George Lombard

The tenor of the very detailed advice at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/faq-subclass-457.htm - released this week - is quite negative but worth bookmarking for any 457 visa holder. I would just add that the most important thing any affected 457 holder can do is postpone the separation from their employer, to buy more breathing space.

Cheers,

George Lombard

jamba

So this basically means that people should not go for this visa option when applying just to be on the safe side.

shooshed

Re: comment by Jamba - I wouldn't say that, the 457 is a good visa option in many instances, particularly as many employers won't sponsor for PR until they have seen one's capacity to work as a temporary resident first. And it was, but timeframes are now changing, much quicker to obtain a 457 visa, begin work and then go through the paperwork and process of applying for PR.

For many the 457 remains an excellent way to stay and work in Australia while waiting for the interminable time it takes to process other PR applications, such as offshore skilled visas.

JAJ

Offshore employer nominated PR applications are processed quickly, normally.

Pollyana

Just be aware of the pitfalls. Have a read of THIS in the Wiki

shooshed

True, but depends which country the applicant is from and their history - I've had a bunch of engineering clients that have had long delays due to obtaining police clearances, as they've been posted all over the world on different projects. That's hard to balance with projects starting yesterday in Australia, but can generally get them in very quickly with the right 457 application.

Just my experience

JAJ

Fine ... but these are unusual cases and employer in this instance should be prepared to offer a robust relocation/repatriation package, otherwise it just looks like exploitation.