What you need to know about recent policy amendments regarding the Temporary Work (Skilled) 457 Visa
In this last year, the exposure of how severely the 457 visa programme is being abused has resulted in a few reworkings to policies surrounding the visa. The 457 visa is now notoriously far more difficult to attain. Unfortunately, in weeding out the baddies, some genuine applicants will inadvertently also lose deserved opportunities. We understand how frustrating this visa application has become for any party involved. We figure the least we could do is to keep you as informed as we can.
Read: Employer sponsored visas
Condition 8107
Briefly, condition 8107 relates to a 457 visa holder remaining in employment with their sponsor in performing only the role for which they were nominated, that they must commence work with their sponsor within 90 days of the visa grant, that a cessation of employment cannot exceed 90 days and that the visa holder must hold all required licences and registrations necessary for their occupation.
Whilst previously a visa holder could remain in Australia a further 90 days from the end of their employment, they will now only have 60 days. This applies only to visa holders whose grants occurred on or after 19 November 2016.
So long as the 457 visa holder lodges a new nomination within 90 days, their visa will not be cancelled.
Labour Market Testing
Labour Market Testing is not a criteria that every application needs to fulfil. More information for which occupations labour marketing testing is compulsory, and where there are exemptions, can be read on the DIBP’s website on this page under the nomination tab. If your application is for a nominated occupation for which is it compulsory to provide evidence, what do you need to know?
“Employers seeking to access the subclass 457 visa programme must first test the local labour market to ensure that there is no suitably qualified and experienced Australian citizen or permanent resident or ‘eligible temporary visa holder’ readily available to fill that position.”
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Evidence of these attempts must occur in the 12 months prior to lodging the nomination.
What’s new? Currently labour marketing testing evidence is required to accompany the application; evidence not provided in the same day will result in a refusal. The DIBP will however, now accept evidence up to the next day. This allowance is only for if you have experienced difficulties with immiAccount and/or BPAY payments. As such, next day evidence submissions must also be accompanied with an explanation of the issues encountered.
Accredited sponsors
Accredited sponsors have a sponsorship validity of 6 years and receive priority processing on all nomination and visa applications. Amongst the requirements to become an accredited sponsor is to “have sponsored at least ten primary 457 visa holders in the 24 months prior to the application for accreditation” with nomination transfers not included. This is called the Visa Grant Threshold. This will be replaced by a Sponsorship Volume Threshold. The DIBP will be accepting an applicant sponsor with ten approved nominations.
Incomplete 457 applications
The 457 is a very heavily applied for visa. To improve processing and turnaround, documentation should be provided within 10 days of the application being lodged. If there are reasons for documentation to come in pass these 10 days, a statement explaining why this cannot be avoiding must be submitted before the 10 days are up. Failure to do so may result in the DIBP’s refusal of the application.
Priority processing
Urgent applications with genuine compelling need may be given priority processing. Email requests must be sent to 457@border.gov.au for priority processing must have the subject title “Priority Allocation Request”. Successful applications will receive responses within 48 hours. Unsuccessful applications should expect no reply.
The email should provide a short explanation within the email, supporting evidence, an explanatory statement and timelines
