457 Visa – The real story
457 Visa, well that small collection of numbers and letters sure has stirred up some people’s emotions over the last 4 years!
What is the 457 Visa?
What was the 457 Visa designed for and why is 457 Visa Assistance helping so many current 457 Visa holders become Australian Permanent Residents?
The 457 Visa to use its most commonly used name is a temporary work visa for Australia, it was used extensively by Australian Companies looking to employ overseas workers.
There were many reported reasons as to why Australian Companies recruit overseas workers, depending on who you listen to it ranged from a skills shortage or shortage of labour in Australia through to a potential source of cheap labour from overseas, it really makes no difference as to what you or I think was the reason that Australian Companies recruited overseas workers, the fact remains, Australian Companies recruited overseas workers using the 457 Visa in their thousands, the actual numbers of 457 Visa’s issued is on the public record and can be found at www.diac.gov.au
Based on public records there are over 250,000 people currently in Australia on a 457 Visa (this figure includes secondary applicants such as spouse and dependants).
The 457 Visa has a limited term and a 457 Visa is valid for a Maximum of 4 years only.
The 457 Visa does not grant the visa holder nor their spouse or dependants automatic medical cover in Australia, medical insurance should be acquired to cover the main 457 visa holder and any spouse and dependants (is the employer required to pay for the cost of medical insurance? You should take that question up directly with DIAC, take no chances where you or your health and medical cover is concerned).
If a 457 Visa holder loses his or her job, even if through no fault of their own, they are only given 28 days with which to find a new 457 Visa sponsor employer or technically the become an illegal, 28 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor them and gather and submit the required paperwork??? What were DIAC thinking?? Anyone reading this that is currently on a 457 Visa ask yourself, how long did it take to find your original sponsor and get the required paperwork ready to lodge your application.
Talk about stress.......
So there are major concerns for a person currently in Australia on a 457 Visa, no certainty of staying in Australia, medical cover issues and on top of this DIAC is constantly changing the 457 Visa requirements, from one month to the next applicants and employers wanting to hire a 457 visa worker are faced with additional requirement changes, I am not suggesting the changes are good or bad, just that they constantly changing, from increased level of English requirements (I bet the IELTS testing centres in Australia and in Asia loved that) through to employers having to now demonstrate “a benefit to Australia from employing an Overseas Worker on a 457 Visa” and most recently increased testing for certain skills from certain countries (check with www.diac.gov.au to see how these changes may affect you).
457 Visa applicants from certain countries and applying under certain skill classes are now required to meet the same level of certification and TRA as a person applying for Permanent Australian Residency!
So the 457 Visa holder or applicant has to meet the same requirements as a permanent resident applicant, yet gets practically zero of the rights, benefits or support given to Australian Permanent Residents!
Does the 457 Visa have a place in Australian Immigration? You can decide that for yourself.
Do 457 Visa Holders deserve better, we think they do, which is why 457 Visa Assistance was founded, the aim is to get as many 457 Visa Holders a possible Permanent Australian Residency if that is what they seek.
I would imagine it’s pretty hard for a 457 Visa holder and their family in Australia to make any kind of longer term plans, certainly there are a lot of workers that have returned recently back here to Hong Kong and also in other Asian countries there are returned 457 visa holders that did expect nor plan to be required to leave Australia so quickly.
457 Visa or Permanent Australian Residency, It’s your choice!
457 Visa, well that small collection of numbers and letters sure has stirred up some people’s emotions over the last 4 years!
What is the 457 Visa?
What was the 457 Visa designed for and why is 457 Visa Assistance helping so many current 457 Visa holders become Australian Permanent Residents?
The 457 Visa to use its most commonly used name is a temporary work visa for Australia, it was used extensively by Australian Companies looking to employ overseas workers.
There were many reported reasons as to why Australian Companies recruit overseas workers, depending on who you listen to it ranged from a skills shortage or shortage of labour in Australia through to a potential source of cheap labour from overseas, it really makes no difference as to what you or I think was the reason that Australian Companies recruited overseas workers, the fact remains, Australian Companies recruited overseas workers using the 457 Visa in their thousands, the actual numbers of 457 Visa’s issued is on the public record and can be found at www.diac.gov.au
Based on public records there are over 250,000 people currently in Australia on a 457 Visa (this figure includes secondary applicants such as spouse and dependants).
The 457 Visa has a limited term and a 457 Visa is valid for a Maximum of 4 years only.
The 457 Visa does not grant the visa holder nor their spouse or dependants automatic medical cover in Australia, medical insurance should be acquired to cover the main 457 visa holder and any spouse and dependants (is the employer required to pay for the cost of medical insurance? You should take that question up directly with DIAC, take no chances where you or your health and medical cover is concerned).
If a 457 Visa holder loses his or her job, even if through no fault of their own, they are only given 28 days with which to find a new 457 Visa sponsor employer or technically the become an illegal, 28 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor them and gather and submit the required paperwork??? What were DIAC thinking?? Anyone reading this that is currently on a 457 Visa ask yourself, how long did it take to find your original sponsor and get the required paperwork ready to lodge your application.
Talk about stress.......
So there are major concerns for a person currently in Australia on a 457 Visa, no certainty of staying in Australia, medical cover issues and on top of this DIAC is constantly changing the 457 Visa requirements, from one month to the next applicants and employers wanting to hire a 457 visa worker are faced with additional requirement changes, I am not suggesting the changes are good or bad, just that they constantly changing, from increased level of English requirements (I bet the IELTS testing centres in Australia and in Asia loved that) through to employers having to now demonstrate “a benefit to Australia from employing an Overseas Worker on a 457 Visa” and most recently increased testing for certain skills from certain countries (check with www.diac.gov.au to see how these changes may affect you).
457 Visa applicants from certain countries and applying under certain skill classes are now required to meet the same level of certification and TRA as a person applying for Permanent Australian Residency!
So the 457 Visa holder or applicant has to meet the same requirements as a permanent resident applicant, yet gets practically zero of the rights, benefits or support given to Australian Permanent Residents!
Does the 457 Visa have a place in Australian Immigration? You can decide that for yourself.
Do 457 Visa Holders deserve better, we think they do, which is why 457 Visa Assistance was founded, the aim is to get as many 457 Visa Holders a possible Permanent Australian Residency if that is what they seek.
I would imagine it’s pretty hard for a 457 Visa holder and their family in Australia to make any kind of longer term plans, certainly there are a lot of workers that have returned recently back here to Hong Kong and also in other Asian countries there are returned 457 visa holders that did expect nor plan to be required to leave Australia so quickly.
457 Visa or Permanent Australian Residency, It’s your choice!
