Hi Deb
Thanks for your reply.
The "usual" route in your situation would be that as part of the Contract between you and the bank, they would agree to nominate you for an ENS subclass 856 visa (the onshore version) after a mutually agreed probationary period.
It is all done onshore so you do not have to leave Oz, and onshore applications for PR visas via the ENS route are said to be taking around 7-9 months from start to finish in WA at present.
If you already have a positive skills assessment and the Bank is agreeable, a top-notch Registered Migration Agent such as Alan Collett of Go Matilda would actually be able to get you an ENS subclass 121 visa (the offshore version) before you leave the UK. These can be obtained in about 4-6 weeks if the employer, the visa applicant and the Agent all get on with their respective parts of the job promptly, the meds and police checks are frontloaded - to save time - and so on.
If you do not have a positive skills assessment before you leave for Oz then the chances are that you might well have to spend 2 years on a 457 visa, working as a Bank Manager in Oz, before you can apply to upgrade to the ENS 856 visa (the onshore version.)
Please see the following links:
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856)
Employer Sponsored Migration Booklet - Australian Immigration
Please note:
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856)
To be eligible to upgrade to the ENS visa, you must
either have spent 2 years on the 457 visa before applying for the ENS 856,
or you must have a positive skills assessment under your belt.
It is possible that the Bank could argue that the need for a skills assessment should be waived in your case because the job is highly specialised. If they succeed in this argument then it would be possible to succeed in upgrading you to PR without bothering with a skills assessment and without waiting for 2 years before applying for the upgrade:
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856)
I'm not a migration agent, so I don't know how easy it would be (or not) to argue for an exemption in your case.
For the same reason, I don't know which ASCO code your skill comes under, which skills assessment body would be involved and so forth. Please see here:
A-Z Occupations List - Australian Skills Recognition Information
I think you would know if you had undergone a skills assessment, however, so I am assuming that you have not done so? Even if you do nothing else towards obtaining a PR visa instead of the 457 visa at this stage, it would be well worth your while to obtain a positive skills assessment as soon as possible. It would be better to at least get the ball rolling on that before you leave the UK because it is much easier to obtain references etc whilst you are still here.
The 457 visa can bring certain attractive advantages. If you do not sell your house in the UK, it may be possible to rent a house in Perth and for you and the Bank to agree that LAFHA (Living Away From Home Allowance) should be part of your pay & perks package. This would provide you with a useful, tax-free, addition to your take home pay. There are other tax benefits in Temporary Residence status but I don't know enough about it to be able to help.
I have mentioned Alan Collett of Go Matilda. In addition to being a Registered Migration Agent he is also a Chartered Accountant in both jurisdictions, specialising in the tax elements of migration to Oz. His accountancy website is here:
Collett & Co
I've a strong suspicion that if you had involved Alan at the outset, he would have persuaded the Bank that they would prefer to assist you with an ENS subclass 121 via from the beginning rather than getting involved with a 457 visa for you at all, though. Please see this thread:
http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migrat...residency.html
The main disadvantages of a 457 visa in your situation - bearing in mind that I am not a migration agent so I am not an expert in this field - seem to be as follows (in no particular order):
If you and the Bank do not hit it off and you decide to move to a different bank, you and the new bank would have to start the 457 visa process from scratch all over again unless New Bank would be willing to nominate you for an immediate ENS visa instead, which in turn would depend on the eligibility requirements described above.
If the existing bank closes the branch because of the current high interest rates etc in WA, the bank could make you redundant in effect. This would bring the 457 visa to an end and you would have 28 days in which to leave Oz unless a new eployer can be found and progress started on getting you a new 457 visa etc.
If you decide to buy a house in Perth before you obtain PR status, you would not be eligible for the First Time Hme Owners Grant of $7,000 and you would not be able to claim Stamp Dury relief on the purchase either.
I don't know what the rate of stamp duty is in WA but it tends to be significantly higher than in the UK in all States in Australia. Some friends of mine are on the 457 visa in Perth. Originally they were going to wait until they have PR before buying a house there. However, with interest rates at around 8.75% currently, they decided to jump in and buy a house, with a mortgage, whilst they could still get a fixed term mortgage at a fixed rate. I don't know what they paid for the house but they said that if the house price is under $500,000 then there is no stamp duty in WA for a first time home owner with PR status. (In this context, forst time owner means your first home in Oz.) There is a stamp duty calculator on this link:
Calculators - realestate.com.au
Obviously, if you are going to forego the FHOG plus the stamp duty relief, you will be looking for a quid pro quo for that in the package between yourself and the bank, I suggest.
Also, you have not mentioned your children's ages. If either of them is coming up for 18, you must be
very careful about ensuring that the relevant child remains dependent on you, either via being in full-time education or via only working part-time doing something that would not pay him/her enough to be able to survive financially without you. The reason for this is because once a child turns 18, s/he will not automatically continue to be deemed to be dependent on you for the purposes of upgrading to PR in Australia. The child's situation will be examined at the time when the CO is ready to make a decision about whether to grant the PR visa or not, which could be 2-3 years down the line. If the CO deems that the child is no longer dependent on you then the CO will insist on the child being withdrawn from the application for the PR visa. Unless you agree, the whole visa could be refused. So if either of your children is over about 15, you really will need to be very careful about ensuring that the child remains dependent on you and OH financially.
As against the above, an employer such as a Bank would normally offer you an attractive relocation package, which would include top-of-the-range private medical insurance in Oz for the whole family, a lump sum to cover the cost of removals, business class air travel to Oz and so forth. Some employers just say, "We will give you £x000 towards relocation expenses. How you spend it is up to you."
I think it is quite common for employers ike banks to offer 457 visas to start with because it gives both sides the chance of a trial period before any commitment to PR is made. If it does not work out, the employer is liable for repatriation expenses if need be. Please see Page 8 of Booklet 11, which is here:
Sponsoring a Temporary Overseas Employee to Australia
There is a reciprocal health care agreement between the UK and Oz, so you need not worry about that bit on Page 8, and anyway Banks normally include private health cover. The RHCA would cover all members of your family to the extent that any private cover may not do so.
Visitors to Australia - Medicare Australia
But another reason why employers in Oz like the 457 visa is because it ties the employee to the sponsoring employer. An ENS visa removes that tie as far as Immigration law is concerned, leaving the employee to look for a better paid job elsewhere the next day. Because of the tie with the 457 visa, employers are also apt to want to pay 457 visa holders less than the employer would have to pay a Permanent Resident who can do a diferent deal with another employer tomorrow without having to get involved with any sort of visa process in order to do so.
Finally, has the bank agreed to cover all of the costs of the upgrade to an ENS visa, including DIAC's fees, Agent's fees, the cost of full visa meds for the whole family and so forth? I'd twist a bank's arm to get them to agree to pay all the costs of the upgrade for me if I were in your shoes.
Food for thought, maybe?
Best wishes
Gill
Permanent residency
