Vietnamese Chefs: The Pathway to Working in Australian Kitchens

Trades Recognition Australia: the assessing body

Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), part of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, is the designated skills assessing authority for Chef (ANZSCO 351311). For applicants outside Australia, this runs through TRA's Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP).

TRA generally looks for a qualification comparable to an Australian Certificate IV in Kitchen Management or Commercial Cookery, plus current, verifiable work experience — commonly around 12 months of relevant experience in the last three years is the kind of benchmark applied, backed by detailed employer references, sample menus and a portfolio of your work. Depending on your specific file, TRA may require a technical interview or a practical cooking assessment on top of the documentary review to confirm your claimed skills match your actual ability.

The most common point of failure is a weak employer reference — a letter naming only your job title, without describing the actual dishes, kitchen section and level of supervision, doesn't give TRA enough to assess against. Ask former employers for specifics before you submit.

Costs and processing time

As at 2026, TRA's core migration skills assessment application fee for OSAP is commonly quoted around AUD $720, with further stage-specific charges (a technical interview or practical assessment component) applying depending on your particular pathway. TRA's own current fee schedule is the authority on the live figure, as these are reviewed periodically.

Processing for a complete OSAP application typically runs around 15 weeks from the point your documentation is submitted decision-ready. An incomplete file, or one where TRA needs to follow up on your claimed duties, takes longer — build this into your planning, particularly if a prospective employer is waiting on your assessment outcome before proceeding with sponsorship.

Visa options for chefs

Chef sits on both the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), governing the points-tested subclass 189, 190 and 491 visas, and the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), governing the employer-sponsored subclass 482 (Core Skills stream) and the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme.

Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) is a permanent visa needing no sponsor, based on your TRA assessment, English score and an EOI invitation. Subclass 190 adds state or territory nomination — each jurisdiction sets its own current criteria and occupation availability, which changes, so check the live list for your target state. Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional) ties you to a designated regional area, leading to permanent residence via the subclass 191.

On the employer-sponsored side, the subclass 482 lets an Australian restaurant, hotel or catering business sponsor you directly, with a pathway to permanent residence through the subclass 186. Regional employers may sponsor through the subclass 494, leading to the subclass 191 after three years. Many Vietnamese chefs use the 482 as a practical starting point given it doesn't depend on a competitive EOI round.

English requirements

There's no separate professional board setting the English bar for chefs — it's determined entirely by the visa subclass. For the points-tested visas (189, 190, 491), Competent English applies: IELTS 6.0 in each band, or the equivalent score on PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, OET or Cambridge. For the subclass 482, the threshold is generally lower — commonly around IELTS 5.0 overall with no band below 4.5 — though the exact current figure and any exemptions should be checked against the Home Affairs page for the specific visa, since thresholds are reviewed periodically.

A higher English score doesn't unlock a professional benefit the way it does for regulated occupations, but on the points-tested visas it directly affects your competitiveness in the EOI process.

Getting your Vietnamese documents ready

TRA expects verifiable documentation: your trade or hospitality qualification certificate and transcript, detailed employer references on company letterhead describing your actual kitchen duties, payslips or employment contracts corroborating your history, and your English test result.

Vietnamese educational and vocational-training documents generally need authentication before an overseas body will treat them as verified — commonly involving certification from the issuing institution and legalisation through Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or a Vietnamese diplomatic mission if you're applying from outside Vietnam). Start this process early; it involves physical-office steps that run on Vietnamese administrative timelines you can't accelerate remotely.

A separate Vietnamese police clearance is required for the visa application itself — see our dedicated guide on Vietnam police clearance for an Australian visa for the specific process.

The employer sponsorship reality

Most Vietnamese chefs entering Australia do so through employer sponsorship, since the subclass 482 doesn't depend on a competitive EOI invitation and Australian hospitality employers — Vietnamese restaurants specifically, but also hotels, catering businesses and mainstream venues — actively recruit given the domestic chef shortage.

Be cautious of any offer requiring large upfront payments to a recruitment agency for the sponsorship itself, or duties described in a way that doesn't match the Chef ANZSCO code (a genuine chef role involves menu input, supervision and a defined kitchen section — not general kitchen-hand work). A mismatch between the offer and what TRA has assessed you for can cause visa problems later, not just an awkward start to the job.

On salary: a sponsoring employer needs to pay at or above the relevant income threshold for the visa (the Core Skills Income Threshold, which also governs the 482 and 494, sits at AUD $79,423 as at 1 July 2026, reviewed annually) or the genuine market salary rate for the role, whichever is higher — a sponsorship offer priced noticeably below local market rate for an equivalent chef role is worth querying before you accept it.

Costs and a realistic timeline

As at 2026, budget for: the TRA OSAP assessment (around AUD $720 plus any stage-specific charges), an English test (roughly AUD $350–450), a health examination and Vietnamese police clearance, and the visa application charge itself — around AUD $6,135–6,140 for the points-tested visas (189/190/491) or AUD $4,015 for the subclass 482, both current as at 1 July 2026 and reviewed annually.

A realistic timeline: the TRA OSAP assessment runs around 15 weeks from a decision-ready submission; visa processing on top of that varies by subclass and case complexity, and can run in parallel with the later stages of your document preparation. The 482 pathway, where a sponsoring employer is already lined up, is typically the faster route end to end since it skips the EOI wait entirely.

Next steps

Gather detailed, specific employer references before starting your TRA application — this is the single most common point of failure and the easiest to get right upfront. Start the Vietnamese document authentication process in parallel, given its fixed lead time.

Decide early whether you're aiming for a points-tested visa (189/190/491) or an employer-sponsored one (482/494/186), since the English requirement, timeline and reliance on a job offer differ meaningfully between the two. A MARA-registered migration agent can review your work history against the Chef ANZSCO code before you pay for a TRA assessment, and advise which visa pathway fits your circumstances — Migratio matches you with one free.

Which body assesses Vietnamese chef qualifications for Australian migration?

Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), usually through its Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP) for applicants outside Australia. TRA reviews your qualification and work-experience documentation and may require a technical interview or practical assessment.

Is Chef on Australia's skilled occupation list?

Yes. Chef (ANZSCO 351311) sits on both the MLTSSL (governing the points-tested 189, 190 and 491 visas) and the Core Skills Occupation List (governing the employer-sponsored 482 and 186 visas).

Do I need a licence to work as a chef in Australia?

No. There's no ongoing professional registration board for chefs. The gatekeeping happens through the TRA skills assessment before your visa, not through a licence renewed once you're working.

What's the most common reason a chef's TRA assessment is delayed?

A weak or generic employer reference. TRA needs detailed, specific descriptions of your actual duties, kitchen section and supervision level on company letterhead.

What English score do chefs need for an Australian visa?

It depends on the visa. Points-tested visas (189/190/491) require Competent English — IELTS 6.0 in each band or equivalent. The subclass 482 typically has a lower threshold, commonly around IELTS 5.0 overall — check the current Home Affairs figure.

Do Vietnamese educational documents need authentication for TRA?

Yes. Documents generally need certification from the issuing institution and legalisation through Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a Vietnamese diplomatic mission before TRA will treat them as verified.