Danke

I was wondering if anyone could help me? I'm on a 457 visa and it looks like I might be made redundant in a few weeks- am still in shock! Is it true I have 28 days to find another job or leave the country? And is it be possible to change to a holiday visa and stay for a bit longer and then go home? Thanks so much.

h2oskineil

Approch another company to sposor you. I know others that have done this.

Evelin

No, it is not true.

If you can't find another employer during the 28 days, you can change to a tourist visa without a problem. That gives you more time to look around for a new employer. Did that on Monday for somebody here in Perth. They gave her a 3 months visa (we requested 3 months). After the 3 months she was told that she can apply from outside Australia for a normal ETA visa, which costs her only $20, whereas the tourist visa which she applied for on Monday was $205. If you are by the time you apply for another visa within Australia for more than a year you might be requested to do another medical, which sets you back another $300 (happened to another girl 3 weeks ago).

Make sure that your employer informs DIMA or that you get a letter from him stating that you are no longer employed with the company. In our case the employer didn't inform DIMA and we had no letter from the employer that the employment had ceased (the person had resigned, underpaid badly). Therefore the DIMA CO was a bit reluctened at first to give her another visa. Otherwise no probs at all. Make sure that you have enough funding for the time you want to stay without work and a letter from the landlord stating how much the rent will be.

cheers
Evelin

stevemich

Hi Evelin
That is really interesting as I am on a 457 and thought we had no option but to go if the position was terminated.
I take it from your post you are an agent of some type?
Many thanks
Steve

Abject_Rage

Evelin, don't know how to PM someone but can I ask a few questions about this...?

stevemich

Click on her name next to her post and it will come up with all the options...

Evelin

yes.
removed You click the persons profile and choose the option to pm.

Evelin

no, I'm not an agent.

I only have a particular interest in issues regarding 457 visas. Some of the 457 visa holders can't speak English at all and it happened that on another forum (in German) where I post and read, people have similar issues. I had long discussions with DIMA (email and phone) because I believe that in some cases employers abuse 457 visa holders. Many of them don't have the skills to enquire about their rights, some which don't directly have something to do with their employer. Examples are that they can claim back their super contribution etc.

Many visa holders don't even know that they have to be paid a min annual salary.

What I forgot to mention is that one has to apply for an alternative visa within the period of 28 days.

The Bloke

Evelin

Just an hint, if that is your personal email, it is not a very good idea to post it for all to see. If you want to give it to someone PM it so your privacy remains intact and you don't get all sorts of Spam and garbage emails.

The Bloke

Have you tried posting this on the Aust & NZ Immigration Forum where registered migration agents browse and post?

The Bloke

Click on the username you want to send PM to and scroll down to "send Private Message to ........" on thread, or in the top right hand corner you will see "Private Messages" in blue, click on it and follow the easy prompts.

Evelin

thanks for your advice but it won't kill me

Pollyana

Maybe not, but the forum owners do ask us to keep personal email addresses off the public boards

George Lombard

Hi Danke, Evelin etc,

The procedure is that first, the employer has to advise DIMA that the employment has terminated. They have an obligation to do this within five working days of the cessation of employment. At that time the visa is subject to cancellation - you can see the obligation listed at page 9 of form 1196: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1196.pdf .

It's worth noting that the day of being made redundant might not be the date of ceasing employment, if there are recreation leave or other entitlements outstanding then the starting date for the employer to give notice to DIMA might be some time later. And it could be considerably later. In many cases, for example, employers will be permitted to give three months leave for a variety of purposes and although it's not worth getting pregnant for, maternity leave could be allowed to extend even longer. This is a tricky area so only those supported by agents would be able to take advantage of this. You could easily go wrong if doing it yourself.

Assuming, however, that the employer does notify DIMA, then the visa holder is guilty of a technical breach of condition 8107 which applies to a 457 visa, from the moment of ceasing employment. DIMA would generally not contemplate cancellation during the initial 28 days unless they had some information putting either the employer or employee in a particularly negative light. As far as I know, the 28 day limit is not written down in any legal or binding policy document but is rather the period that a case officer is generally going to regard as reasonable in either finding a new employer or leaving Australia. However there are many cases where the 28 day limit is not insisted on - again, to explore this properly, you'd need to talk to an agent. I think the best advice you can give anyone in this situation is therefore not to panic and explore options with an agent, keeping on the very best of terms with your former employer as you may want their help in extending the stay.

And yes, if all else fails, you can apply for a visitor visa.

Cheers

George Lombard

www.austimmigration.com.au

Bix

The obligations of the employer are summarised here
http://www.dimia.gov.au/skilled/skil...s-employer.htm
and I'm sure will be detailed in DIMIA booklet 11.

Note the first one.......
ensure that the cost of return travel for an employee (and accompanying family member) is met to return them to their home country
He is obligated to pay your and your families travel cost.
If you take a holiday visa will this quash that entitlement ?
I don't know the answer but it's something you need to watch.