Help please!

[Guest New2SA]

Hi

I moved to Adelaide in early January due to a new job and was granted a subclass 857 employee sponsored visa, and PR.

The job is not working out due to a number of factors, nightmare boss, isolated office on my own, lack of work and duties I am not capable of. I am in a predicament as if I resign, I have to pay the company back a lot of money, as stated in the contract if I leave before 2 years, and lose my residency. I don't want to go back to the UK but the job is really bringing me down and as a result, I am not enjoying life in Adelaide.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation and have any advise to give on how I can keep my residency and ideally my money? Or lawyers or information sources to recommend?

Any advise strongly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Guest The Dimmocks]

Hi

 

I cant help with your question but really hope someone can help.

 

Michelle x

[Guest Guest75]

Really sorry to hear this,you are not the only one this has happened to.

Gill (Gollywobbler) is into this stuff - in here or Poms In Oz.

 

I'd also think of contacting Immigration and advising them of your position.Would not hurt to ask them for help.

 

 

Very good luck to you and I hope you can sort this out.

[Scousemouse]

Hi there,

firstly, dont panic!!

 

The terms of your visa are very clear..............its a 2 year contractual thing; however,

back in august last year i got my 857 granted having initially arrive on a 457 visa back in Nov 08.

Things deteriorated and i started looking into my options..........

First, keep a record of any problems, dates etc, duties blah blah......

Contact the DIAC to discuss your options, explain your situation.

 

Your employer is obliged to inform DIAC if you terminate your employment; DIAC then contact you, which actually can be a few weeks before they do, asking for all information pertaining to the reasons you left etc.

 

You have to prove you made EVERY effort to remain in that employment!! Usually a period of time above a few weeks, but can be upto a year........

You will have to prove that you were treated unfairly, or discriminated against.

 

The whole thing is very upsetting, but if you need a shoulder, you can pm me, and i can recommend a migration expert specialising in skilled migration!

 

Chin up chuck.

[Guest Murphysegg]

I'm sort of in a similar situation ( lack of job satisfaction for numerous reasons ) , I was granted an 857 in Feb 2010 & the VISA does state that if current employment is terminated then the VISA 'can' be withdrawn. I asked DIAC what this actually mean't & they advised that it's only if the company declare to DIAC that employment has been terminated ( would they know to bother to contact DIAC ? ) . Although you can transfer the sponsorship to another employer for the remainder of the 2 yr period.

Fortunately i have an approachable manager who iv'e discussed my concerns to & hopefully things will improve. I fully understand how it taints the rest of your new transition to this part of the world, but if you can manage to speak to someone further up the food chain....or HR, it may be able to be resolved. Give DIAC a call too. Best of luck.

[nikkinoodlesuk]

we were in the same position, my husband's job didn't work and after trying to work things out , he stuck it out for 5 months, he resigned and the employer did report him to immigration and we recieved letter asking to explain our grieviances or visa's would be cancelled.

 

we wrote back outlining all the problems and working conditions and everything was fine, my husband secured alternative employment and we're all a lot happier.

 

we did however contact government before he left his employment asking for advice and they never give us a clear answer, they just said you should be ok, given the details we outlined but never give us definate answers, so it is a difficult decision as we were afraid we'd lose the visa's and it would all be for nothing.

 

Be very carefull and cover all your basis get as much information before leaving your employment.

 

Goodluck

[Sears Family]

I'll give my pennies worth

Please do not just grin and put up with it, it's amazing what happens when you talk to people - maybe if you opened up about your concerns / issues they may be able to do something for you. How will they know you're unhappy if they're not told?

And if they do nothing to help, ensure you have recorded everything, approach DIAC / consultant to see what the next steps can be.

 

Von x

[Guest New2SA]

Thanks for your help and support everyone, its much appreciated!

Re the below

 

we were in the same position, my husband's job didn't work and after trying to work things out , he stuck it out for 5 months, he resigned and the employer did report him to immigration and we recieved letter asking to explain our grieviances or visa's would be cancelled.

 

we wrote back outlining all the problems and working conditions and everything was fine, my husband secured alternative employment and we're all a lot happier.

 

we did however contact government before he left his employment asking for advice and they never give us a clear answer, they just said you should be ok, given the details we outlined but never give us definate answers, so it is a difficult decision as we were afraid we'd lose the visa's and it would all be for nothing.

 

Be very carefull and cover all your basis get as much information before leaving your employment.

 

Goodluck

 

How long did it take for immigration to make a decision after you wrote your letter? I know what you mean, its difficult to take the gamble and risk losing the visa, and since I am already looking for new positions (mostly interstate as few positions in my field in SA, which I know could further jeopordise my visa) its a difficult situation as I don't know whether they can legally employ my or not as the decision is made post-resignation! Did you go to the immigration department personally before your husband resigned or call someone?

Thank you again

Rachel

[nikkinoodlesuk]

My husband contacted immi, before he resigned his job, they wouldn't give us any proper help, they basically said, from the way we described the problems with his employer and working conditions, we'd probably be ok to move on to another employer but wouldnt commit to anything, said it would only be investigated if the employer put in complaint.

 

We decided to go for it, because we werent enjoying our new life and thought what was the point to come to the other side of the world and have the job from hell.

 

Anyway once we moved we had a letter of immigration straight away stating its bee reported he'd left his employment and we'd have to give a satisfactory explanation and proof that we've tried everything to make it work or Visa's would e cancelled.

 

We did it by email and explained that we had kids in schools, joined gyms, had committments and fully intergrated into our new lives and into the community, and that the employer was unreasonable, theres was no work, other men were being made redundant, and just outlined every problem from wages/uniforms/working conditions/victimising everything.

 

We emailed it through then telephone them the same day to check they recieved it and they told us there and then that no action would be taken. And we had letter off them within few days to confirm that.

 

If your going to leave your employment you really need to have secured another employer first and provide evidence that you've done everything within your power to make a success of your current employer you can leave coz you dont like it, you need to have clear examples of why..

Perhaps go back to immigration see if they can help you at all, it's such a big risk to lose Visa after all you go through to get it. This is probably just as stressful as moving here in the first place because you probably feel stuck now.

 

Goodluck hope it works out for you, you want your new life to be a good adventure, not miserable xxxx

[Guest New2SA]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to update everyone on my situation. I met with an immigration lawyer, he said that based on the information I gave him, I had a 50:50 chance of keeping my visa if I left, and advised me to try and resolve it internally.

I met with HR, the issues were not addressed significantly, but I was encouraged to wait until the new financial year, when more project funding would be available, so I could do my job!

In the meantime, I became more and more miserable at work and started applying for other jobs.

It was announced that due to budget cuts, there would be no projects for this year either so as a project manager it was pointless me being there. I gave my notice and have negotiated that I will pay my employer back half the money they sponsored me. I will now have to put my case to immigration, I am hoping it will be successful. My position has been filled, but changed to a PA role which was not the skilled role I was sponsored for. Hopefully I will be able to find another position, preferably in Adelaide but jobs in my field few and far between. Anyway, thank you all for your advise and support and will let you know the outcome.

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to update everyone on my situation. I met with an immigration lawyer, he said that based on the information I gave him, I had a 50:50 chance of keeping my visa if I left, and advised me to try and resolve it internally.

I met with HR, the issues were not addressed significantly, but I was encouraged to wait until the new financial year, when more project funding would be available, so I could do my job!

In the meantime, I became more and more miserable at work and started applying for other jobs.

It was announced that due to budget cuts, there would be no projects for this year either so as a project manager it was pointless me being there. I gave my notice and have negotiated that I will pay my employer back half the money they sponsored me. I will now have to put my case to immigration, I am hoping it will be successful. My position has been filled, but changed to a PA role which was not the skilled role I was sponsored for. Hopefully I will be able to find another position, preferably in Adelaide but jobs in my field few and far between. Anyway, thank you all for your advise and support and will let you know the outcome.

 

Thanks for the update...i hope you get a good result from immigration.....keep applying for them jobs....good luck with it all...

 

 

HG

[Guest WhatNow?]

Similar thing happened to my rellies. They panicked at first then decided to come clean and tell Immi SA. Their case was dumped into someone's in-tray and with two kids and a mortgage they were biting their nails to the knuckles waiting for a response. Finally they lost patience and asked for a personal interview with someone. They were RSMS migrants so were worried about approaching another employer as this would technically be against the conditions of their visa and had no money at the time. Eventually they were given an interview with 'a person in authority' and told that the fact that they had bought a house and got their kids into schools, sports clubs etc showed that they were serious migrants and that ImmiSA were 'not in the business of deporting people like them' - the official even took all of the restrictions off their visa so theat the BIL could apply for other jobs. This was, I admit, 5 years ago, but my own experience since then has been that, if you are straight and honest and have made the effort, you will find ImmiSA as sympathetic as they are allowed to be - and they DO have leeway. They are more concerned about the people that come over on a sponsorship and then don't even turn up for the first day's work, which, according to my contact there, is fairly common, though not so much for UK migrants.

[nikkinoodlesuk]

I met with an immigration lawyer, he said that based on the information I gave him, I had a 50:50 chance of keeping my visa if I left, and advised me to try and resolve it internally.

 

 

50 : 50 doesn't really help much when it's your life thats in the balance, wish they would give you a straight answer sometimes so you can make the correct decisions, without worrying about the consequences.!!

[nikkinoodlesuk]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest New2SA]

I know, he was sympathetic but couldn't really answer my specific questions. Guess there is no certainty when it comes to immigration!

[Guest New2SA]

Hi Everyone

Just to give an update- immigration allowed me to keep my visa and PR and I am now working in Sydney. Still miss Adelaide at times but feel I am much more suited to life here. Thanks for your advise everyone!

[Guest The Dimmocks]

Hi Everyone

Just to give an update- immigration allowed me to keep my visa and PR and I am now working in Sydney. Still miss Adelaide at times but feel I am much more suited to life here. Thanks for your advise everyone!

 

Glad you were able to stay in Australia and happy in Sydney xx

[Guest Murphysegg]

Congratulations, not a total loss. Glad to see things have panned out positively. All the best for the future :0)