Worried - can anyone help please

[Guest teresa]

Hi

We are coming over on a 457 with oh employer. Its an employer that he has been working for, for 24 years, so a transfer from UK to Adelaide. He came home today worried because a colleague told him that the problem with this type of visa is that if the employer makes him redundant, we will only have 28 days to vacate Oz unless he can find alternative sponsorship and employment. My question is does anyone know how long it is before an employer can offer permanent visas - can a 457 lead onto this. His employer have said that they convert the 457 to a permanent but havent said how or when. Thanks in advance for any help

[McGintyoz]

We have just had our application put in by my husbands company and were told we had to wait until he had worked in Oz for 2 years before they could nominate him. We came over on a 457 and are now hoping to get the 856 Permanent Visa. Not sure it is the same for all 457 but 2 years it what we were told. Good luck

[Guest Kat+Rocco]

I'm coming ove as nurse on 457 visa and have been told I will have an appraisal at 3-6 months and if both me and employer are happy my contract will be made permanent and they will then help organise my permanent visa then

 

Kelly

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Theresa

 

What is OH's occupation and does he have a positive visa skills assessment for his occupation, please? He will know if he has done a skills assessment. Also, how old is OH, please?

 

I wouldn't worry too much about what the colleague claims. It sounds like his information is out of date. Since 1st Jan 2010, people on 457 visas are now allowed a reasonable period in which to find a new employer and they do NOT have to obtain a new 457 visa when they succeed, so everything is more more relaxed than it used to be.

 

Where is OH's employer based, please? Somewhere in South Australia?

 

I'm sorry for asking questions instead of providing immediate answers to reassure you but the answers to my questions will establish what sort of permanent visa the employer has in mind and how long it would be likely to take before PR can be obtained.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Kelly

 

Is there anything in writing to confirm what you have been told, please?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Gollywobbler]

Hi there

 

A subclass 856 visa is an ENS visa. An employer based in SA should be able to offer an sc 857 RSMS visa instead. Of the two, an ENS visa may be better for the employee in the end and once the 2 years is up, I'd certainly push for an ENS visa if I were the employee.

 

However in other circs, I might be inclined to push for an RSMS visa instead.

 

I think you are quite lucky because you have already completed the 2 years.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Kat+Rocco]

Hi Kelly

 

Is there anything in writing to confirm what you have been told, please?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

No just checked through my emails...nothing in writing but have been told same info during my interview and from Nurse Management Facilitator who I am in regular contact with that is how they work it at WCH. As soon as they decided to make your contract permanent they help you arrange the visa to match.

 

Kelly

[Guest teresa]

Hi Theresa

 

What is OH's occupation and does he have a positive visa skills assessment for his occupation, please? He will know if he has done a skills assessment. Also, how old is OH, please?

 

I wouldn't worry too much about what the colleague claims. It sounds like his information is out of date. Since 1st Jan 2010, people on 457 visas are now allowed a reasonable period in which to find a new employer and they do NOT have to obtain a new 457 visa when they succeed, so everything is more more relaxed than it used to be.

 

Where is OH's employer based, please? Somewhere in South Australia?

 

I'm sorry for asking questions instead of providing immediate answers to reassure you but the answers to my questions will establish what sort of permanent visa the employer has in mind and how long it would be likely to take before PR can be obtained.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

Hi Gill

thanks for your reply. His employers are based in CBD Adelaide, however, he has been working for their UK office all this time. They have said today that he will retain his original employee number, and length of service in this new position in Adelaide. We have not had a skills assesment done, but after reading about the subclass 856 it does mention that if we get a positive skills assesment done we can then ask his employer to sponsor us. The other condition is that he needs to be in continuous employment with employer for 2 years - would his service in the UK count because its only a transfer ?. Just worried because if his occupation as civil engineering draughtsman is removed from SOL we may no longer be eligable, well thats how i have read it but i am often wrong ??!.

many thanks for all your help

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill

thanks for your reply. His employers are based in CBD Adelaide, however, he has been working for their UK office all this time. They have said today that he will retain his original employee number, and length of service in this new position in Adelaide. We have not had a skills assesment done, but after reading about the subclass 856 it does mention that if we get a positive skills assesment done we can then ask his employer to sponsor us. The other condition is that he needs to be in continuous employment with employer for 2 years - would his service in the UK count because its only a transfer ?. Just worried because if his occupation as civil engineering draughtsman is removed from SOL we may no longer be eligable, well thats how i have read it but i am often wrong ??!.

many thanks for all your help

 

Ho Theresa

 

You're not wrong but you might be being unduly pessimistic. For one thing, if OH has worked for this company for 24 years, is the Aussie arm of it really likely to go bust during the next 2 or 3 years when the Aussie economy is booming at the moment? I'd have thought that this is not very likely to happen?

 

Although you are pretty well right about an ENS 856 visa, it might be possible to get the company to sponsor OH for an RSMS 857 visa instead and to do so sooner rather than later. Please see the following links:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/rsms/

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/rsms/exemptions.htm

 

Immigration SA are fairly flexible about the requirements for RSMS visas. A friend of mine got an RSMS 119 visa a couple of years back (the 119 is the offshore version.) He had never worked for the Aussie employer before and he didn't get a skills assessment either. (He's a Floor Finisher.) He had also never worked in Australia before but he got an RSMS visa without any trouble. He now lives and works in Adelaide and Immigration SA are the relevent Regional Certifying Body. Given that OH has worked for the English arm of the company for 24 years, I think DIAC would probably go out of their way to assist.

 

Sure, an RSMS visa ties the employee to working for the employer for 2 years after the grant of the RSMS visa but in practice, if the employer suddenly went bust in less than a year's time (sounds unlikely but it is theoretically possible, I guess) DIAC would not cancel your RSMS visas.

 

The stuff about OH's occupation is here:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/occupations/c/civil-engineering-draftsperson.htm

 

Does he have any formal qualifications that would enable him to get a skills assessment from Engineers Australia? I'm thinking that the other possibility might be to get him a formal skills assessment after you get to Oz and then push the employer for a swift ENS visa instead? If OH has a positive skills assessment then there is no need to wait for 2 years.

 

I would stress, though, that it doesn't sound like the sort of employer who would be likely to go bust suddenly, so are you sure that you aren't simply overreacting to a silly, scaremongering, inaccurate "warning" from the ill-informed colleague?

 

Cheers

 

Gill