Going PR from 457
 

I'm currently on a 457 but my company are happy to sponsor me for ENS (pr) ..

Are there REALLY that many benifits .. my position it definately long term and they are happy to renew my 457 whenever it needs renewing?

I'm approximately $600 a month better off due to the living away from home allowance and would feel it if i lost that

I know about medicare etc but we haven't really felt the effects of only being on the reciprical agreement and have got treatment for free at public hospitals and bulk billing doc's

I understand if they decided to let me go i would but in trouble but assuming i'm fairly safe in my job .. is there any other reason to move accross .. (i will one day but i'm thinking of dragging out the process and saving the money for a deposit for a house!)

Thoughts?

Re: Going PR from 457
 

It can be a personal point of view but you do not have a lot of protection on a 457. For me even though I was very happy in my job I changed over as soon our PR came through. We had to pay school fees here in NSW and depending on your income in the first year we would have been entitled to children and rent support had we been on PR.

The four weeks to get out of the country bothered me as well as making a perm future with our kids (who were older) buying a house and having to liase with FIRB. They are all minor points to some maybe but ones that bugged us.

Once you have PR it is then two years until Citizenship and the real right to come and go to Australia as you want. It can be long time and a lot could happen and force you to leave and not have the right to return.

Anyway this is just a personal viewpoint

Cheers

Edit

- you are supposed to have medical coverage the reciprocal agreement is not for 457 people - this is my understanding

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Totally agree with what you've said and its the stability bit that worries me.

Emily, my daughter, is only 2 so we have a while before we have to worry about that (plus up here in qld i dont think we have to pay anyway)

We have to save for a deposit for a house so that will be a couple of years as well so this is what i'm thinking .. take advantage of the 600dollars extra a month and try and put as much of it away as possible .. then move over to pr .. buy the house, get the first time buyers rebate etc

we may well just take the hit now, just for the stability .. but i can't think of any other reason that makes it worth moving over, at the moment anyway

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Depends upon your circumstance.
For me, I changed from 457 within months of being here purely for 2 reasons:
1) Stability for wfe and family even though I 100% trust my sponsor what if he died? (small company I work for!)
2) Ability to change jobs (trying!)
3) Entitlement to benefits that lowered private nursery costs for the wee one.

Bought a house stratight away so LAFHA never came into it.
Employer paid for private health ins so Medicare not an issue.

So for me, I am financially better off becoming PR

Andrew

Re: Going PR from 457
 

And if you got run over by a bus while here on a 457, your wife and child(ren) would have no protection here either - they'd be deported, presumably....? We've had this conversation as we're also on a 457. It's hard to arrange finance, few benefits are available, and security is zilch. We're applying for PR as soon as IE Aust recognise dh's chartered engineer status - assuming they do, of course. :D

Re: Going PR from 457
 

We have a medicare card which states we are covered by the reciprocal agreement and we are on a 457.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

so do we .. it does say something like emergency treatment only or something like that but we have yet to be declined treatment (my daughter has been seen at a hospital and a bulk bill doctors for free)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

This is the clincher i guess .. i have life insurance but i think she would want to stay here

It will just take longer to save a deposit as i'll lose the LAFHA .. but saying that i can rent a much better house than i could afford to buy anyway so its no big deal

Re: Going PR from 457
 

if we wanted to stay here long term we would bite the bullet and do the PR thing. The work situation for us is also quite stable and we only ever intended coming over for 3 years anyway so hopefully his job will last for that period, if not we move on.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

We are the same as you - on a 457 but we did negotiate before we came with the company that they would sponsor and pay for PR once we were here. We are going to wait a couple of years and then apply because the LAFHA payment is worth quite a lot to us. However, I am looking at doing a course in remedial massage at Uni and I would have to pay overseas rates which is about $7k a term and it is 18 months. This drops considerably if I was on a PR visa.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Cam,

Here are the things that come immediately to mind.
I am sure there are others.

You have a bust up at work and get sacked.
You have a bust up which makes working there intolerable.
The work changes and you don't like it.
The work changes and you can't do it.
The company goes into liquidation.
The company is bought by another with different ideas.
The personnel change and have new ideas.
They change their mind and won't sponsor for PR.
You want to work somewhere else.
Education is expensive / varies by state and age dependant.
No Centerlink cover.
Restricted Medicare cover.
The immigration / visa requirements change - they do regularly.
Sponsored PR visa categories are scrapped - some have beenin the past.
You can't satisfy latest visa requirements.
Any member of your family developing a health problem could prevent you all getting a PR visa.
FIRB approval needed for house buying.
Job restriction for non PR status will affect your family.
Someone gets into trouble with the law. Police records marred. Not good for visa application.
You kick the bucket - family can't stay.
Sense of belonging.
Time on temp visa does not currently qualify for citizenship.

A lot of the above events, if they came into play, would mean you have to leave the country within 28 days. Is that risk worth AUD 600 per year ?

Some of them would restrict how you might decide you want to live. We all change our minds over time and sometimes unexpectedly. Is that risk worth AUD 600 per year ?

My opinion is that PR is a valuable commodity and should be gained at the earliest opportunity. Unforeseen events could bite you in the ass and prevent you getting it in the future. Why risk it ?

Your decision. Hope this helps you weigh it up. :)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

also you wont qualify for the first home owners grant unless you have PR

Re: Going PR from 457
 

All this though, is assuming that these individuals desire a longer term/ permanent life in Australia, and not just a few years experience in another country before moving on ;)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

The point about PR is that it gives you options - lots of people on temporary visas would like to stay in Australia but have to leave, whether they like it or not.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

FWIW, I'd say it's definitely worth going for PR. I'm on a 457 now too, (also came from Birmingham area!) but would love to get PR, just for the peace of mind and security that, if anything did go wrong at/with work, I'd have time to find another and not be put on the next plane home (after 28 days). Also, you get child benefit, better medical benefits, etc.

My company are willing to sponsor me for ENS/ PR but I don't earn enough yet (has to be 160k, I believe) for them to do so. So if you have the option, I'd go for it in your place.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

You are very confused about the rules.

The company can sponsor you for ENS if:

- you have a job on the ENS-SOL; and
- you are aged under 45 (this can be waived); and
- you meet ONE of the following three criteria:

a. a skill assessment in the job plus 3 years experience, OR
b. 2 years working in Australia (including one year for the employer) on a 457 or equivalent eligible visa; OR
c. a salary of A$165k or more

The employer has to meet a few requirements too, including training for Australians. There is a general minimum salary requirement but in most cases it's around A$40k.

RSMS is an alternative if you are in an eligible area and don't qualify for ENS.

With respect, your future is too important to rely on hearsay like you've mentioned. Download and read booklet 5 to see the rules for yourself.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

I agree with everything Bix said except I think there's a mix up between $600 per year and $600 per month.

In addition if you don't use their offer to sponsor you may have to find that sum yourself. Don't know how much it is over here.

If you can afford the drop in finances and want to stay I'd put in the application straight away. I'm not sure how much you'd actually lose because you could join the property market instead of renting, would qualify for benefits such as childcare (which can be a couple of hundred a month depending on your salary), may be able to claim benefits for your wife and, most importantly, would both feel more secure.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Yes, thanks for the info here...you're right, I was confused. My HR dept know nothing, they tell me, of the requirements so I wasn't sure.

But I've only been in this job, in Australia, for 4 mths and I don't meet any of the 3 criteria, so the upshot's the same I guess. :(

Re: Going PR from 457
 

We went from 457 to PR and gave up LAFHA. This has not been as painful as it could have been because:

1. Recent tax cuts
2. I received a pay rise
3. Other half negotiated a pay rise
4. We factored in the benefits of getting the first home buyers grant ($7k approx), better home loan deals (although with the amount of problems we had just getting a credit card on a temp visa, who knows if we would have got a mortgage), cheaper private health insurance (which we didn't have before but will get now it is so much cheaper, and this will elimate about $800 a year in the medicare surcharge), baby bonus etc

In the short term, the loss of LAFHA should for us be cancelled out by the other factors. Long term - well, I don't think LAFHA is enough of a perk to make me want to live temporarily somewhere for more than a couple of years

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Hiya

If you have been working for the same employer for more than a year you don't have to worry about the $165k per annum. Just one of the below is required:

have worked full-time in Australia in the occupation for which they have been nominated for the last two years (and have spent at least the last year working for the employer who is nominating them)

have been nominated to fill a highly paid senior executive position with a salary of more than $165,000 per annum (excluding superannuation or allowances)

have had their skills assessed as suitable by the relevant skills assessing authority and, unless exceptional circumstances apply, have at least three years experience in the occupation. A list of assessing bodies can be found in the Employer Nomination Scheme Occupation List (ENSOL).


I know i will go PR as soon as I can after arriving on 457 but will make sure my OH is settled and likes it though, everyones circumstances are different I guess.

Cheers

Jo

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Hi Jo.

I am not quite sure by your wording if you are interpreting this correctly so just to clarify this point.......

The requirement is that you must have worked in the occupation in Australia for the past 2 years OF WHICH the last 1 year must have been for the employer nominating you. ie it is a total of 2 years.

(Sorry if that is what you meant) :)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Sorry me dear, wasn't explaining myself well at all, was trying to say that there was a way around the $165k if you have been there two years and presumably with the same employer for at least one of those years.

Rushed as I got up in the morning, I never make much sense on a Bank Holiday morning :)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Butting in Jossy but just seen you're in Bedford - how is the old place? We left there 6 months ago!

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Ooh its not changed hehe, we live in Sandy to the east of Bedford on A1 and its much quieter thanBedford itself. My other half is from this area but even he is up for a change :)

Don't think much ever changes, just as many people escaping from the asylum prison as always :)

Where have you headed out to? We can't wait

Jossy :D

Re: Going PR from 457
 

We're in Sydney - DH got offered a job out of the blue in Dec and we were here by mid-Feb :scared: We're on a 457 which is proving to be a bit rubbish really... we'll probably change visa once we've decided what we're doing long-term.

Good luck :)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Great, that was quick and all very sudden I suspect if you weren't planning it. We are heading out on a 457 first just to get us in to save argument at this stage, then will look at options once I know OH is settled. He has never been so its all new and odd for him.

He really is :scared: to say the least. Doesn't have a clue what to expect. We are heading to Perth (touch wood with final job offer this week or early next). I can't wait, I need to know to start doing things here but don't want to start in case it doesn't happen.

When you went out on 457 did they insist on a one way ticket or return? Sorry just been trying to figure that out and thought you may have been told :)

Take Care, hope you're enjoying it after 6 mths

Jo & Simon

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Hi,
hope somebody can help I've searched but can't find the answer!
My friend is here in Brisbane on Temporary employer sponsorship visa but wants to apply for PR Skilled Indep 136. We know she has to be Offshore when visa granted but how long for and how will she know when to go?
Any help would be most appreciated
thanks in advance Marie :beer:

Re: Going PR from 457
 

The CO will issue a pre-grant letter informing them that the visa is ready for issue, they then need to make arrangements to leave Australia (maybe to NZ) and the CO will issue the visa.

From reading threads about it I'd say a week or two should suffice. :)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

[QUOTE=neil&momo]Hi,
hope somebody can help I've searched but can't find the answer!
My friend is here in Brisbane on Temporary employer sponsorship visa but wants to apply for PR Skilled Indep 136. We know she has to be Offshore when visa granted but how long for and how will she know when to go?
Any help would be most appreciated
thanks in advance Marie :beer:[/QUOTE

hi
i went through this process 3 weeks ago. the co informed me that a pre grant letter was immanent. he asked for our travel info for grant letter, for as you know you have to be off shore to convert a 457 to a 136. we arranged to go to Singapore. we emailed travel details, and the co e- mailed our grant letter on the first day of our stay in Singapore. i down loaded it and visited the Australian embassy in Singapore to evidence passport and had pr visa put in our passports. we stayed in Singapore for 6 days, but you could do it in less, as the embassy visit only took 1.5hrs.
cheers, Dom :beer:

Re: Going PR from 457
 

I preume that if you have a 457 and are onshore that you can be onshore for granting of an ENS PR Visa (121 or 856 I think)

Re: Going PR from 457
 

hi
i went through this process 3 weeks ago. the co informed me that a pre grant letter was immanent. he asked for our travel info for grant letter, for as you know you have to be off shore to convert a 457 to a 136. we arranged to go to Singapore. we emailed travel details, and the co e- mailed our grant letter on the first day of our stay in Singapore. i down loaded it and visited the Australian embassy in Singapore to evidence passport and had pr visa put in our passports. we stayed in Singapore for 6 days, but you could do it in less, as the embassy visit only took 1.5hrs.
cheers, Dom :beer:[/QUOTE]

Hi thanks for the advice thats excellant. She was getting worried about how long she would have to sit in another country!
Thanks again
Marie :beer:

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Jayr, I believe that is correct.

ENS: 121 offshore / 856 onshore
RSMS:119 offshore / 857 onshore

I went from 457 onshore to RSMS 857 onshore.....no leaving the country necessary.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Sooo... summing up... you have to be on your 457 for 2 years before PR can be granted? But you can apply straight away? So, the benefit for applying straight away, and not waiting til the 2 years are nearly up, would be any changes in PR conditions that would not affect someone who's already applied?


Bix, does that mean, if you've applied for your 457 onshore, you can apply for PR onshore, but if you've applied for 457 offshore, you can't?

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Nope we applied for our 457 offshore and moved onto a 856 onshore so no problems there.
For us the advantages of applying for PR ASAP were simple in that we have 4 kids and no house in the UK so we had no LAFHA to deal with. Once we got our PR we were financially better off and my University fees are more manageable now (I had to put off my course until we got PR). 457 was fine for us in that it got us here quickly and Ian loves his job so there was never any question of him wanting to move as soon as he got PR. We had health insurance paid for by the company and had reciprocal cover with Medicare so all in all most of the disadvantages of the 457 didn't affect us.
Ian's company paid for the PR and 457 application process (but we have friends that had to fund the PR application themselves) and used agents to do the sponsored PR visa application. Most of our headaches were caused by the agents being pretty useless but all in all it was a pretty straightforward process.
Good luck
Nicky

Re: Going PR from 457
 

You DO NOT have to be on a 457 for any length of time before applying for or having PR granted

Re: Going PR from 457
 

No SK.

Ours was a 2 year 457 offshore but the 857 was onshore with no need to leave the country for visa grant.

Obtained the 857 after being here 6 months but there is no timeframe. As the others said you can apply right away.

Ours was quick - 31 days from lodging til grant.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Sorry SK, I've just realised my post 32 is wrong.

It should have read "I went from 457 offshore....."

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Hi all

I am new at this forum so please bear with me if I ask something already asked here.
A rather large company is going to apply for 457 for me and in their job offer they have mentioned that following the successful 457 visa they will apply for ENS. I am not interested in staying on 457 but getting PR as soon as possible. I am now thinking to apply to 136 myself in parallel to 457 the employer is applying for me. I am wondering if there is any conflict between these two visas applying simultaneously. One more thing which I concern the most is which one can be granted faster? 136 by myself or ENS by company. I wanna get PR before new citizenship comes into effect.
Any comment is highly appreciated.

Thank you

Sariman


Hi thanks for the advice thats excellant. She was getting worried about how long she would have to sit in another country!
Thanks again
Marie :beer:[/QUOTE]

Re: Going PR from 457
 

I'm no expert but I can't imagine DIMIA would actually let you apply for 2 visas at once - it just doesn't make sense.

Re: Going PR from 457
 

Hi

Post this question again in this part of the forum, you'll get more answers there http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32 :)