Changing Employers on a 482 Visa: Steps, Risks and Your PR Timeline

If you have a 482 visa and are thinking about changing jobs, it’s not as simple as signing a new contract.

Switching employers on a 482 is allowed, and with the right planning, it doesn’t have to put your permanent residency timeline at risk. But the process is more formal than you might expect.

This guide covers the  transfer of nomination process step by step, explains the 180-day grace period introduced in July 2024 and discusses how changing employers can either speed up or slow down the two-year countdown towards permanent residency.

Can You Transfer a 482 Visa to a New Employer?

Your visa is tied to a specific sponsoring employer and an ANZSCO occupation code. You can’t simply move jobs and keep the visa running, as your new employer needs to formally nominate you through the same immigration process that was used by your current employer.

Fortunately, you shouldn’t need a new visa, as long as your current one will remain valid for a substantial period of time.

But you’ll have to get a nomination from your new employer. You can start working for them before the application is submitted and approved but they must lodge it within the 180-day grace period. 

The Re-Nomination Process: Step by Step

Transferring a 482 visa to a new employer follows four distinct steps. Skipping any of them, or doing them out of order, can result in a visa breach.

Step 1: New Employer Confirms Standard Business Sponsor Status

To nominate you, your new employer needs to be an approved Standard Business Sponsor (SBS). If they’re not already approved, they’ll have to apply for SBS accreditation before they can lodge a nomination.

Allow up to four weeks if they’re starting from scratch.

Step 2: Labour Market Testing and Nomination Preparation

In most cases, your new employer must demonstrate that they’ve tried to fill the role locally before nominating a visa holder. This means running compliant job advertisements for at least four weeks on the right platforms, with salary ranges included.

They’ll also need to document the duties, salary and location, and the job description has to align with the  ANZSCO occupation code (but it can’t be a direct copy-and-paste of it). 

Step 3: Lodge the Nomination

Once Labour Market Testing is complete, the employer can lodge the 482 nomination with the Department of Home Affairs, which they must do within 180 days.

Once the nomination is approved, your new sponsorship is formally in place. For current processing times, check the Home Affairs website.

‍Matilda Tip: We recommend getting your new employer's SBS application and Labour Market Testing underway before you resign from your current job. The nomination can't be lodged until both are done, and any delay eats into your grace period or your intended start date.

One note about timing: if the new nomination is approved while you're still working out a notice period with your original employer, you’re immediately bound to the new sponsor and can no longer legally complete your notice with the previous one. It's worth factoring this in before you commit to a start date.

The 180-Day Grace Period: What Changed in July 2024

When your employment with a sponsoring employer ends, the grace period begins. Before 1 July 2024, this period was just 60 consecutive days. From 1 July 2024, the Department of Home Affairs extended it to 180 consecutive days, with a maximum of 365 days in total across the entire visa grant period.

During the new grace period, 482 visa holders can work for other employers and in occupations not listed on their most recently approved nomination.

Previously, during the 60-day window, holders weren’t allowed to work for any employer until a new nomination was approved under a new sponsor.

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Matilda Tip: The distinction between ceasing employment and changing employers is important for your PR timeline. Ceasing employment is when your sponsored work ends and you haven’t yet secured a new nomination. This is what triggers the grace period.

Changing employers, done properly (with the new nomination lodged before or immediately after leaving your old role), means you can transition without ever formally triggering the grace period at all.

How Changing Employers Affects Your PR Timeline

For most 482 holders on the path to permanent residency, the destination is the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) via the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream.

To qualify, you need to have worked in full-time, eligible sponsored employment for at least two years in the three years before you apply, all while holding a 482 (or 457) visa.

Changing employers doesn’t automatically reset this clock, but a gap between employers does. Here’s how it works:

What Counts Towards Your Two Years

• Time worked under your current nomination (from its approval date)
• Time worked for your new employer from the date the new nomination was lodged, even if you started before it was approved.

What Doesn’t Count

• Days when you were not covered by an active nomination, including any unsponsored time during the grace period.

So if there’s a three-month gap between your old nomination ending and your new one being lodged, those three months don’t count towards your two years. This effectively pushes your 186 eligibility date back by the same amount.

If you’re changing employers with an eye on PR, the employer you move to is the one who will need to nominate you for the 186. Choose them carefully.

For a full breakdown of requirements, see our guide, 186 Visa: How to Get Permanent Residency Through Employer Sponsorship.

What If Your New Employer Is Hesitant?

Many 482 holders find their ideal next employer, only to hit a wall when they hesitate about taking on a sponsored worker mid-stream.

The hesitation is usually about cost and time. Becoming a Standard Business Sponsor and lodging a nomination involves government fees and the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy. For a smaller employer who hasn’t done it before, this can feel overwhelming.

The ideal pitch involves emphasising that you’re already in Australia, already working in the occupation and ready to start. There’s no offshore advertising wait, no skills assessment delay and no recruitment lead time from overseas.

For the employer, a transfer of nomination is typically faster and more straightforward than sponsoring from scratch. See our employer-sponsored visa timelines guide for a comparison.

‍Matilda Tip: If your new employer is uncertain, offer to connect their HR team with a migration lawyer before they decide. The conversation usually clarifies that the process is more manageable than assumed.

At Matilda, we can manage the entire nomination on their behalf (from SBS status check through to lodgement) with minimal burden on their internal team. You can share our guide on how to sponsor an employee with them as a starting point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I start working for my new employer before the nomination is approved?

Yes, during the 180-day grace period, you can work for a new employer before the nomination is lodged or approved. The key requirement is that the nomination is lodged before the 180 days expires.

Does my time with my old employer count towards the two-year PR requirement?

Yes, as long as you were working under an active nomination during that period. Time spent with your previous sponsoring employer in an eligible occupation counts towards the two years, as long as it falls within the three-year window before you lodge your 186 application.

See our guide to permanent residency in Australia for a broader look at the pathway.

What happens if I can't find a new sponsor within 180 days?

If the grace period expires without a new nomination being approved or another visa being lodged, you must depart Australia or risk visa cancellation. There are no automatic extensions.

If you’re approaching the end of the grace period without a clear pathway, seek legal advice immediately, as there may be other options available. Our guide to employer-sponsored visas covers the main alternatives.

Can I change occupations at the same time as changing employers?

If you want to change to a different ANZSCO occupation, you’ll need a nomination from a new sponsor, plus a new 482 visa. The occupation on your current visa can’t simply be transferred to a new employer in a different role.

If the new role differs from your nominated occupation, get advice before proceeding. The timeline is more involved and the implications for your PR pathway need to be mapped carefully.

Does my new employer have to be a Standard Business Sponsor?

Yes. Only an approved Standard Business Sponsor can lodge a 482 nomination. Your new employer must either hold current SBS accreditation or apply for it before they can nominate you. SBS approval is typically valid for five years.

Check Home Affairs’ employer sponsorship register to see if a prospective employer is already approved.

Ready to Plan Your Next Move? 

Changing employers on a 482 visa is totally manageable, but the sequencing matters enormously. A nomination that arrives two months late is two months off your PR timeline. A hesitant employer who doesn’t know where to start becomes a bottleneck between you and your next chapter.

Matilda Migration is led by lawyers, not just agents. We manage 482 re-nominations end-to-end, from checking your new employer’s SBS status to lodging the nomination and keeping your PR clock running. We’ve guided hundreds of sponsored workers through employer changes with 4.9 stars from 80+ Google Reviews.‍

Get in touch with us to discuss your situation.