Adam Grey

Yes it's possible and common to get 60 points without the IELTS. Remember until recently the benchmark was 65 so it's actually been made easier. Australia has always wanted to attract young, highly qualified, skilled professionals from places like the UK, Ireland, USA & Canada. The points test reflects that preference. They really do not care about the fairness of the system, all they care about is the system suiting their goal.

While it would be true that a person nominated by a start up business would be limited to a 12 month visa, it doesn't apply to people who already hold a 457, only those applying for their first or a new one.

Spot on. I would add 461 visa holders get the same concessions for ENS.

Your agent would know better than anyone else what's going on, have you asked them? It's not unusual to hear nothing from a CO about the application until a decision is made.

Care to share why? You simply get as long as they give you, they will state the timeframe for response in the request letter. If you need an extension you go back to them saying why and you ask for one.

Thanks Raul, I guess never seeing one means all our clients are being good boys and girls! Yeah the 'must not cease work for more than 90 days' situation is a condition of the visa, so must be complied with. Going beyond that 90 days is a breach of the visa conditions. The only exception is periods of unpaid leave with the prior permission of the DIBP. A lot of the problems that are arising is from the fact that the DIBP have minimal monitoring of this area, in most cases the applicant ends up asking the DIBP to cancel their 457 because they take an age to do it automatically even after being advised that employment has ceased and the 90 days passes. Some visas, including the 457 have criteria whereby you must show you substantially complied with your previous visa conditions, so breaching can cause future application issues.

Makes sense, I've still never seen one though. Maybe because we always advise the DIBP on behalf of the company rather than the applicant the correspondence is different? I give up trying to make sense of it sometimes!

Immigration will not call your bank or get any information from them. You're quite welcome to blackout any details such as account numbers, sort codes etc from bank statements you supply to them.

It's not unusual for us to send out 10-15 cessation of employment notices for 457 visas in any given month, never seen a letter/email from DIBP for any 457 holder advising about the 90 days. It clearly states it on the 457 visa grant notice so it's not something that DIBP have to advise of after cessation of employment.

The parameters are listed in section 50AAA of the Corporations Act 2001. The company accountant will be able to determine if they apply or not. Usually companies have a transition period where they continue working for the old sponsor while the new sponsor sets up SBS approval and nominates the 457 holders. The process only takes about 2 to 6 weeks.

Hi Daffie, It depends upon the business structure. Legally you are allowed to work for your current sponsor or an associated entity of your sponsor as per section 50AAA of the Corporation Act 2001. However, the likelihood is the new company will need to apply for SBS approval and re-nominate 457 visa holders.

I've never heard of any such letter. When your employment ceases the sponsor is obliged to inform the DIBP within 10 days of the cessation of employment, the 457 visa holder has 90 days from the date of cessation to find a new employer, apply for another visa, or leave the country if they do not wish to breach their 457 visa condition. The DIBP take ages to even get around to cancelling visas in this situation and it's rare to even get any acknowledgement when advising them that employment has ceased, it's one of those areas where the onus is on the holder/employer to comply rather than strict monitoring of the situation by the DIBP.

Hi Jac, I wasn't commenting specifically on your situation, more of a general note highlighting some of the issues that can be faced.

Should be worth noting that an agent is undoubtably a benefit, but your husband is still going to have to gather a certain amount of information himself for the application. If he's self-employed this involves a large amount of documentation including tax records, self-statements, references from clients etc. Agents can help with drafts and templates for references and statements, but if he hasn't kept a lot of paperwork it starts becoming an issue. http://Www.migrationagentreviews.com is the largest independent review site. I recommend only dealing with a MARA registered agent and the register can be searched here: http://www.mara.gov.au The company I work for has 5 MARA registered agents and a very large number of great testimonials from clients on the site mentioned above. Of course I recommend them, but obviously a very bias position. Go Matilda have good reviews on here and Alan has shown his knowledge over a number of posts. I know Mark Northam to be very knowledgable too and I'd have no trouble recommending him. Quick note on emails and speed of reply, if my own company is anything to go by the volume of general enquiries received on a daily basis is huge. Everybody wants tons of information and answers to very specific questions before they engage our services. It's often quite clear that enquirers are contacting multiple agents, asking different specific questions on various aspects of the process to gain the information needed without any intention of signing up. It's a very difficult task to prioritise enquiries and determine who has a genuine enquiry and who is just using you as a free information service. The one thing that I'm sure is common to all agents is that an engaged client receives top priority and a speedy reply to questions.

Send what letter? The condition on the visa is that you cannot cease work for more than 90 days, so you have 90 days from the time your employment ceases.

For the EOI the best advice I can give you is to double check everything before submitting and take extra care with claims of work experience, that's the section that causes the most issues.

Very informative, thanks for sharing. We've always taken clients through a different assessing authority so it's good to see how this one compares for future reference. Did they give you a list of dates and locations for the technical interview stage, or was it just an ad hoc arrangement?

The AIM application process itself isn't too bad and the assessors have always been quick and easy to deal with, the criteria on the other hand is extremely prohibitive and if the companies you've worked for and the positions you've been in don't meet that criteria there's nothing you can do about it. Read the guidelines on their website carefully and it will explain everything.

I would've personally asked for a second opinion. If you have over 5 years restaurant/cafe management experience as you've stated, you shouldn't have any issue meeting the skill requirement for a 457 visa.

A lot of companies and HR departments do not understand the requirements of the 457 visa program as the information on the immi website doesn't even scratch the surface of the actual regulations and policy. Look at the ANZSCO tasks and duties and information for the occupation of Marketing Specialist - http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/1220.0~First+Edition,+Revision+1~Chapter~UNIT+GROUP+2251+Advertising+and+Marketing+Professionals It doesn't say you have to be responsible for the overall marketing strategy of a business, it doesn't say you have to be at a senior level......Your position just has to be comparable to the ANZSCO description. Again with the experience, as long as you have 5 years worth that is relevant to this ANZSCO description you should be deemed as meeting the skill level. ANZSCO even specifically mentions 'Marketing co-ordinator' and 'Marketing Officer' as being alternative titles! If they wanted confirmation of whether the position would be suitable, most migration agents would offer an instant opinion of it in an initial assessment if they simply provided a job description to look at. A lot of companies including the one I work for will give such an initial assessment for free. All the best,

Yes, the policy regarding this was changed on the 1st July. How it applies, who it applies to and the circumstances behind it are varied and complex, there's not enough information in the OPs post to determine whether it is applicable to his circumstance. There's a great deal of misleading and inaccurate emails and information being sent around regarding this change, many applicants (and staggeringly - agents) are mistakenly interpreting it as meaning an applicant can still apply if they have completed 2 years with 2 very different sponsors and are going to be in for a shock when the decisions are made. The amended policy is to large to quote in it's entirety, but a small extract that may apply to the OP is: "There may be applications for the Temporary Residence Transition stream where the nominator has not been the sole standard business sponsor for the nominee during the whole required 2 year period. In these cases, work undertaken with an entity other than the most recent standard business sponsor may still be considered towards the 2 year requirement if the nominator can demonstrate that they have always been the employer of the nominee. This may occur in situations where the current standard business sponsor underwent a business restructure/takeover/sale and has therefore changed their ABN/ACN/name, which required a new standard business sponsorship approval. Instances such as this are acceptable provided: - the nominee is still working in the same position, performs the same duties, and has the same working conditions and/or - the nominee reports to the same management structures and/or - the nominator retains the same business name and operations, but is considered to be a new legal entity. In these scenarios, delegates may consider the same employer criterion satisfied if the nominator is able to demonstrate that they have remained the sole employer of the nominee, but have undergone a business change, which required a fresh standard business sponsorship." As always I'd recommend professional assistance for the nominating company and applicant in this circumstance.

Why is the WHV not an option? The age criteria states you must be older than 18 but less than 31 to apply for the visa....You're not 31 yet and they take a mere couple of days to lodge and have granted. In terms of occupations on the CSOL look at the job descriptions in ANZSCO for an occupation like Marketing Specialist and see if it fits in with your previous experience and qualifications.

I agree the website is extremely confusing. If you're from the UK or Ireland you no longer apply through TRA for that occupation, you apply through a TRA-approved RTO (Vetassess for example). Look at the 'Offshore Skills Assessment Program' for info.

It does happen a lot, although I agree lots of employers aren't willing to do it. Got to remember it's an offer of employment that's required.

There's a few things wrong above. Companies don't always have to show they're unable to hire an Australian (certainly not for IT positions) and nothing needs to be certified as it's an online only application. Essentially it's a 3 stage process: - The company either already holds or applies for a standard business sponsorship. This involves amongst other things showing that they meet training benchmark requirements, are lawfully and actively trading and have the capacity to meet their obligations. There's all kinds of different criteria depending on whether the company is in or outside Australia or has been trading for less than 12 months....Far too much to go into on here. - The standard business sponsor then nominates the nominee to fill a skilled position within their company or an associated entity. Amongst other criteria the position must be genuine, must relate to an occupation on the CSOL and must be paid at the 'market rate of salary' (which must also be above $53,900). For certain occupations (broadly, trades, nursing & engineering) Labour Market Testing applies and means the company must demonstrate they advertised the position and could not find a suitable Australian to fill it. - The applicant applies for the 457 visa demonstrating that they have the skills required for the visa. The skill requirement depends on the occupation and is defined in ANZSCO and a skills assessment is generally not required, however one important thing to note in your case is that the occupation of program or project administrator does require a mandatory skills assessment for a 457 visa.