Subclass 457 Visa

 

About the visa

 

This visa is for employers who would like to employ/sponsor overseas workers on a temporary basis to fill nominated skilled positions in Australia. An employee can be sponsored to work in Australia for between 1 day and 4 years.

There are 3 stages to complete for a work visa to be granted to an overseas employee:

 

Sponsorship

 

The employer can be either:

- Australian businesses
- Overseas businesses

Firstly, the Australian Employer must be approved as a business sponsor. In order for this to happen, the employer must provide information on their business and its operations in Australia. In addition to this, the employer must provide proof of the benefit of employing an overseas employee and also demonstrate their commitment to training Australian residents etc.

 

Nomination

 

The employer must nominate each position that they would like to fill with an overseas employee (457 visa holder). The nominated occupation is required to meet specific skill thresholds and must also remunerate at a specified level.

 

457 Working Visa Application

 

The prospective employee must apply for the Australia 457 Visa (Temporary Working Visa) to enter or to remain in Australia. The prospective employee must demonstrate that they have the essential skills and expertise to fill the nominated position.

With sponsored employment, both the Employee and Employer have certain obligations which they must adhere to, some of which are listed below:

 

Employee obligations:

- Notify the Department of any change in your circumstances
- Must work in the occupation you were nominated for
- Must work for the sponsor, or an associated entity of the sponsor
- Must not cease employment for more than 28 days
- Obtain health insurance

Employer obligations

- cooperate with inspectors
- ensure equivalent terms and conditions of employment
- pay travel costs to enable sponsored persons to leave Australia
- pay costs incurred by the Commonwealth to locate and remove unlawful non-citizen
- keep records
- provide records and information to the Minister
- provide information to Immigration when certain events occur
- ensure primary sponsored person does not work in an occupation other than an approved occupation
- not to recover certain costs from a primary sponsored person or secondary sponsored person