# What are the risk of 457 visa?



## nirmalgyanwali (Oct 16, 2012)

My company wants to sponsor me in 457 working visa?

What are the risk of this visa?
When can i apply for 856 PR visa, if company is ready to go further? 

I have completed skill assessment under Developer Programmer. Do you guys have any idea?


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I guess the major risk is the fact that if you are unhappy with your job and subsequently decide to leave or are terminated for whatever reason, you will only have 28 days to either find a new sponsor or leave the country. With so many qualified migrants who already have PR, unless you are in a niche market, it can be tricky to find a new sponsor, especially when time is not exactly on your side.
Some companies also have the bad habit of dangling the threat of visa cancellation above their employees' head as a way of forcing them to take on additional duties, etc. 
Additionally, there are limits in terms of the length of time that you can go on holiday for, so you would have to talk to HR if you were intending to go away for say a month, because that could affect your visa eligibility and lead to its cancellation. The same applies in cases of pregnancy.

Have you talked to your company about whether they would even be willing to sponsor you for PR? Company sponsorship for PR visa is typically dictated by their HR policy, so that should be your first port of call. Even if you could apply for a visa after a day, it would make little difference if your company is not prepared to support your application.

If your company is prepared to support your PR application, aside from clarifying the earliest time when they would be willing to do so, you also need to clarify the conditions attached to the sponsorship and also the cost involved. Companies are not obligated to pay anything towards your visa and a lot of employees mistakenly think that the company will pick up the visa fee. Knowing all this upfront will help you plan.


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## nirmalgyanwali (Oct 16, 2012)

*Thank you*

Thank you Maz2 for your prompt response.

One more thing, I read somewhere on Immigration site (but couldn't find the exact source now) that we can work on any company with in same skill and post (which was nominated for). Is that true? 
I also read that, we just need to inform the immigration about our new employer and we can continue our work. 

Another point, If my company is ready to go for 856 with in couple of weeks. Can i launch the application? And what are the other conditions after getting 856? Do i need to work for the same company or can change any where?

P.S. I know it can be depended on the individual case and skill. I am applying under "developer programmer" and i just want to know general rules. I will do further consultation with lawyer. But I would like to know these basic things before making any decision.


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## zooter80 (Jul 14, 2012)

@Maz -- what is this rule regarding long leave (1 month) that you cannot take on 457 visa? First time I'm hearing of this -- is this mentioned anywhere in the immigration site?


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

nirmalgyanwali said:


> Thank you Maz2 for your prompt response.
> 
> One more thing, I read somewhere on Immigration site (but couldn't find the exact source now) that we can work on any company with in same skill and post (which was nominated for). Is that true?
> I also read that, we just need to inform the immigration about our new employer and we can continue our work.
> ...


You would not need to lodge a new 457 visa application if you were to find a new job but you would still need the new employer to lodge a new nomination. Until such time that the nomination is approved, you will not be able to start your new job.

You need to obtain the nomination and then subsequently apply for your visa. I'm not sure how the rules work in this case and whether you can do the two in parallel but considering that you stand to lose a few grand if the company suddenly changes their mind or if their nomination is rejection, it would probably be prudent to wait until you have an approved nomination. The conditions are imposed by immigration so until you have a visa, it's impossible to know what conditions they may choose to impose.

The immigration website also has a wealth of information on the various visa classes on offer. Have a read on there as it will give you a general idea of the requirements and the conditions that you are required to meet to be eligible for a visa.

But as I said, speak to your company and find out what their policy is on PR visas because then you will be in a better position to make a decision and you will also be able to gauge the time involved to complete the process.

Under the old rules (not sure about the new rules - you'll have to see what DIAC's stance is on this), you could actually work for a different employer AFTER you had your PR approved but most employers write a clause in your contract, making you liable for costs incurred should you leave before a certain length of time. This is something that you will need to investigate because you do not want to resign and then be presented with a bill!


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

zooter80 said:


> @Maz -- what is this rule regarding long leave (1 month) that you cannot take on 457 visa? First time I'm hearing of this -- is this mentioned anywhere in the immigration site?


You will need to clarify this with your employer - if they are used to sponsoring visas, they would be pretty clued up about it. I got an email about this when I was on a 457 visa (too long back for me to remember exactly what it said) but it has to do with one of the obligations that both the sponsor and the employee has to fulfil in terms of being continuously employed and providing continuous employment. If I remember correctly, it became even more relevant for those who were thinking of taking unpaid leave. I think my old employer got caught out by it so they issued an email to all 457 visa holders advising us that if we were to take leave above a certain period of time, we would be in breach of that condition, so we would have had to speak to HR prior to going on holiday to make sure that we did not run afoul of immigration.

The same would apply to pregnancy because if you went on maternity leave for a long period of time and had a period where you were not earning, technically the employer would not be meeting the obligation to pay you 'x' salary and that constitutes a breach of their obligations.


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## zooter80 (Jul 14, 2012)

Maz25 said:


> You will need to clarify this with your employer - if they are used to sponsoring visas, they would be pretty clued up about it. I got an email about this when I was on a 457 visa (too long back for me to remember exactly what it said) but it has to do with one of the obligations that both the sponsor and the employee has to fulfil in terms of being continuously employed and providing continuous employment. If I remember correctly, it became even more relevant for those who were thinking of taking unpaid leave. I think my old employer got caught out by it so they issued an email to all 457 visa holders advising us that if we were to take leave above a certain period of time, we would be in breach of that condition, so we would have had to speak to HR prior to going on holiday to make sure that we did not run afoul of immigration.
> 
> The same would apply to pregnancy because if you went on maternity leave for a long period of time and had a period where you were not earning, technically the employer would not be meeting the obligation to pay you 'x' salary and that constitutes a breach of their obligations.


yes ok, I understand where this rule might have come from...


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## nirmalgyanwali (Oct 16, 2012)

Thank you very much Maz for your information.

Actually, my company has never sponsored any people in the past. So, they don't have any idea about it. The positive thing is they like me and want to help me get settled here. 
I am reading many information on immigration sites and try to understand. I also found another information that i can apply directly to PR under 186 visa condition called "Direct entry stream employer nomination scheme". I have 7 years of IT overseas experience and skill assesment is already done. I think in this case i can go for this visa?
Do you have any idea about this direct entry visa??? 

If everything is ok, I think I can convince my company to sponsor for it.


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## zooter80 (Jul 14, 2012)

nirmalgyanwali said:


> Thank you very much Maz for your information.
> 
> Actually, my company has never sponsored any people in the past. So, they don't have any idea about it. The positive thing is they like me and want to help me get settled here.
> I am reading many information on immigration sites and try to understand. I also found another information that i can apply directly to PR under 186 visa condition called "Direct entry stream employer nomination scheme". I have 7 years of IT overseas experience and skill assesment is already done. I think in this case i can go for this visa?
> ...


Hi,

186 visa can take a long time..will your employer wait for such a long time? 457 seems faster though if your company is not a sponsor it needs to apply to get sponsorship etc. Probably you need to convince them to pay money to an agent to get sponsorship done...you have to tell them about the benefits of the cost, i.e. they can get 457 people in future too with one sponsorship


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## nirmalgyanwali (Oct 16, 2012)

is it like a double sponsorship??
The employer is saying I have to bear the extra cost it takes. So, he is not going to pay anything extra to agent. 
If my company says ok to go to 186, approximately how long does it take and what will be my visa condition during that time?

And in another case if i go to 457 now, can i go to 186 within 2-3 months? cause i already have experience in this field, i don't i have to work for 2 years for same company.


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## zooter80 (Jul 14, 2012)

nirmalgyanwali said:


> is it like a double sponsorship??
> The employer is saying I have to bear the extra cost it takes. So, he is not going to pay anything extra to agent.
> If my company says ok to go to 186, approximately how long does it take and what will be my visa condition during that time?
> 
> And in another case if i go to 457 now, can i go to 186 within 2-3 months? cause i already have experience in this field, i don't i have to work for 2 years for same company.


Look at this link -- 186 can take about 6 months... Client Service Charter

Not sure whether you can convert from 457 to 186


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## teejay212 (Aug 20, 2010)

Nirma,

Use the search function on this site to find out how long it takes to get a 186 visa - it has been discussed many times - but I believe it can take up to a year !! If you come to Australia on a 457 visa then after 2 YEARS with them your company can sponsor you for PR - this is an agreed duration I believe !! I understand what you are trying to do but experience will show you that it is not as easy as you think - Good Luck !! TJ


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## jayptl (Dec 13, 2012)

Does 457 visa leading to PR after 2 or 4 years after working in same employer??


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