As of early 2025, Australia’s hospitality industry employs approximately 1.14 million people. Within this sector, cafés, restaurants, and takeaway food services employs a significant 900,000 workers – making it one of the largest employment contributors in the Australian economy.
However, the hospitality industry faces a high job turnover rate of 15.7%, the highest among all sectors, reflecting the ongoing challenges for the industry’s workforce retention. This underscores the importance of effective workforce planning and the role of strategic migration solutions in addressing skills shortages.
Migration strategies, when utilised sensibly, offers real, practical solutions.
If you’re struggling to find staff, understanding the visa options available is critical. Whether you’re running a restaurant, resort, bar, or hotel, this guide will help you navigate the most relevant visa pathways for hiring overseas workers.
Let’s take a closer look at the key options, requirements, and what you need to know to make migration part of your long-term staffing strategy.
Visa Pathways for Hospitality Employers
- 482 Skills in Demand Visa
The 482 visa is the most popular option for sponsoring skilled hospitality workers.
Key features:
- Stay of up to four years and renewable for further up to four-year periods.
- Must have at least one year of relevant & full-time work experience, or equivalent part-time or casual work experience on a pro-rata basis.
- Must have relevant qualifications, noting for most occupations, a certain amount of work experience will be accepted ‘in lieu’ of formal qualifications.
- Most commonly sponsored roles include chefs, cooks, and restaurant managers.
What employers need to know:
- Must be able to demonstrate a genuine need for the position.
- Must meet Labour Market Testing (advertising) requirements, unless exempt.
- Must meet minimum salary requirements.
- 407 Training Visa
The 407 visa is a hidden gem – it’s not widely known because most people default to the 482 visa, but this option offers an ideal solution for workers who are earlier in the career or in roles that don’t meet the 482 minimum salary requirements.
Why it’s useful:
- Stay of up to two years.
- No minimum salary requirements.
- Generally lower costs to arrange than the 482 process.
- Great as a preliminary step towards the 482 visa.
Although visa applicants must have 12 months of ‘relevant work experience’ within the two years immediately before applying for the visa, this may include a combination of work and study experience.
- 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa
The 494 visa is designed specifically for businesses in regional areas, and offers a longer sponsorship visa.
Key features:
- Stay of up to five years.
- Pathway to permanent residency after three years as a 494 visa holder.
The ‘downside’ of the 494 visa is that it has a higher threshold to be met by both employers and visa applicants, in that it requires a minimum of three years of relevant work experience and employers must also submit a request for assessment with a Regional Certifying Body – unless an exempt applies.
- 417 & 462 Working Holiday Makers
More commonly known as ‘backpackers’, Working Holiday Makers are a useful workforce strategy for hospitality employers – especially those in regional areas.
Working Holiday Makers are made up of those who hold the 417 Working Holiday Visa or 462 Work and Holiday Visa, which are largely the same in effect but offered to different passport countries.
What’s new:
- A general exemption has been provided for hospitality businesses, allowing WHMs to work for the same hospitality employer for more than six months – they can usually only work for the same employer for up to six months only.
- Option to apply for a further visa (extend stay by 12 months) by completing specified work.
- Great for roles such as bartenders or duty managers.
- 485 Temporary Graduate Visa
Many businesses already employ international students and recent graduates.
The 485 visa is a great cohort when seeking new talent, as this visa provides full work rights and allows you to work with a visa holder for some time before deciding to go down the sponsorship route.
It’s important to remember that the work entitlements for international students on the 500 Student Visa is different to 485 Temporary Graduates.
Work entitlements:
- 500 visa holders can generally only work up to 48 hours a fortnight whilst their course is in session.
- 485 visa holders have unrestricted work rights.
Avoiding Pitfalls
These are the most common issues we see – and these can lead to costly delays or refusals if not addressed early.
- Choosing the wrong visa subclass.
- Failing to meet salary or Labour Market Testing requirements.
- Providing unclear or inconsistent job descriptions.
- Missing visa deadlines or managing expiry risks poorly.
- Failing to consider the sponsorship and nomination timelines.
What’s Next?
Staffing challenges in hospitality are real – but with the right migration strategy and support from a dedicated immigration lawyer, businesses don’t need to be held back by skills shortages.
At Mullins Migration, we work closely with hospitality employers across Australia to secure visas for their skilled workers, help them understand and meet their compliance obligations, and plan ahead to safeguard their workforce. Whether you’re after short-term solutions or permanent workforce building, we can help you navigate the process smoothly.
Reach out today to explore the best visa solutions for your business.
