Chef Pathway to PR

If you have finished your chef course, these are the options you have available to apply for an Australian Permanent Residency.

CRICOS Approved

Firstly, it is important to check that your course is CRICOS approved. You can check if your course is CRICOS approved on https://cricos.education.gov.au/Course/CourseSearch.aspx

Visa Options

Your potential options as a Chef could be the below visas. This is subject to meeting other visa requirements.

What are your pathways to PR as a Chef?

After completing your diploma, you have various options.

• Apply for a subclass 485 Graduate Visa (Post Study Work Stream)
• Apply for a subclass 407 Training Visa
• Apply for an Employer-Sponsored Visa (if you have relevant experience)
• Apply for General Skilled Migration

Subclass 485 Visa

• You must be under 50 years old.
• Have an overall score of at least 6 in IELTS.
• Meet the Australian Study Requirement – the course must be at least 92 weeks of study.
• Have a provisional skills assessment from TRA – You must have completed at least 360 hours of employment and/or vocational placement in an Australian workplace.
• Meet health and character requirement.

Subclass 407 Visa

• The 407 visa allows you to complete work-based training.
• You are required to have a sponsor who can provide the training. The training types must either be:
  • Occupational training to improve skills for a chef.
  • Occupational training for capacity building overseas is for overseas students who want to complete a placement in Australia.
• Meet health and character requirements.

Employer-Sponsored Visa Options

The employer you choose to work for is important. They are required to meet the following caveats:

The position cannot be involved in mass production in a factory setting.

The position must not be in a limited-service restaurant.

Limited-service restaurants include:

• fast food or takeaway food services
• fast-casual restaurants
• drinking establishments that offer only a limited food service
• limited service cafes including, but not limited to, coffee shops or mall cafes
• limited-service pizza restaurants.

Your role in the restaurant is equally important. The difference between the occupations of chefs and cooks is made based on 2 main elements:

1. the specific tasks of the nominated position and corresponding skill level; and
2. the work environment

The role of a chef would generally relate to a restaurant environment and would include managerial tasks such as the following:

• Planning menus, estimating food and labour costs, and ordering food supplies
• Monitoring quality of dishes at all stages of preparation and presentation
• Discussing food preparation issues with Managers, Dietitians and kitchen and waiting staff
• Demonstrating techniques and advising on cooking procedures
• Preparing and cooking food
• Explaining and enforcing hygiene regulations
• May select and train staff
• May freeze and preserve foods

Fundamentally, a cook’s primary role is one of cooking, whereas that of a chef is managing the kitchen with some limited, specialised cooking tasks.

If you have a sponsor, you may be eligible to apply for these visas:

Subclass 482 – TSS Visa

• Have at least 5.0 in IELTS.
• Have at least 2 years of working experience as a Chef.
• Receive a salary of at least $53,900 and meet the market salary rate
• Apply for skills assessment if you are from the following countries:

Subclass 494 – Employer-Sponsored (Regional)

• Be under 45 years old.
• Have at least 3 years of working experience as a Chef
• Have a positive skills assessment.
• Have at least Competent English.
• Meet health and character requirements.

You can apply for permanent residency after 3 years.

Subclass 186 – Employer-Sponsored (TRT)

• Be under 45 years old.
• Have 3 years of relevant work experience on the TSS visa.
• Have at least Competent English.
• Meet health and character requirements.

Subclass 186 – Direct Entry Stream

• Be under 45 years old.
• Have at least 3 years of relevant work experience.
• Have a positive skills assessment from TRA.
• Have at least Competent English.
• Meet health and character requirements.

General Skilled Migration

If you have the relevant skills and experience, you may consider applying for Skilled Migration visas such as Subclass 189, Subclass 190 or Subclass 491.

These visas are point-tested, and the minimum point to apply is 65 points.

Points will be given to you based on the following:

For Subclass 190 and Subclass 491, there are state/territory nominations. Depending on the states/territory, the criteria may differ. These criteria change all the time, thus is it important always to check the latest rules.

Skills Assessments

TRA Chef Skills Assessment

Depending on your level of experience and qualifications, you may be eligible for the TRA Job Ready Program or the Migration Skills Assessment (MSA)

TRA Job Ready Program

It is an employment-based program. Upon completing the Job Ready Program, you will be given a successful skills assessment in your occupation.

The different stages involved are:

• Provisional Skills Assessment (PSA)
  • Complete 360 hours of employment and/or vocational placement.
• Job Ready Employer (JRE)
  • Complete at least 1725 hours of paid employment over 12 months.
• Job Ready Workplace Assessment (JRWA)
  • Complete paid employment for at least 863 hours over at least 6 months from your JRE start date.
• Job Ready Final Assessment (JRP)
  • Complete JRE and JRWA

Migration Skills Assessment

This is for an applicant who requires a skill assessment as a Chef. To be eligible, you must:

• Have a qualification related to the nominated occupation (Chef)
• Have at least 3 years full time or equivalent part-time employment undertaken after the qualification was issued.
• You must provide pay documents to substantiate your employment claims.