Visa 186 Conditions After Grant: Obligations to Your Employer

After a subclass 186 is granted, many people assume they are completely free — able to change jobs straight away. The reality can be more complex, especially with the TRT stream.

Conditions 8587 and 8558: limits on changing occupation

Some subclass 186 visas are granted with employment-related conditions, for example:

Condition 8587: requires you to work in the occupation or field recorded on the visa for a set period of time.

Condition 8558: requires you to obtain or maintain professional registration where the occupation requires it (for example, nurses, doctors, registered engineers).

Not every subclass 186 carries these conditions — check your visa grant letter to confirm.

TRT stream: requirement to keep working with the employer

With the TRT stream, the legal reality may include a requirement to keep working with the same employer or in the same occupation after the visa is granted. Specifically:

• Some subclass 186 TRT visas require you to keep working with the employer for at least enough time to complete a total of 2 yearsPending verification (counted from the start, not only after the visa is granted)
• If you have already met two years before the visa is granted: you may be able to change jobs as soon as you hold the visa

How to check: read your DHA grant letter carefully. The specific conditions will be listed clearly.

Consequences of breaching a condition

Breaching a subclass 186 condition is a serious matter:

• DHA may cancel the visa
• It can affect future visa applications (including a citizenship application)
• In serious cases: it may be treated as a character failure

That said, DHA does not actively monitor every individual case day to day. Problems usually arise when you lodge another visa application (such as citizenship) and DHA identifies the breach through your record.

In practice: the direct entry stream usually has no work condition

The Direct Entry stream usually does not carry a requirement to keep working with the employer after the visa is granted. Once you hold permanent residence through DE, you are free to take any job.

When you want to change jobs after a 186 TRT

If you want to change jobs and are unsure whether it would breach a condition:

1. Read the grant letter to see whether condition 8587 applies
2. Recalculate how long you have worked with the employer to date
3. If you have met the total time required: you may be able to change jobs
4. If you have not: consult a migration agent before deciding

For more, see the article on your rights after holding the subclass 186.