Diane Leather

Hi guys For those asking the questions about rights when they have lost jobs on a 457 visa... My husband as you may or may not have read lost his job for the 2nd time.. he has managed to find a new sponsor today it seems!! Just to clarify to those that need to know we spoke with immigration on our rights as 457 visa holders this is how it goes with flights etc.. The company that sponsors you has to pay for you and your family to return to the country that is on your passport. This is for one way flight only and no extra baggage or stopovers. You have to put it in writing to the company and include in the letter every member who needs the flight, the country destination and they also have to pay the cost of travel from your residence to the departure international airport. Send this letter by recorded delivery as the company has 30 days to reply from the day they take reciept of the request. If they do not do this then they are in breach of the visa conditions. They can either book the flights on your behalf or pay you for the cost of the flights this is something that has to be agreed by both parties. If the company pays you for the flights then they have to do this via a financial institute (bank transfer) and a copy sent to the immigration department. They DO NOT have to pay for rentals, goods to be shipped back or anything else. Also you now have 90 days from the day of dismissal to find another sponsor(this has been extended from 28 days from July 2013) It is not up to you to contact immigration of you dissmissal but the company that has to legally inform them. When the 90 days are up you will recieve a letter from an immigration officer and they will arrange a meeting or call with yourself to then decide if they can extend your stay. My experience with immigration has been good and they have been sympethetic and helpful so it is worth calling and getting advise they will also want to know it the company has not followed the rules of the visa. Dont be afraid to speak with them at all. Hope this helps you and good luck Di

Sorry to hear about your situation.. my husband is out of a job for the 3rd time since October on a 457 visa. This time it was different he had no contract and as we were so desperate for him to get another position on the 457 visa to stay we PAID for the visa ourselves.. This we will never do again we have been to the Fair Work Australia and as he was there less than 6 months he has no rights to have them for unfair dismissal or anything... just be careful of these companies as they are in our experience using this as a way to get short term labour... with no come back on them when they fire people. We are know longer worried if we run out of time in getting another sponsor (90 days) we will go back to the UK heads held high in the knowledge yes UK has its issues but at least they have protection for the workers... Don't get me wrong we love Oz but everytime this happens we hear about more and more people who are in the same situation and it just makes you think....?

To everyone that has given us advise, help and anything else Sorry we have not been on here a while as you are aware we have been under alot of stress..however my husband has now found a new job with sponsor!! He is on a months trial but he has been there a week and its a great company so far and fingers crossed will work out.. We also have out container and car now so everything looking up. Thank you again to everyone for all your support it just shows how important this website can be, The company that caused all this is unfortunately doing the same thing to a friend of ours and he has been there for almost a year! We contacted the agency who got us over here and they are actually looking into this company and may stop using them due to their practices! We will keep you updated on our progress... Di :biggrin:

It looks like we will have to go back my husband has lost his job as a paint sprayer and we have only been here on a 457 for 3 months..our container is still in customs so we cannot even start to organise anything..we really do not want to come out as we spent out life savings to get here (although we still have a house in UK) and we have to sell out car when it comes out of customs to fund our return..we are gutted, angry, sad, mad and everything else inbetween!! Di

Thank you all so very much for the advise, help, support and much more you have given to us...unfortunately we have exhausted nearly all these ideas now..we are going to see the immigration in the next week or two to try and extend our stay..but that is a if, but and maybe... Jules2409..we have looked at this list and it may be of some help as I work in customer service and there maybe something there? I will have to approach the immigration to see if I can turn this into an opportunity..who knows anything is worth a try we are determined to not go down without a fight!! We will keep you updated on our progress as you have all been so very kind even if it is a support thing it means so very much..I cannot tell you how many tears and swearing has gone on over this but my OH and me both say we have each other and we will fight on..!! Thanks again everyone and wish you all well for the future Di xxx

Hi anyone out there!! My husband is in need of a paint sprayer job urgently..he lost his job 2 weeks before Christmas and we have until end Feb or we have to leave which we do not want to do...at the moment we are in Melbourne but we would consider relocation...we have a 457 visa until 2016 and would be willing to pay for it to be transferred over to another company.. NO TIME WASTERS PLEASE... The reason for saying this is we keep getting replies from applications that they will be happy to sponsor but then do not call back...? Usual excuse is that they have already taken someone else on...? Thanks in advance... Di

My husband has sent his CV to you today thanks we would consider a relocation

Yes we have considered that we are seeking legal advice next Tuesday to see if they have to pay towards the cost of the return home and if we have any other options..our container and car has not even come out of customs yet we are expecting it next week! We did try and find out if we could just get it turned around but it does not work that way...

It has to be a paint sprayer I'm afraid...its a pain cos he said he would sweep roads if necessary.. Di

My husband and I wish we had looked into the company (sponsor) a bit more came over with loads of promises and got none of them and then lost the job...now he cannot find work and we have to go back to uk by end Feb...It turned out that the sponsor has sponsored around 4 employees a year and 'got rid' of them within a few weeks...We think we know why they do this but cannot prove it of course..so my advise check out the company for EVERY eventuality before coming out and GET IT IN WRITING!!

Hi Does anyone know if its right that a sponsor has to pay for the flight home if you lose your job...my husband lost his and cannot find another paint sprayer job...had some offers but none have materialised...We have till end Feb or we are told we have to leave. It seems that even if you spend your life savings to come out here it does not count..we are not sure of how we stand with going back and shippping our things back as we don't have the funds to do it..? Your thoughts and help would be much appreciated. DI:mad:

Thanks we have tried all that...lol I guess we have not been here long enough to climatise we thought maybe worth contacting the landlord I suppose he can only say no... Our fridge is only 2 months old and been fine when the weather cooled down it was fine again..? We purchased it over here and it was not cheap so should be up to the job... Thanks Di

Hi We have been renting our property in Brunswick East since October and we have no air con..! An agency got this for us before we arrived..can I ask our landlord to put in air con it gets so hot in our unit that when we had the 40 degrees a few days back our milk turned sour in the fridge..! We could not stay in the unit as it was unbearable so had to go out every evening to eat. We love the hot climate but not when its impossible to stay in your home...we did purchase an air cooler but this has no effect when it reaches these tempretures...we have also closed curtains hung wet towels up etc...your thoughts ideas please..? Thanks Di

Hi We shipped our Porsche with our household goods in one container which was 20ft. We had 50 boxes (pieces excluding the car) including our lounge suite and a large cabinet. Most of the contents went into container first at the back then the car was put in with blocks and balloon bags to secure and a couple the suite went on a ceiling shelf. You will need to apply to be able to ship the car DO NOT SEND UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS AUTHORITY it takes about 3/4 weeks to come back. We were lucky a friend shipped it out as he has his own business and arranged for CARGO ONLINE.AU to organise this end. I have to say they are brilliant and kept us informed of everything that was happening even when the container ship was held up for a week in Singapore on the way over. In total it took 45 days to arrive. The company also took care of registering the car, getting it through all the various customs, quarantine etc. There is no way we could of done this ourselves as it is a minefield!! If you need anymore advise let us know Di

My husband has a 457 as a paint sprayer in Melbourne but lost his job and looking for another job...do you have anything in Melbourne Thanks Diane...Marcus