essex2sydney

Great thread - yay! So here's my story....

My Mum and Step-Dad decided to relocate to Sydney in 2006 (Step-Dad is a $10 Pom and had spent most of his life before meeting my Mum in Oz). I came out in September 2006 on a working holiday visa having never been any further than tenerife before lol.

Once I got here I realised how much I loved it and started to look into ways on how to stay, we had first thought that I could get some kind of family visa - how wrong could you get! I ended up working for a large Recruitment company and realised that the Recruitment Industry sponsored a ton of Poms and tried to get them to sponsor me which they wouldn't I then found a boutique recruitment agency who would in 2007.

I'm now at the final stages of preparing my 176 myself, (yes no agent as I can't afford it!) my Step-Dad is acting as my sponsor as he is a Citizen - just need to finish off a work reference and get my boss to sign it and I should be ready to lodged, hopefully by this year as want to look forward to getting it next year (fingers crossed!).

pumpkin blossom

There is indeed such a thing as a regional 457 visa.
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/26state.htm
http://www.immigration.sa.gov.au/pdf...egional457.pdf

Safin

oh indeed - I stand corrected - It's quite new yes?

What about

"Theoreticaly it is possible after a year on a rsms visa"

i still don't understand what that refers to

pumpkin blossom

The immigration pages say that you can apply for rsms visa once you have been on a regional 457 visa for a year, but my agent told me the regional 457 visa is near impossible to get here in Adelaide as they don't need to many people, and that the regional assessing bodies are pretty fussy here.

But my employer tells me they have been to immigration who have told them a job they have offered me would be fine for regional 457 visa.
I am waiting to hear about another job which would be better, but as a back up I am trying to see if I could get the regional 457 if I would just be wasting my time.

pumpkin blossom

I have no idea how new it is I'm affraid. I only saw people mention it first about 7 months ago.

Billy_NoMates

UK -> NZ 2001
NZ -> Oz Oct 2007 on a 457.

Applied for independent immigration July 07 and was refused due to my skills assessment not being 'up to scratch' even though I had a gazillion points for the visa. So came over on a 457 until 2011. Not compulsory in my work to have a skills assessment but DIAC say it's a requirement of skilled immigration. Asked my manager if the company would go down the ENS route and they agreed but that isn't until Oct 2009. I asked for it in writing which they will do after Xmas. If they pull out I have 7 months to get a skills assessment and hopefully a PR visa. As I am regional Queensland I was thinking (more hoping) there was some form of 'exceptional circumstances' I could go for. Although asking the company for a $165,000 pay increase might be a bit much.

pumpkin blossom

If you are in regional QLD could you go for the RSMS visa?

Billy_NoMates

ENS is much, much cheaper than RSMS by the proverbial country kilometer.

pumpkin blossom

Really? I had never actually compared the prices. Personally I am paranoid that I would get cancer or something terrible if I waited and longer than I possibly can so scuppering my attempts to stay for good.

Safin

still can't find this from the links you sent or anywhere on Immi.gov for that matter. Anyone can apply for RSMS right from day one on or offshore without having held a 457 previously.
Is there some concession given to regional 457 holders that changes the normal rsms requirements?

Why do you need a regional 457 instead of a standard one?

I may be missing some obvious point entirely as its late ish but I am intrigued as I am going for a RSMS and have been here a year on a (standard)457 and want to make sure we aren't missing some info that is useful.

pumpkin blossom

The regional 457 visa has lower requirements than a normal 457 visa. Normally your job has to be in asco 1-4 for both 457 and rsms. The regional 457 visa it can be asco 4-7.
It is actually 2 years on a regional 457 visa (it is late) when you can 'apply' for a RSMS visa, but nothing I read sounds very definate about the outcome.
Page 22 of booklet 5 explains it.

There was a thread a while ago all about this, I think it was called something about 'waitress sponsorship' or simular.

slippery30

Hi,

i am on 457 visa since Aug 2008 and about to lodge application for 175 MODL..my question is regarding timelines estimated for visa grant. My understanding is that it is quicker as compared to when applicant in "off-shore"...the DIAC site states waiting period is six months when applicant is in australia....am i in this category????....or it is for those who convert to PR from student visas etc.....as 457visa holders need to exist and re-enter australia at the time of grant..but the student visa holders need to do so( visa class 885 or 886)

thanks alot

Safin

ah I am with you now. Yes I can see why a regional 457 has wider criteria for asco codes. And so - i now discover - does the RSMS if you've already held the post for two years on a 457 and RCB agree its a necessary job regionally. But it says 457 not regional 457 so why not just get one of them.

Safin

God! can this happen even after the skills assement authority have granted your skills assessment? Thats like DIAC saying they don't trust their own appointed assessing bodies!

Why? DIAC fee for both is as below, so RSMS is cheaper.
RCB is an extra fee for RSMS ($250 in QLD) but skills assessment often needed for ENS which also costs $$$ (unless you' ve been on 457 2yrs, last one being with sponsoring employer) - both have their own hassles.

Billy_NoMates

Actually it's probably a bit deeper than how I explained it. Basically if I had applied for an assessment a week earlier than I did, I would have been registered...no questions but apparently the assessing body had an argument with the UK registration body and decided that anyone from outside of Oz had to sit an extra exam. The Oz assessing body said my Uni documents and employment documents were acceptable for registration but I have to sit an extra exam. Doesn't matter that my job is the same one I've been doing for 10+ years and is the same worldwide. The exam is a bit 'stupid' as well. It's an exam with 5 sections relating to different departments. 3 of those departments I have never worked in and never will work in but I still need to get 50% pass mark in each. A bit like telling a welder he has to sit an exam in TIG, MIG, needlework, carpentry and origami!! The questions are also very outdated and rather than use a calculator to work something out, these days we'd use the 'net or a computer. What sh1ts me even further is there is no mandatory registration for my job.

So basically DIAC said my letter from the assessing body wasn't a positive assessment but merely an invite to sit an exam.

Something odd there. I haven't looked at both for over a year, so maybe something changed recentlyish.

Interesting. Both are the same cost and basically look the same. Is there a minimum waiting period for RSMS like the 2 years for ENS?