Visa 482 Then TRT, or 186 Direct Entry: Which Path to Permanent Residence
People with skills and an Australian employer ready to sponsor them often face two paths to permanent residence: take visa 482 first then move to TRT, or lodge 186 Direct Entry directly. Both lead to employer-sponsored PR, but they have different requirements and a different rhythm. This page compares them so you can see which path suits your situation better.
The core difference
The 482 → TRT path goes through a period of actual work: you hold a 482, work for your nominating employer for a while (the reference point is 2 years), and only then are you nominated for PR. That work time is both a condition and a form of evidence of capability.
The Direct Entry path skips that stage — you lodge straight for PR. In exchange, it concentrates the requirements on proving your skills from the outset: it usually requires a skills assessment (mandatory for most occupations) and a reference experience level of around 3 years.
Who the 482 → TRT path suits
It suits you when you don’t yet have a skills record solid enough to lodge straight for PR, or when you want to work and settle in before committing to the long path. You accept a longer journey in exchange for building up actual work time as the foundation for your application. This is the common path for people who already have, or are about to have, a 482.
Who the Direct Entry path suits
It suits you when your skills are already strong and your evidence is ready — skills assessment achieved, the right experience in the occupation — and you want to go straight to PR rather than going through a long temporary stage. In exchange, you have to be confident about your skills documentation from the very first lodgement.
What to weigh before choosing
The decision is not just “which path is faster”. It depends on your current skills record, your age, how ready your sponsoring employer is, and your tolerance for risk if one part falls short. Because these factors are interwoven, this is the kind of decision worth weighing up with a registered migration agent (MARA), rather than choosing based on which path sounds faster.