Most 482 holders think of permanent residence as a paperwork exercise for later. In practice, the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the subclass 186 visa is decided by three dates. If they line up, the application is one of the smoother permanent visas in the program. If they collide, the pathway can close while you are still gathering payslips.
Take a worked example. An engineer starts on a 482 in Melbourne on 3 March 2025, aged 42. Her two years of sponsored work finish on 3 March 2027. She turns 45 in October 2027. Her 482 expires in March 2029. On paper she has plenty of time. In reality she has a seven-month window for both the nomination and the visa. Her employer has not budgeted for it yet.
This guide walks through the three dates, the 2026-27 figures, and the sequencing that keeps a TRT application alive.
Date one: the day your two years finish
The TRT stream rewards time with your sponsor. You must have worked for the nominating employer for at least two years on a 482 or 457 visa. The work must be in the occupation you were nominated for. Full-time work is the standard. Part-time periods, long unpaid leave or a gap between contracts can stretch the count. Keep records from day one.
Two things reset the clock. First, changing employers, because time with a previous sponsor does not carry across. Second, changing occupation, because the two years must be in the nominated role. Therefore, a promotion into a different ANZSCO occupation needs advice before you accept it, not after.
The 482 visa page covers the 180-day rule that applies if you leave a sponsor early. That rule keeps you lawful, but it does not preserve your TRT time.
Date two: your 45th birthday
You must be under 45 on the day the 186 application is lodged. The Department does not assess age at decision. As a result, a slow nomination can push you past the line even when everything else is ready.
Exemptions exist, and they matter. Four groups can be nominated at 45 or older. They are academics nominated by universities, scientists at government research agencies, regional medical practitioners with two years of service, and TRT applicants paid at least the Fair Work High Income Threshold in each qualifying year. People who held or had applied for a 457 on 18 April 2017 keep a transitional cut-off of 50.
If none of those apply, the birthday is a hard date. Work backwards from it and lodge with room to spare.
Date three: six months from nomination approval
The employer’s nomination must be approved before the visa can be granted, and the visa application must be lodged within six months of that approval. Miss the window and the employer nominates again, pays again, and you wait again.
Because the two halves are linked, we lodge them together wherever the evidence supports it. The nomination goes in, the visa follows immediately, and the six-month window never becomes a problem.
What the 2026-27 numbers look like
| Item | Who pays | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application charge, main applicant | Applicant | $6,140 |
| Nomination charge | Employer | $540 |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy, one-off | Employer | $3,000 (turnover under $10m) or $5,000 |
| Core Skills Income Threshold | Salary floor for the nominated role | $79,423 |
| Administrative Review Tribunal fee, if refused | Applicant | $3,727 |
Figures are Department of Home Affairs charges as at 1 July 2026. Dependants attract their own visa application charges, and health, police and English test costs sit on top. The employer cannot recover the nomination charge or the levy from you.
Salary needs a second look at nomination time. The role must pay at least the Core Skills Income Threshold and the market rate for an equivalent Australian worker. A package that cleared the threshold in 2024 may sit below the 2026-27 figure. Check the current number before the employer lodges.
Sequencing the three dates
The sequence that works is simple to state and easy to miss. First, calculate the day your two years finish and diarise it. Second, subtract the time your employer needs to prepare a nomination. With a lawyer preparing both sides, that is usually four to eight weeks. Third, check that the resulting lodgement date sits before your 45th birthday and inside your current visa period.
In the worked example above, the engineer’s employer should be briefed in late 2026, the nomination prepared in February 2027, and both applications lodged in the first week of March 2027. That leaves seven months of margin before her birthday. If the employer waits until mid-2027 to start, the margin disappears.
The 186 visa page sets out the full TRT and Direct Entry comparison, including the English level and the skills assessment position.
What the employer has to show
The nomination is assessed on the business as much as on you. The role must be genuine, full-time and expected to last at least two years. The business must be lawfully operating with no adverse information on its record. The salary must be at market rate and above the threshold, and the levy must be paid at lodgement.
Employers who sponsored you on the 482 already hold most of this evidence. The gap is usually the forward-looking part: a contract for the permanent role, and a short business case for why the position continues. We prepare that with the employer so the nomination reads as a legal submission rather than a form.
Family members
Partners and dependent children can be included in the same 186 application. Each pays a separate visa application charge and each must meet health and character requirements. Family members already holding dependent 482 visas transition alongside you, which keeps everyone on one timeline. Gather their passports, police clearances and relationship evidence at the same time as your own. A missing dependant document delays the whole file.
Frequently asked questions
Can I lodge the 186 before my two years are complete?
No. The two years must be complete at the time of application. Lodging early leads to refusal, and the visa application charge is not refunded. Calculate the date precisely, including any unpaid leave, and lodge on or after it.
Does time on a bridging visa count towards the two years?
Time on a bridging visa while a further 482 was being processed can count in some circumstances, provided you continued working for the same sponsor in the same occupation. Time on a bridging visa for an unrelated application does not. This point needs advice on your specific visa history.
What if my employer will not nominate me?
The TRT stream depends on the current sponsor. Without a nomination, the alternatives are a new 482 with a different employer, which restarts the two-year count, or a Direct Entry 186 with a skills assessment and three years of experience. We compare those routes in a consultation before you resign.
Is there a condition to stay with the employer after grant?
No condition is imposed. The Department can, however, revisit whether the position was genuine if you leave immediately after grant. Staying a reasonable period, or documenting a genuine change of circumstances, protects the visa.
How long does a 186 TRT application take?
Processing times vary and the Department publishes them monthly. Applications lodged with the nomination, with complete evidence and no request for further information, are consistently decided faster. That is why we do not lodge until both halves of the file are complete.
This article is general information about Australian migration law as at 2 September 2026. It is not legal advice. Figures change each July and eligibility turns on your own facts, so obtain advice before acting.