Employer-sponsored visas for Australia and New Zealand

How a sponsored move is structured

You already know what it takes to relocate for work. If Australia or New Zealand is the next step in your career, employer sponsorship is one of the most dependable legal routes available: an employer there offers you a position and stands behind your work visa. Below is how the arrangement operates and where to begin.

Sponsorship always runs in the same order: the role comes first and the visa follows. A business in either country with a skilled vacancy it cannot fill locally may extend the offer to you and obtain government clearance to sponsor or employ you. Your visa application, tied to that specific role, comes after that. Every listing on EmiratesPrime comes from an employer willing to sponsor a visa for a well-matched candidate.

• Australia: the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482). Approval as a sponsor and a nomination of your position are the employer's responsibilities; the visa application itself is yours. In time, some 482 holders can move to permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186).
• New Zealand: the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). The employer must be accredited and must clear a job check, at which point you receive a link to apply. Certain roles open a route to residence, for instance via the Green List.

The two visas compared

The headline settings for each visa, as of October 2026. Every figure links to its government source, which should be your final reference before you lodge.

Secure the role first

Neither visa can begin without a job offer, so the role always comes first. Whether you are looking for Australia jobs from Dubai or New Zealand jobs from Dubai, Doha or Riyadh, start with sponsored roles in Australia, sponsored roles in New Zealand or the full list of openings. Frequently searched on EmiratesPrime: Chef, Electrician, Diesel mechanic, Welder, Carpenter.

Hold each listed requirement up against your own record. If a position asks for experience, qualifications or an English level you have not reached yet, close that gap before applying; a role you cannot be sponsored for will not move you forward.

Applying from the UAE and the Gulf

You can lodge either visa while still living and working in the UAE or elsewhere in the Gulf, and most of your paperwork will serve both:

• A passport with generous validity; New Zealand looks for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from the country.
• Police certificates from your home country, often from the Gulf country where you live, and from other countries you have lived in. Australia and New Zealand apply different rules on which countries are covered and how recent a certificate must be; each guide sets these out, and both governments publish how to obtain a certificate from every country.
• Qualifications, trade certificates and licences, along with a skills assessment if your Australian occupation calls for one. Clear colour scans of the originals are what you will upload; attested copies from your work permit process can simply stay on file.
• Evidence of experience issued by your employers, such as reference letters, employment certificates, payslips, salary certificates and experience letters, rather than a CV alone.
• English results from an accepted test sat in person, where your visa requires them.
• English translations of anything issued in Arabic or another language.

Before you resign, plan the timing of leaving your current role and cancelling your residence visa around the decision on your Australian or New Zealand visa, and check your employment contract and the official authorities where you live. Country detail: Australia and New Zealand. It is also worth checking, through official sources, whether your own government has rules for citizens working overseas.

Avoiding scams and avoidable errors

A request for money in exchange for a job offer is one of the clearest warning signs in international recruitment. The official rules leave no room for doubt, and knowing them is your best protection.

• A job offer should never cost you money. New Zealand prohibits employers and agents from charging job fees, and an offer that was paid for can result in a declined visa. Australia prohibits sponsors from passing sponsorship or recruitment costs to you, and paying for sponsorship can cost you the visa.
• Visa decisions rest with governments alone. Nobody else can guarantee an outcome; only Australia or New Zealand decides.
• Use licensed help, or none. Only registered migration agents and lawyers may charge for immigration assistance in Australia; in New Zealand, immigration advice must come from a licensed immigration adviser or an exempt person. Applying yourself is entirely possible.
• Government fees go through official online systems only: ImmiAccount for Australia, and the Immigration New Zealand online application.
• Keep everything accurate and consistent. False or misleading claims or documents can lead to refusal.

From the governments themselves: Home Affairs: visa scams and INZ: immigration scam protection.

Frequently asked questions

Is a job offer required before I lodge a work visa?

Yes, for both Australia's Skills in Demand (482) visa and New Zealand's AEWV. In Australia the process opens with your employer nominating the position; in New Zealand an accredited employer first completes a job check and then sends you the link to apply.

Is Australia or New Zealand quicker?

It depends. As of October 2026, Home Affairs reports 50% of 482 Core Skills stream applications processed within 4 months and 90% within 9 months, while Immigration New Zealand decides 80% of AEWV applications within 5.5 weeks. The official processing-time pages always carry the latest figures.

Can my family relocate with me?

In most cases. Australia lets you include your partner and dependent children in your 482 application. In New Zealand, family members each lodge a visa of their own, and what is open to them depends on your pay and role.

Can a sponsored role lead to permanent residence?

It can. In Australia, many 482 holders go on to apply for the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) after 2 years with their sponsor. In New Zealand, some roles lead to residence through the Green List or the Skilled Migrant Category. Eligibility is judged on the rules in force when you apply.

Should I pay anyone to secure a sponsored role?

No. A job offer is never something you pay for. Employers and agents in New Zealand cannot charge you job fees, and sponsors in Australia cannot pass sponsorship or recruitment costs to you. Your costs are the government charges and personal expenses such as tests, medicals and police certificates.

Can I apply while living in the UAE or elsewhere in the Gulf?

Yes. Both visas accept applications from people outside Australia and New Zealand. The section "Applying from the UAE and the Gulf" above lists the documents to prepare.

Official sources

• Department of Home Affairs: Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)
• Department of Home Affairs: Core Skills stream
• Department of Home Affairs: English for the 482
• Department of Home Affairs: income thresholds and salary rules
• Department of Home Affairs: processing-time tool
• Department of Home Affairs: subclass 186 TRT stream
• Department of Home Affairs: scam warnings
• Immigration New Zealand: the AEWV
• Immigration New Zealand: pay rates for work visas
• Immigration New Zealand: maximum AEWV stay
• Immigration New Zealand: residence for skilled workers
• Immigration New Zealand: scam protection