extrobe

Hi there,

this isn't intended as a 'how long will my visa take' question, as I know nobody knows the answer to that.

Instead, I wondered if anyone had any views on what components are driving the huge increase in 457 visas from 55 days to 7 months (in a very short space of time)

I know there have been many changes - including culling the lists of approved roles, and mandating police clearance for everyone.
But is there something else - perhaps hidden from plain site - which might be holding approvals back, such as intentionally frustrating the process to prevent more application before next year's change?

Only ask as our final application went in this week - our agent has always said it was a pretty straightforward application - no skills tests required - police checks are done - occupation still on MLTSSL - but he's still thinking it's going to take 4-7 months.
My previous assumption was that the increase was being driven by people having to adapt to the change (get extra paperwork, re-submit under different occupations etc) - but getting a little concerned now.

verystormy

It is mainly the changes which have caused a huge amount of extra work - a lot of cases which were about to go through have had to be reassessed and a lot of people who had already applied were suddenly no longer eligible and due refunds.


At the same time, there are budget cuts going on to the department with the government announcing it wants to out source a lot to private companies.

Pollyana

Agreed, but also it should be noted tat there have always been some 457s that have taken months to process - any complication with the application, or even if the company needed to provide more info, anything can blow out the timeline to longer than usual. We've seen 457s on here come through in a matter of a couple of weeks, but also we've seen them take months and months on occasion.

extrobe

Thanks both.

It's certainly taken some time to get to this stage - a good 3 months+ for the employer to become an approved business (their previous approval had lapsed) and for the role nomination.

Be interesting to see what happens with the final phase now the application is in.

extrobe

Well, processing times are updated - back to 2-6 months, which I think is broadly where they were earlier in the year. Hopefully a good omen for anyone waiting on a decision!

Am I right in thinking the first you'll know that anyone has even looked at it is when you're notified about the outcome (assuming they don't request further info)?

Pollyana

Quite probably yes, if they don't need to contact you at all for anything extra then the first you'll hear is the decision.