joanc

Hi,
Please forgive me if I am asking questions that are already answered on this site.
Our son and his family are coming over on a 457 visa, he has a good job to come to, and is aware of the pifalls associated with this type of visa.
They were originally going to apply for a General Skilled Migration visa to give them permanent residency.
Can he still apply for the PR visa and can he do that whilst living in Australia?
Will they all need medicals etc again.
Thank you
Joan

Paul and Chloe

Hi...

Some friends of ours are just doing exactly that, they have had to get new medicals, police checks and I think they will have to leave the country when the PR visa is approved to make the transition.

Regards

Paul

joanc

Thank you Paul, does any one else know if you have to leave the country, whilst waiting for a PR visa?

jajnlis

Hi

I am waiting on my STNI visa decision However I migt be in line for a job soon whichwill mean me going out on a 457 first while the STNI is being processed. Here is what my migration agent told me on the subject....

"If you went to Australia on a 457, it wouldn't make any difference to the
> progress of your migration application, but you have to advise DIMA you
are
> there as they cannot grant your permanent visas while you are in
Australia.
>
> If you are in Australia when they are ready to grant, they advise you to
> depart for 4-5 days to one of their visa offices abroad (ie Auckland,
Bali,
> Bangkok, Singapore etc) so your visas can be granted, put in your
passports
> and you can re-enter as migrants.
>
"

joanc

Thank you for that, it clarifies the situation for me. Cheers
Joan

dc1

Hi, I came out on a 457 and put in for Pr within 2 weeks and was a PR within 8 weeks, as I knew I was going to do this I got police checks done when in the UK as it is easier, also got PR medicals for my 457 medical cost about 20 pounds extra but used the same one for my PR as for my 457.

Derek

NickyP

We arrived on a 457 and put in for PR sponsored by hubby's company pretty well as soon as the 457 was granted. The PR took a further 8 months and because the Pr visa was sponsored we didn't have to leave the country to get the visa validated.
Good luck.
Nicky

joanc

Thanks everybody for all this help, I will pass the info on to my son and he can decide what to do.
Regards Joan

chels

Yes, he can still apply for the PR visa while living in Australia on a 457 visa.

Yes, he will need to do medicals again - the medicals for a 457 are classified as being for temporary, not permanent visas. PR visa medicals are much more thorough, with blood and urine tests and a doctor's examination in addition to the chest x-rays. Medicals can also be done in Australia (Health Services Australia have the contract, only they can do medicals here).

Yes, he will need to leave the country if he applies for a general skilled migration - most people pop across to New Zealand, Fiji etc. We incorporated it into a trip back to England.

If he can, he should get the employer to sponsor him - if they think he's that good to bring over to Australia, they should be willing to sponsor him for PR. I'd be nervous coming over with a family on a 457 - it was just my partner and I in our case, so not too much upheaval if it hadn't worked out. My advice would be to put in an application ASAP - ours took about a year, it probably could have been quicker. He can start the skills assessment process now, and it won't affect his 457 visa.

decca

If your son could come to Oz on a skilled Migrants visa I would go for it, we came on the 457 visa two years ago, 2 years of our visa had lapsed as it took time to sort everything out in UK, we are now applying for pernanent residency and it is costing us a small fortune which our agent omitted to inform us about when we first came here, we need medicals, police clearance, we have filled in numerous forms, it is a real headache, we are now awaiting SBDC sponsorship before we can go ahead with lodging our application, I think the agent should have informed us about all this bfore we took the plunge, if your son needs any advice please feel free to ask, we now know all the pitfalls

h2oskineil

Thanks to JAJ (moderator) for this info.... I don't want to get the credit.

Restrictions on a 457 visa vs permanent residence

1. You can only work for your sponsoring employer. You are forbidden to have any secondary employment. If you are laid off, you have 28 days to find a new employer (plus sponsor) or leave Australia.
2. School fees in NSW (and possibly some other states - you need to check) - AUD4.5k per child per year
3. The time does not count for Australian citizenship.
4. Children born to you in Australia will not be Australian citizens by birth.
5. Your spouse will have unrestricted work rights but will find it hard to get career-orientated jobs as employers usually prefer citizens/PRs
6. Your children will be treated as "overseas students" if they go to university in Australia
7. As your children get older (especially once they turn 18), it may be harder to include them in a permanent visa application. They could end up having to go home once deemed "independent" even if the rest of the family gets permanent residence
8. You will face FIRB restrictions on buying property.
9. No eligibility for Medicare, other than limited reciprocal healthcare schemes for some nationalities. Health insurance will be more expensive.
Once you apply for a PR visa you are normally eligible for Medicare.
10. No entitlement to social security or welfare benefits. This includes benefits paid to mothers of new babies, and things like the first home buyers grant.
11. No automatic entitlement to permanent residence (PR). Bear in mind the usual problem is that the employer won't sponsor for PR. Not can't - won't.
You must also bear in mind that a death, illness or divorce/separation before PR is granted could leave some or all family members in a very difficult visa situation.
12. Some professions and occupations (eg migration agent) are closed to those without permanent residence.
13. You cannot sponsor relatives for permanent residence or sign an Assurance of Support for migration purposes.
14. There is no legal bar on obtaining credit (eg loans, credit cards) but you will likely find it harder to get one without permanent status.

Although in general 457 holders pay the same taxes as Australians (for little or no benefit) there are a few tax breaks available to temporary residents. The most notable one is Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA). However this must be negotiated as part of your salary package and is under threat as soon as you apply for a permanent visa. The same goes for the other temporary resident tax exemptions. Most 457 holders (other than those who are expatriates employed by multinationals, who are in a different situation to most) believe that the tax concessions do not compensate for the limited rights they have compared to permanent residents.

457 visa holders are eligible to recover their superannuation (less tax) when they leave Australia, but recent announcements on favourable superannuation contributions for those earning less than AUD58k per year will not apply to 457 holders.

NZ citizens in Australia without permanent residence or 'eligible NZ status' have to contend with the following from the list above: 4, 10, 11 and 13, plus no prospect of accessing any of the rights of citizenship below.


Advantages of citizenship vs permanent residence

1. Australian passport
2. Australian consular protection when overseas (but not in the country of your second nationality)
3. Entitlement to vote (this is an obligation)
4. Entitlement to stand for public office (subject to section 44i of the Constitution which forbids most dual nationals from being elected to the Federal Parliament - but not state parliaments).
5. Ability to leave the country for as long as you like and return, without needing a resident return visa
6. You cannot be deported for committing crimes, unless your citizenship is cancelled first. It's much easier to deport a permanent resident.
7. Naturalised Australian citizens can register overseas born children as Australian citizens by descent. Children born to PRs overseas have no status in Australia and need to be sponsored for migration.
8. It's possible to sponsor for some visas (eg spouse) without being usually resident in Australia
9. You can work for the Federal government.
10. Full access to schemes to support university fees payment. Permanent residents pay domestic fees but do not get the full concessions offered to citizens.
11. Australian citizens can live and work freely in New Zealand (and become NZ citizens after meeting normal residence requirements). Permanent residents can also live in NZ but this is dangerous as there is a risk of losing status in Australia as a result.

Eligible NZ citizens in Australia (who have not taken Australian citizenship) are excluded from all of the above except 5 and 11. Even the ability to return to Australia after leaving is contingent on Australia's laws concerning NZ citizens remaining the same.