482 Visa Refused — Your Options as the Applicant

MARN 1576536

Visa refusal vs nomination refusal — which one you have

A 482 application runs in three parts: the employer’s sponsorship, the employer’s nomination of the position, and your visa application. Each is decided separately. If the letter refuses the nomination, that is the employer’s decision to review — see the 482 nomination refusal guide. If the letter refuses your visa, the Department has assessed you against the visa criteria, and the review rights are typically yours. Read the letter’s heading and the “who can apply for review” section before anything else: the two refusals have different applicants, different evidence, and sometimes different deadlines.

A common pattern is that the nomination was approved but the visa was refused — the position was accepted, but the Department was not satisfied that you meet it. That is recoverable in more cases than people assume, because the nomination is often still in place.

Common 482 visa refusal grounds

• Skills and experience evidence — the Department not satisfied your qualifications and work history meet the requirement for the nominated occupation; thin reference letters, gaps, or duties that do not match the ANZSCO occupation
• English — the required test result not held, expired, or not evidenced at the time required
• Health and character — medical or character requirements not met, or not evidenced
• PIC 4020 — false or misleading information, or bogus documents, found in the application (this ground carries consequences beyond the refusal itself)
• Position not genuine — the Department doubts the role is real or that you are genuinely engaged in it (see the genuine position refusal guide)

One thing the 482 does not have is a genuine temporary entrant criterion — that belongs to other visa classes. If a refusal letter cites a criterion, it will be one of the 482’s own, and the response has to be built around that criterion specifically. The decision record sets out which criteria the case officer found were not met; read it before deciding anything.

Review rights and the deadline

Onshore: for most subclasses where you were in Australia at decision, you — the applicant — hold the merits review rights at the ART. Offshore: for employer-sponsored refusals, review rights, where they exist, are typically held by the sponsor in Australia. The decision letter states whether the decision is reviewable and by whom; if it does not state review rights, the decision may not be reviewable to the ART.

For most migration decisions the deadline is 21 calendar days from the day you are taken to be notified — which, depending on how the letter was sent, can be earlier than the day you read it. The letter is authoritative on your date. Late lodgement is generally not accepted.

Your options after a 482 visa refusal

• ART review — merits review, where the Tribunal decides afresh on the evidence before it and can set the refusal aside. Usually the strongest option where the refusal turned on evidence that can be strengthened — skills, experience, the genuineness of the position.
• Re-lodge on a new nomination — a fresh 482 application, typically with a new or re-lodged nomination and materially better evidence. Sometimes faster than review, but watch the section 48 bar, which can prevent re-applying onshore after certain refusals, and the visa application charge, which is paid again and not refunded on refusal.
• Another visa — a different subclass may fit better than the one refused. Workers seeking a new sponsor can get found by other approved sponsors on SponsorTalent, our sponsorship marketplace.
• Stop — sometimes the honest advice is that review has poor prospects and a different plan is wiser.

Which path is right depends on the refusal reason, your current status, the time limits, and whether a section 48 bar applies. That assessment is what a refusal consultation is for — there is no single right answer.

Bridging visa and lawful status after refusal

If you were onshore on a bridging visa while the 482 was decided, that bridging visa typically remains in effect for a limited grace period after the refusal, and what happens next often turns on whether you apply for ART review within the deadline. Applying on time generally keeps you lawful while the review proceeds; missing the deadline can leave you unlawful. The specific effect depends on the bridging visa class and your circumstances — see the bridging visas guide.

One rule that does not apply to you: the period a 482 holder has to find a new sponsor after their employment ends (up to 180 consecutive days per cessation, and no more than 365 days in total across the visa, under condition 8607). That belongs to people who hold the visa. After a refusal you never held it, so your status runs on the bridging visa and the review deadline, not on that rule.

Send WIDEN a confidential enquiry

Tell us briefly what was refused and when you were notified. If your deadline is close, say so — we’ll prioritise it. Refusal matters are handled in an extended consultation with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) — $440 inc. GST, credited toward your engagement fee if you proceed.

Related

• 482 nomination refusal — the sponsor side
• ART review of a visa refusal — who can apply, deadline, what to prepare
• Genuine position refusal — the dedicated guide
• 482 Skills in Demand visa guide
• Visa refused — start here