For overseas trained Medical Practitioners seeking long term career stability in Australia, the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) (ENS) visa is one of the most valuable and direct pathways to permanent residency. The ENS program allows Australian employers to sponsor highly skilled doctors for permanent roles, addressing critical workforce shortages across hospitals, clinics, and specialist services nationwide.
To qualify, applicants must meet a combination of migration and professional requirements, including AHPRA registration, skills assessment, English language proficiency, and relevant medical experience. Understanding these requirements early is essential for a smooth transition to Australian permanent residency.
Who Is Considered a Medical Practitioner?
Under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), medical practitioners are classified under Unit Group 253 – Medical Practitioners.
Occupations within this group generally require:
- A bachelor’s degree or higher qualification;
- At least one year of hospital based training; and
- AHPRA registration (see below).
Certain occupations would require two years of hospital-based training, and at least five years of specialist study and training.
Eligible Occupations Include:
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All these occupations are listed on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) and are eligible for ENS visa sponsorship.
What are the ENS visa streams?
The ENS visa contains two primary streams commonly used by Medical Practitioners.
Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) Stream
This stream requires the applicant to have worked in their nominated occupation for at least two out of the last three years on a Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) (482) visa with an approved work sponsor.
Medical Practitioners may rely on qualifying work undertaken on a 482 visa for businesses other than their original sponsoring employer, provided those businesses held a valid Standard Business Sponsorship during the relevant period.
Sponsorship under this stream does not require the applicant to be a full-time employee. Effectively, medical practitioners who have worked two years undertaking contracting / locum work, can progress to PR via this pathway.
Direct Entry (DE) Stream
This stream requires the applicant to hold a positive skills assessment and have at least three years of relevant work experience. For Medical Practitioners, this skills assessment requirement is typically satisfied through current AHPRA registration.
The Direct Entry stream allows eligible Medical Practitioners to apply for permanent residency without first holding a Subclass 482 visa for a defined period of time.
It does, however, require the applicant to be engaged only as an employee under a full-time contract (i.e. not as a contractor).
What is the age requirement, and are there any exemptions?
Both the TRT and DE streams are subject to an age limit of 45 years at the time of lodgement.
Age exemptions may apply in limited circumstances. However, applicants must still meet all other ENS visa requirements even where an exemption is available. Age exemptions are applied strictly and require careful planning and supporting evidence. Medical Practitioners approaching the age threshold are strongly encouraged to seek advice early.
The age exemptions most relevant to Medical Practitioners are outlined below. A more comprehensive overview of all ENS age exemptions can be found here.
Age Exemptions Under the TRT Stream
Medical Practitioners may be exempt from the age requirement in the following circumstances.
Regional Medical Practitioner Exemption
This exemption applies where the applicant:
- is nominated for a position based in a “designated regional area” of Australia;
- in the three years before application, the applicant has been employed as a medical practitioner, as the holder of a SID 482 visa; and
- of those three years, they spent at least two years employed as a Medical Practitioner at a place located in a designated regional area of Australia.
High Income Threshold Exemption
This exemption applies where the applicant has:
- worked on a Subclass 482 visa for at least two years; and
- in each of those years earned a salary at or above the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT) – currently $183,100 and indexed annually on 1 July. See how this is calculated here.
While there are other age exemptions for the ENS 186 visa, these do not typically apply to Medical Practitioners. As a result, applicants aged 45 or over will generally need to pursue the TRT pathway.
What is the AHPRA Registration requirement?
Medical practitioners must have their qualifications recognised by the relevant authority in Australia – namely, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) – as entitling them to practise as a medical practitioner, at the time of the ENS application.
The visa applicant must provide the Department with written evidence that the relevant medical board has recognised their qualifications and that they have been registered, or that they will be given medical registration after visa grant and entry into Australia.
Provisional or Limited registration is acceptable for the purposes of an ENS application provided the level of registration permits the applicant to perform the full duties of the nominated position, and the employer confirms that the registration is appropriate for the role.
Where the applicant’s registration is highly restricted or does not permit them to perform the core duties of the nominated occupation (for example, student registration or training-only arrangements), the application may not meet ENS requirements. In such cases, alternative visa pathways, such as the Training (Subclass 407) visa, may be more appropriate until suitable registration is obtained.
What is the English Language requirement?
Unlike the 482 visa, medical practitioners with current AHPRA registration are not ordinarily taken to have satisfied the ENS visa’s English requirement.
Instead, all ENS 186 visa applicants must either hold a passport from an exempt country or provide valid English test results, obtained within the last 36 months, from an approved English language test.
More information about the ENS English requirement, including the approved tests and required scores, can be found here.
Are there any other requirements for the ENS visa?
In addition to the profession-specific, TRT/DE-specific criteria, as well as the English and age requirements, applicants must meet the general ENS visa requirements, including:
- Being nominated by an employer whose business is actively and lawfully operating, and who has the capacity to pay the person the market salary for at least two years; and
- Being offered a salary that meets or exceeds the market rate and the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), which is currently $76,515.
All applicants must also meet the standard health and character requirements, noting that additional health examinations are generally required from applicants intending to work in a hospital or healthcare setting.
Need assistance?
At Hannan Tew Lawyers, we have significant experience with advising on, preparing and lodging ENS visa applications for Medical Practitioners, including strategic planning around age limits and AHPRA registration.
If you require assistance with such an application, please get in touch with our experienced team by contacting us by email at [email protected] or by phone at +61 3 9016 0484.
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