.
• A skills assessment if your occupation requires one. Only certain applicants need a mandatory skills assessment, and it must be started or completed within the three years before you apply.
• English at the minimum standard Home Affairs sets for this visa, unless you are exempt. The list of accepted English tests changed on 7 August 2025, so check the current scores before you book a test.
• Health examinations for you and any family members included. Results are generally valid for 12 months, and Home Affairs suggests doing them before you lodge.
• Character requirements, including police certificates when requested.
• Honest answers and genuine documents. If an application includes false or misleading information or a false document, it can be refused, and the applicant may also be barred from being granted another visa for a period afterwards. Declare every previous visa refusal, from Australia or any other country.
• A genuine position with an approved sponsor, paid at the market rate and at or above the relevant threshold.

There is no age limit for the 482 itself. Age does matter later: most applicants for the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream must be under 45.

What your employer has to do

A 482 is a joint application. Much of the work sits with the Australian business, and a gap on their side stops the whole file.

• Become an approved sponsor. The business applies to Home Affairs to become a standard business sponsor, unless it already is one.
• Test the local labour market. For most nominations, the employer must first advertise the role in Australia, unless an exemption applies. That means two valid advertisements, each running for at least four weeks within the four months before the nomination is lodged.
• Nominate the position. The nomination names the occupation, the salary and the market salary rate evidence.
• Keep the offer genuine. The role has to be real and needed by the business. Paying for a job offer or a sponsorship is fraud, for both sides.

Documents checklist

The exact list depends on your occupation and stream. Most files from the UAE draw on these eight groups.

1. Identity: passport, national ID, and any change-of-name documents.
2. Qualifications: degree certificates and transcripts.
3. Skills assessment outcome, if your occupation needs one.
4. Employment evidence: reference letters with duties and dates, employment contracts, payslips.
5. English test results from an accepted test.
6. Health examination results and police certificates.
7. Sponsor and nomination details from your employer.
8. Family documents if your partner or children are included: marriage certificate and birth certificates.

Documents that are not in English need certified translations.

Step by step: from job offer to visa decision

Include your partner and children when you apply. Family members you leave out cannot be added later; they have to lodge their own subsequent entrant application.

What does an Australia work visa from Dubai cost?

There is no single price, because the total is made up of several parts, some paid by you and some by the employer. We do not publish amounts here, since government charges change and depend on your family size and occupation. These are the parts to budget for:

• The visa application charge for you, plus a charge for each family member included.
• Employer-side government charges for sponsorship and nomination, including any levy payable when the nomination is lodged. These are paid by the employer.
• The skills assessment fee from the assessing authority, if your occupation needs one.
• The English test.
• Health examinations for each person on the application.
• Police certificates from the countries you have lived in.
• Certified translations of any documents not in English.
• Professional fees, if you use a registered migration agent. Cosmos quotes its fees after a consultation, once we know the case.

Current government charges are listed on the Home Affairs fees and charges page.

Processing times and priorities

Home Affairs publishes a visa processing times guide. It describes the figures as an indication of how long an application may take, based on recently decided applications, so treat them as a guide and not a promise.

Priorities changed on 19 September 2026. Ministerial Directions 121 (temporary skilled visas) and 122 (provisional and permanent skilled visas) replaced Ministerial Direction 119. Direction 121 sets the order in which 482 applications are processed, and Direction 122 does the same for certain provisional and permanent skilled visas. The full priority order is on the Home Affairs skilled visa processing priorities page. Home Affairs has warned that 482 timeframes may fluctuate, and some may move backwards for a while, as applications are reprioritised.

From work visa to permanent residence

• 482 to 186 (Temporary Residence Transition stream). You usually need at least 2 years of full-time sponsored work in Australia on a 457 or 482, within the 3 years before you apply. The employer nominating you must be the one that last sponsored you full-time on that visa. There is no occupation list for this stream: eligibility follows the occupation of your most recent temporary skilled visa. You usually need to be under 45 and have at least Competent English.
• 494 to 191. You can apply for permanent residence 3 years after the 494 is granted. The 191 requires you to have held an eligible visa for at least 3 years, to have complied with its conditions, and to provide Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment for three income years out of the five years of your eligible visa.
• 186 Direct Entry. A permanent visa for people nominated by an Australian employer without first spending time on a 482. It has its own occupation and skills requirements.

If you have no employer, the points-tested visas are the other route. Our comparison of the 189, 190 and 491 for UAE residents sets out the differences, and the Australia points calculator gives you a first estimate of your score.

If you lose your job on a 482

If you are laid off and unemployed, you have up to 180 days to find a new employer to sponsor you, or to arrange to leave Australia. A new employer has to lodge a new nomination for you.

How Cosmos helps

We check your occupation, stream and salary against the current rules before you spend money on a skills assessment. We look at whether the employer is already an approved sponsor, prepare the document set, and plan the move from the 482 to the 186, or from the 494 to the 191. Australian advice is given through MARA-registered agent Andrew John Kerr (MARN 1069227). We can't promise an outcome: every decision rests with Home Affairs.

Book a consultation

If you are weighing up an Australia work visa from Dubai, whether it is your first application or you have had a refusal before, start with a pathway pre-assessment. Contact Cosmos Immigration, call 04 357 7796 or email info@cosmosimmigration.com.