Should We Support Our Chef's 186 Permanent Residence?

Supporting a sponsored chef's move from the 482 to permanent residence (subclass 186) costs about A$3,540 to A$5,540 in government fees and roughly two years of clean payroll records, in exchange for the strongest retention tool most Australian restaurants have. Age under 45 and Competent English disqualify more chefs than any other criterion, so screen for both before you promise anything. This page covers what the 186 requires of your business, and how to structure the two years so the chef's new freedom to leave does not blindside you.

1. A one-minute eligibility screen

Before you plan anything, check the chef against these four points. Most Japanese chefs who fail the 186 fail here, not later in the paperwork.

If the chef fails age or English, stop and read regional visas for chefs: a Designated Area Migration Agreement in the right region can raise the age limit and lower the English bar for the 494 and, in some agreements, the 186 itself.

2. Two streams: TRT and Direct Entry

For most restaurants the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream is the one that matters, because it builds on the 482 you already hold. Direct Entry is for a chef not coming from your own 482, covered briefly in section 5.

3. TRT: what the chef must show

Clauses 186.221 to 186.227 of Schedule 2 set the chef's criteria. A November 2025 clarification confirmed the 2 years of work need only have been done while the sponsor's approval was valid at the time, not that approval must continue to the 186 lodgement; work under a sponsor later barred for serious breaches does not count. Points that trip people up:

• Two years on the visa. In the 3 years immediately before applying, the chef held a 457, a 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) or a 482 (Skills in Demand) visa for a total of at least 2 years. A bridging visa counts only in the circumstances the regulation describes.
• Two years of work. In the same 3 years, full time employment by an approved sponsor in the 482 occupation, in Australia, for at least 2 years. Unpaid leave does not count, and a long unpaid trip home pushes the date back.
• Timing. The visa application must be made no more than 6 months after the nomination is approved.

4. TRT: what the employer must show

Regulation 5.19(5) sets the nomination requirements:

• You must be the last sponsor. The nominator must be the sponsor who last nominated the chef in an approved 482 nomination.
• Same occupation. The nominated occupation must match the chef's most recent 482.
• A genuine full time role for at least 2 years, under your direct control, with no clause ruling out extension.
• Capacity to pay the annual market salary rate for at least 2 years.
• Salary floor. The market salary rate and the chef's actual earnings must both reach the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), excluding non-monetary benefits.
• Equal conditions with an Australian doing equivalent work at the same location.

5. Direct Entry for a chef

Direct Entry suits a chef already in Australia on another visa, or one recruited straight from Japan with long experience. As compiled 28 March 2026, chef (351311) and cook (351411) sit on the Core Skills Occupation List for the 186 with TRA as the assessing authority, carrying the same caveats as the 482: not a limited service restaurant, not factory mass production. The chef needs a TRA assessment (not one obtained for a 485 visa, generally under 3 years old), 3 years full time experience at the required skill level, Competent English, and to be under 45. If the chef holds a formal culinary qualification, TRA generally counts only experience gained after its completion date, so a diploma finished late in the chef's career can shorten the years that qualify. A chef on a regional provisional visa such as the 494 must generally have held it 3 years first; see regional visas for chefs.

6. Costs and the salary floor

• Nomination fee: about A$540.
• Skilling Australians Fund levy: a one-off A$3,000 under A$10 million turnover, A$5,000 otherwise. It cannot be passed to the chef.
• CSIT for 186 nominations: A$79,423 for nominations lodged 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; A$76,515 the year before.
• Visa application charge: paid by the applicant; use the Home Affairs pricing estimator for the current amount.

Because the threshold resets each 1 July, a chef hired exactly at it two years earlier may fall below it by nomination time. Review pay every July against the new CSIT, not only on the 482 anniversary. Our guide to budgeting an international chef hire helps build this into the plan.

7. The 24 month compliance log

Most nominations fail on missing records, not missing eligibility. Keep one file per chef and update it on this schedule:

8. What permanent residence buys you, and how to structure the two years

A 482 holder can only work for a sponsor, and the visa runs out. A 186 holder is a permanent resident who can work anywhere, for anyone, the day the visa is granted. Offering to support the 186 is therefore a real cost as well as a benefit: it is one of the strongest retention tools an Australian restaurant has, but the leverage runs out exactly when the visa is approved.

• Use the promise, not the grant, as leverage. The two years before lodging, not the visa itself, are when the chef is still tied to you.
• Stage a retention bonus after the grant, not before it: a payment vesting 6 to 12 months post-approval gives the chef a reason to stay once they no longer need to.
• Cross-train a deputy during the two years. A kitchen that depends on one person is the real cost of this plan, not the SAF levy.
• Put the support in writing early, including what you will and will not cover, so it reads as a genuine offer, not a vague promise that breeds resentment if timing slips.

For the fuller retention picture, including why relocated chefs leave and what to change in the first 90 days, see retaining Japanese chefs.

9. Where 482 to 186 plans go wrong

1. The chef turns 45 during the 482. Check the date of birth at hiring; a chef hired at 42 has little room for delay.
2. Duties drift. A cook sponsored as a cook who in practice runs the kitchen can only be nominated as a cook; a chef sponsored as a chef who in practice works the fryer invites a genuineness problem.
3. Unpaid leave reduces the 2 year employment count.
4. Pay slips below the threshold in a slow season can push annual earnings under the CSIT.
5. English left to the end. Competent English is tested at application; start preparation in year one.
6. A change of entity. If the restaurant restructures and a new company becomes the sponsor, that new sponsor must be the last one to have nominated the chef. Take advice before restructuring.

10. A two year plan

1. At hiring: confirm age, choose the 482 occupation carefully, and put your intended support in writing.
2. Months 1–12: pay above CSIT with a margin, keep the duties log current, start English prep, begin cross-training a deputy.
3. Each 1 July: check pay against the new CSIT.
4. Months 18–22: English test, police certificate, review the employment count.
5. After 24 months: lodge the TRT nomination; the chef applies within 6 months.
6. After the grant: release the staged bonus on schedule, not early.

General information checked against the Migration Regulations 1994, related legislative instruments and the Department of Home Affairs in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Transitional rules can apply to chefs who first held a 482 before 7 December 2024. Confirm with Home Affairs or a registered migration agent before acting.