“457″ visa holders made redundant
The Australian Economy is suffering and the Construction Industry in particular.
We are aware that a number of employees who are currently on “457″ Business (Long Stay) 4 year Temporary visas, are the latest visa holders to become the victims of the effect of the downturn in the Australian Economy. The “457″ visa has Condition “8107″ attached as part of the granting of this visa, and is the visa where an employer agrees to Sponsor an employee for up to 4 years and the employee must remain working for the Sponsoring employer. This Condition “8107″ states “the employee must not cease to be employed by the Sponsoring employer in relation to which the visa was granted”. In return, the employee, who must be under 45 years of age, does not usually forced into have their skill assessed by an Assessing Authority, such as TRA or VETASSESS.
If a “457″ visa holder finds they are in this position of losing their job, they have 3 options, which MUST be done within 28 days of losing their job:-
- Find another employer who is willing to employ and Sponsor them, and apply for new “457″ visa to enable them to work for this new employer/Sponsor.
- Apply for another type of substantive visa for which they might be eligible. As an example, a Holiday or Visitor visa (no work is a condition of this visa though), or perhaps a Student visa, which would then allow them to stay and study in Australia.
- Leave Australia within the 28 days.
These, unfortunately, are the cold, hard, facts regarding the “457″ visa. It is relatively easy to obtain, but if you lose your sponsorship/employment, you have limited options to remain in Australia.
