WacandJill

We have recently been granted our 457 visa with sponsorship for the usual 4 years. A brief summary - we are aged 45 and 46 so therefore need sponsorship to get out there.
After joining this site, we found that the 457 was not a very good visa to go out on, and therefore took advice from this site and also our agents. We were informed that the ENS would be better, but again we needed the company to sponsor us. Our Agents, who have quoted our sponsors as being very good employers, advised us to ask the questions but were of the opinion there would be no problem. So we asked.
Email back this morning saying no.
Quote "From a business point of view the viability of sponsoring you and then relinguishing responsibility, is not an option"
We are obviouisly disappointed but not the end of the world as we can still go out on the 457.
Is the 457 our only option then, because of our age?

Does anyone think I can ask the company to perhaps pay towards medical insurance, as I think on the 457 we dont qualify for the full medicare cover?

With the company saying this, I am a bit wary of working for them, as they have you over a barrel - on the 457 if you dont work for your sponsor, you have to leave the country, or find another sponsor.

Any advice would be appreciated.

majortom

We are in the same boat as you regarding age (44 & 48) and our "last throw of the dice" was to find a sponsor.

We struck it lucky after we e-mailed some companies in Adelaide and got a reply within 2 days.

Result being that they are willing to sponsor us on a RSMS.

Surely the company that won't sponsor you could be questioning your commitment, after all you are willing to go to the other side of the globe.

I'm no expert, but could you not go on the 457, and as soon as possible start looking for a company that would be willing to sponsor you for a permanent visa.

Anyway, hope it all turns out alright for you.

WacandJill

Yes I think thats what we will have to do. Go work for them, then look around for another sponsor.
Seems a bit silly of them really, as you never know we may want to stay with them anyway. But of course, their point of view is that if we can their sponsorship for the ENS, we could work for anyone, effectively. Its not that they are going to pay for the application or anything, just say they are the sponsors which I presume just means putting something down on paper.

I am a bit miffed the more I think of it.
Senario - We work for them on the 457 for 4 years, then apply again for another 4 years, then another 4 years and so on. Each time costing us money - I presume we have to have more xrays etc.,
We then work for them until retiring age, then get kicked out of the country !!

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.
We will do some serious searching when we eventually get there.

JAJ

There are specific responsibilities for the sponsor in this respect. Some employers try to off-load these on to the visa holder - make sure yours doesn't.

You should get some of your own professional advice in this respect. It's also worth finding out if you qualify for ENS in your own right (there are other requirements as well as sponsorship).

What you've encountered is a common problem regarding ENS/RSMS sponsorship. Often the employer *won't* sponsor, even if they can do so.



Jeremy

George Lombard

Hi Jill,

Very rare to see a sponsor which doesn't shove the medical insurance responsibility back on the employee, good luck with bargaining on that one.

The problem I think your employer has is that once you're sponsored for ENS it's very hard for an employer to keep you. During the 457 the employer can withdraw sponsorship and you've got 28 days to get another employer or leave the country so they hold the whip hand. But once the ENS is granted you're under no more than a moral obligation to stay with the employer. You'd probably be wanting to offer them some sort of guarantee - something to negotiate after arrival perhaps.

Cheers,

George Lombard

www.austimmigration.com.au

WacandJill

[QUOTE=JAJ]There are specific responsibilities for the sponsor in this respect. Some employers try to off-load these on to the visa holder - make sure yours doesn't.

1. What specific responsibilities ? Where can I find this information out?

You should get some of your own professional advice in this respect. It's also worth finding out if you qualify for ENS in your own right (there are other requirements as well as sponsorship).

2. Where can I find this information out?

I will try to email our agents tonight, but really they should have advised us of these previously, as they recommended we ask the employer to sponsor us in the first instance.

I dont feel like I can kick up a fuss now with the sponsoring company, as they can just turn around and take the sponsorship off us if they want. I didnt realise it was so cut and dried. I thought that if they sacked my partner for instance, then we would have to come back to the UK. I didnt realise that they could just withdraw the sponsorship whenever they felt like it, for whatever reason they wanted. Presently wishing we had never applied for the 457 - it seems so unfair and onsided.

Bluerobot

Don't forget, the company probably wouldn't be able to sponsor you for ENS once you are over 45, even if they wanted to, unless there are "exceptional circumstances" as outlined in Book 5 - Employer Sponsored Migration. For people between 45 and 50, this is defined as: the position you would fill is essential to the operation of the business AND the business PROOVES it can't find anyone younger to fill the position.

Personally, I would want this sorting out before I left.

Best of luck whatever you decide.