457 Visa, how long?

youknowwho

Can anyone give me some indication of how long it takes for a 457 visa to be processed once a company has decided to make a job offer?

mandrake04

it depends on wether they have sponsored before, if they have and a are a registered SBS employer it could be a couple of weeks and if its their first time you could double that.

In the current circumstances there is a change in legislation due in July so there is a probably huge rush to get applications in before then which will slow the process down. Also even before the legislation is introduced the dept are apparently scrutinizing employer nominations to a higher standard anyway which will undoubtedly be a slowing factor as well.

jellie

Sorry to hijack this thread, & apologies if this information is elsewhere but can anyone tell me what I'd need as standard for applying for a 457? I think what I read on their site was along the lines of "application may include" rather than saying you have to have it. My employer will be applying for me but not till I finish my probation period around end may / early June & I want to have everything ready to go. From people I've spoken to my understanding is I'll need:
- university transcripts
- reference from previous employeer
- ??????

Pingu

My 457 went through last September and from lodging to it being granted was only a week.

My company has sponsored before and used an established immigration agent. The longest wait was to get an English copy of my Degree as I originally submitted the Latin copy by mistake to the immigration agent.

It's also from when you accept and then get your paperwork together. If you have all your paperwork together ahead of accepting the offer it'll really help speed things up.

Hope all goes well.

Sundy

Immigration are pretty busy at the moment so there are backlogs.

It just took 5 weeks for a 457 to come through for a guy in my office. Company are pre approved for sponsorship also. So it can take a while.

melonstar

My visa application was submitted on March 19th and was approved on March 28th.
The company I will be working for were using KPMG as the migration agent.

youknowwho

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.

dodgylegs

jellie wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this thread, & apologies if this information is elsewhere but can anyone tell me what I'd need as standard for applying for a 457? I think what I read on their site was along the lines of "application may include" rather than saying you have to have it. My employer will be applying for me but not till I finish my probation period around end may / early June & I want to have everything ready to go. From people I've spoken to my understanding is I'll need:
- university transcripts
- reference from previous employeer
- ??????

i was asked to submit this with the exception of health cover, not necessary if from ireland
List of Documentation
Please provide the following clear scanned list of documentation by email:

• Passport bio page for yourself and any family members included in the visa application
• Your tertiary education qualification certificate/s
• Your updated CV/ Resume (we may require reference letters, we will advise accordingly) - on file
• Evidence of membership with a Private Health Fund/ Private health insurance cover note that is satisfactory for the subclass 457 visa program – please note that if you are a Republic of Ireland passport holder you have access to Medicare and are unlikely to require health insurance for the subclass 457 visa application.
• Health checks may be required and these will be advised once the questionnaire has been received
• Discharge papers for any person in the application who has undertaken service in the armed forces
• Police Certificate / Clearance for any person in the application with matters relating to a criminal conviction (if applicable we can advise on the exact requirements once the questionnaire has been received)

· If you have a spouse, a copy of your marriage certificate or evidence of defacto relationship if not married (further details available if applicable)
· Unabridged birth certificates for each child in the application which contain both parents’ names

swimming in a sea

unfortunately Australia is as disorganized as any other place for filling out the paper work to get your visa, my girlfriend last year thought it was taking too long for the final okay for her 457 so rang the office, the girl told her she was getting around to it last week then could not find her papers etc, then after 15 mins on the phone to her it was sorted.

So if looks like its getting to long then get on the phone.

Diddlydoubt

Quick question relation to the 457 sponsorship visa.

i am currently working for a company on a 6 month contract to agree with the terms of the 417 WHV.

however they have said that if after 3 months probation period they are happy with me and i am happy to continue to work for them, that they will sponsor me on a 457 visa.

if i was to receive the 457 sponsorship visa after say 4 months of my 6 month initail contract and then was to leave that company after say 6 months, can they revoke my 457 visa or what generally happens?

basically i am in a role with the prospect of receiving the 457 sponsorship which i would like to get. however i cant see myself staying in this role so is it possible to receive the sponsorship and then leave that company and look for work somewhere else when i have secured the 457 visa?

hussey

Diddlydoubt wrote: »

if i was to receive the 457 sponsorship visa after say 4 months of my 6 month initail contract and then was to leave that company after say 6 months, can they revoke my 457 visa or what generally happens?

They are legally obliged to contact the department of immigration.

basically i am in a role with the prospect of receiving the 457 sponsorship which i would like to get. however i cant see myself staying in this role so is it possible to receive the sponsorship and then leave that company and look for work somewhere else when i have secured the 457 visa?

You can look for work elsewhere yes, but the work will have to get a new visa, otherwise you have 28days to leave. You cannot go back on your WHV.

your 457 is a visa between your employer and you, not a general work visa (like WHV)

sounds like 457 is not for you. Stick with WHV and after 6 months you want to stay with company go on 457 otherwise look for a new job

Mellor

Diddlydoubt wrote: »

basically i am in a role with the prospect of receiving the 457 sponsorship which i would like to get. however i cant see myself staying in this role so is it possible to receive the sponsorship and then leave that company and look for work somewhere else when i have secured the 457 visa?

I think you need to read up a bit on what a 457 visa actually is.

DeclanClune

Pingu wrote: »

The longest wait was to get an English copy of my Degree as I originally submitted the Latin copy by mistake to the immigration agent.

Et tu Brute?

DeclanClune

melonstar wrote: »

My visa application was submitted on March 19th and was approved on March 28th.
The company I will be working for were using KPMG as the migration agent.

You were lucky if your company could afford to pay the fees that KMPG charge but most companies require the applicant to cover the cost of the visa themselves and most people could not afford the fees that KMPG and similar companies charge.

The timeframe for the application is on average 2 - 3 weeks for all 3 parts (sponsor, nomination and visa application) in our experience.

Declan

Sundy

DeclanClune wrote: »

You were lucky if your company could afford to pay the fees that KMPG charge but most companies require the applicant to cover the cost of the visa themselves and most people could not afford the fees that KMPG and similar companies charge.

The timeframe for the application is on average 2 - 3 weeks for all 3 parts (sponsor, nomination and visa application) in our experience.

Declan

Hi Declan

My companies immigration lawyers said it was illegal for the company to pass on fees for the 457 to the employee. Any comment on that, is it correct?

Sundy

DeclanClune wrote: »

You were lucky if your company could afford to pay the fees that KMPG charge but most companies require the applicant to cover the cost of the visa themselves and most people could not afford the fees that KMPG and similar companies charge.

The timeframe for the application is on average 2 - 3 weeks for all 3 parts (sponsor, nomination and visa application) in our experience.

Declan

Actually one of the obligations of the employer is:

Obligation not to recover certain costs from a skilled worker or secondary sponsored person You must not recover, or seek to recover, from the skilled worker or any of their family members, all or part of the costs (including migration agent costs):
that relate specifically to the recruitment of the skilled worker
associated with becoming or being a sponsor or former approved sponsor.
This obligation ceases when:
the approved sponsorship ceases
there are no sponsored persons in relation to the sponsor.

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/obligations-employer.htm#c

So in your opinion then are most companies operating illegally or does this not relate to the actual 457 for the employee?

Mellor

Sundy wrote: »

Actually one of the obligations of the employer is:

Obligation not to recover certain costs from a skilled worker or secondary sponsored person You must not recover, or seek to recover, from the skilled worker or any of their family members, all or part of the costs (including migration agent costs):
that relate specifically to the recruitment of the skilled worker
associated with becoming or being a sponsor or former approved sponsor.
This obligation ceases when:
the approved sponsorship ceases
there are no sponsored persons in relation to the sponsor.

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/obligations-employer.htm#c

So in your opinion then are most companies operating illegally or does this not relate to the actual 457 for the employee?

It means they can't charge you for the cost of them becoming an SBS, or the nominating cost. The visa application cost is supposed to be paid by the applicant though.


In reality a lot of people do end up paying these. Simply to encourage the company to sponsor them

DeclanClune

Sundy wrote: »

Obligation not to recover certain costs from a skilled worker or secondary sponsored person You must not recover, or seek to recover, from the skilled worker or any of their family members, all or part of the costs

Companies should by law cover the cost of the sponsorship themselves. They should not pass this cost to 457 applicants. Whether they do this knowingly or otherwise is another question.

However, I agree with what Mellor said. In practice however, rightly or wrongly, most applicants are more than happy to cover all costs themselves just to avail of the opportunity to be sponsored and remain in Australia.



Declan Clune

niva*sis

Hi Everyone,

Quick one how long does the position have to be advertised by the company before they can go ahead with the process of sponsorship? where can I find info on this?

Mellor

As far as I know, there is no minimum length of time. It's just a case that they provide evidence of every thing that they did. If it was a genuine attempt to recruit, then it would have been for what ever the normal amount of time is.
They have to fill out this form.
http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Documents/domestic-recruitment-summary-template.pdf