# 457 Dependent visa conditions



## jas131 (Nov 9, 2011)

Hi All,
Seeking advice on behalf of my friend. He and His wife work for the same company in India. He had applied for 457 visa but could not travel because delay in Aus-project. His wife has got 457-dependent visa. Now his wife is getting an opportunity to travel. Question is: 
Will she be able to travel alone on 457 visa and work there? 
Let’s say, husband also gets his project and both of them travel to Aus and later husband comes back after finishing his project but wife still has her project going on in Aus, will she be allowed to stay back and continue work?

Thanks,
-Jas


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

The use of the dependent visa is fully dependent on the main applicant being employed in Australia. When the Project got cancelled or delayed, then the company who sponsored him should have notified immigration and in the event that they have indeed done this (if they are a large company, they would have done this to avoid any issues with immigration), then his visa would no longer be valid in any case.

I would suggest that if his wife has been offered sponsorship, then her company should sponsor her visa and she can then travel to Australia under their sponsorship.

In short, no, if his visa is not valid, then neither is hers. When the main applicant's visa is cancelled and he departs the country, all his dependents must also leave, unless they qualify for and are granted their own visa (independently of him).

Also, he should note that the main condition to being a holder of the 457 visa is that he works for the sponsor in the position that he was sponsored and that they pay him the salary stipulated in his contract. If none of these things are happening and he travels to Australia for the purpose of facilitating employment for his wife, he will be in breach of his visa conditions and that will lead to the cancellation of the visa and a 3-year ban for them both, which would prevent them from applying for further visas for a minimum of 3 years.


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## jas131 (Nov 9, 2011)

Maz25 said:


> The use of the dependent visa is fully dependent on the main applicant being employed in Australia. When the Project got cancelled or delayed, then the company who sponsored him should have notified immigration and in the event that they have indeed done this (if they are a large company, they would have done this to avoid any issues with immigration), then his visa would no longer be valid in any case.
> 
> I would suggest that if his wife has been offered sponsorship, then her company should sponsor her visa and she can then travel to Australia under their sponsorship.
> 
> ...


Thanks Maz for the info. Understood that dependent visa is fully dependent on the main applicant being employed in Australia. It seems wife needs to apply 457 independently. We will check with our company's immigration team internally. All 3 of us work for the same IT company. The purpose of this thread was to gather info on how we could legally utilize our existing visas.

What i quiet dint get is, if the Aus proj is cancelled or delayed, the immigration deptt be informed about it because its pretty common scenario with IT companies that project opportunity comes and goes frequently and the main applicant may be required to travel at a later date or for some other project. I'll make it more clear, our employer is India based and is having mulitple clients in Aus. Each client may be running multiple projects. So at a given time, client wants from our employer to place one employee from offshore(India) to client location for one project. Our employer initiates visa for employee, later client says that project is delayed/cancelled. But down the line say after 2-3 months same client has requirement in some other project and same employee who already has visa and fits the position can very well be utilized for the opportunity. Here, for the main applicant the employer hasn't changed, so why the need to inform immigration deptt in case the client delays/cancels the project?

My friend is in similar situation, he has a valid visa and for some reasons couldn't travel. His wife is also in same company but working for another client in Aus. Now she is getting an opportunity to work from client location meanwhile the husband is waiting for his opportunity. Both have valid work permits. So in my opinion, wife's work permit will simply go waste just because the main applicant could not travel before or along with her. Its simply waste of time, money and resources in re applying 457 as primary because sooner or later the husband has to travel.

Thanks,
-Jas


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Your company needs to inform immigration because the purpose of the visa was to enable the employee to move to Australia to work, in a particular role and this has not happened, since the person is still sitting in India. It's one thing to have a delay of a few weeks but quite another to not use the visa and save it in the hope that another Project might come up.

It may be a waste of resources and money but the onus is on the employer to only apply for visas when they have actually confirmed that the Project is going ahead.

I always recommend being honest when dealing with immigration. Some people are quite happy to go along with whatever the company tells them but you have to consider what happens to you if DIAC catches wind of what is happening. Ultimately, your visa will still be cancelled and you end up with a ban. Whilst the company can be fined or prevented from applying for other visas, I reckon they get off lightly compared to the employee who faces future visa issues through no fault of their own.


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## jas131 (Nov 9, 2011)

Maz25 said:


> Your company needs to inform immigration because the purpose of the visa was to enable the employee to move to Australia to work, in a particular role and this has not happened, since the person is still sitting in India. It's one thing to have a delay of a few weeks but quite another to not use the visa and save it in the hope that another Project might come up.
> 
> It may be a waste of resources and money but the onus is on the employer to only apply for visas when they have actually confirmed that the Project is going ahead.
> 
> I always recommend being honest when dealing with immigration. Some people are quite happy to go along with whatever the company tells them but you have to consider what happens to you if DIAC catches wind of what is happening. Ultimately, your visa will still be cancelled and you end up with a ban. Whilst the company can be fined or prevented from applying for other visas, I reckon they get off lightly compared to the employee who faces future visa issues through no fault of their own.


I don’t see anything unethical in this, until and unless below conditions hold valid:
1.	Valid visa. Must not enter after visa expiry date. In this case, valid for 4 years. – Check
2.	Working for the same employer. – Check
3.	Working under the nominated SOL. – Check
4.	Location. – Check
5.	Multiple entries. – Check

In case there is a change in client/location/project and do require visa to be reissued/transferred, I do trust my employer that they will take care of the legal formalities as I have personal experiences in case of H1 visa. I disagree that employer can get off lightly compared to the employee in such situations as they have their own image at stake which they need to take care of. 
Regarding the employees being quite happy to go along with whatever the company tells, it is up to employee to judge something fishy if the employer ask them to travel for a short project on a tourist visa. I guess the employer itself won’t do that.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

jas131 said:


> I don’t see anything unethical in this, until and unless below conditions hold valid:
> 1.	Valid visa. Must not enter after visa expiry date. In this case, valid for 4 years. – Check
> 2.	Working for the same employer. – Check
> 3.	Working under the nominated SOL. – Check
> ...


I do think that your employer does get off lightly compared to what can happen to you, Your employer will get fined and provided that they then decide to comply with the requirements of their business sponsorship and/or address the issues highlighted by immigration, then they can carry on sponsoring people.

As a business, they have the option to partner with other companies and obtain sponsorship for employees that way, by getting their overseas business to employ the person requiring sponsorship.

On the other hand, you have your visa cancelled, end up with a 3 year visa ban, which prevents another employer from sponsoring you, have to declare it on every single visa application, which will then most likely be turned down because of the previous refusal and all for something that in essence, you did not instigate.

To put it simply, the visa is there to be used - you CANNOT just save it for a rainy day and when you fill in your application, you have to state your anticipated date of arrival. If your circumstances or your employer's circumstances change, you HAVE to declare it to immigration. You can live and work in AUSTRALIA for 4 years but this is not a visa that you can just use to chill out at home and then travel whenever the fancy takes you - a PR visa would be better for that purpose! The way the visa is being used is more for short visits as opposed for actually living and working in Australia.

Ultimately, I think we are all adults and you are the best judge of what is good for you. You understand the risks and to be honest, no employer is their right mind will advertise that they are doing something fishy! 

And even in response to your initial query, it would not work because a dependent cannot be living and working in Australia when the main applicant is still back home, with a job offer that has been retracted!


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