imthedave

That's exactly what I'm thinking now. I've already got an agent handling this but of course, I can't get hold of them today!! ;-) Sent using Poms in Oz mobile app

As I said, we are a specialist foreign company and there are no local technologies even similar. It's our internal policy to appoint the most senior person in an organisation from within the Group as it's a trusted position. We also did labour test the market and really had no suitable candidates. I may not have specific qualifications but I've been in this position for 12 years, 8 of which with this one company. According to the requirements, specific experience counts as qualification. My worry is the renewal and the age limitation now. It used to be 50. Sent using Poms in Oz mobile app

I get why they have done this after so many abused the system but it's going to cause me a few sleepless nights now. I'm here on a 457 skilled visa under category 111111 CEO/Managing Director. The company sponsors only me for the 457 and I employ 8 Australians, including 2 new graduates. I (over) fulfil all training requirements for Australian employees. We are part of a much larger foreign group of companies who have a specialist technology not available in Australia (and is now widely used all over). I don't have formal qualifications as such but I've been working in this position with the company for 8 years in another country until I was asked if I wanted to move here to a local office I'm English, here with my wife and daughter for just coming up to 18 months and are literally in the process of sending in the renewal application. We've made the decision to settle here permanently and have recently bought a house (even paying the HUGE penalty of the FIRB approval fee of $5000 for permission plus the extra 7% stamp duty). The plan was to renew the 457, then go for PR then potentially full citizenship. Reading through the details above, it says maximum age 45. I'm now 46. I just wish that when they announced things like this, they made some points absolutely clear to those who are already existing holders and what any grandfather rights will be. It says the new visas come into affect next March so in the mean time, either they will just freeze all 457 visas or make them incredibly hard to get. I guess I'll have to sweat it out over the coming days until the dust settles and things become clearer :-/

My 457 finally got granted today. Applied in Melbourne through a MA. I'm CEO for a newly set up foreign subsidiary. I've been working for them for nearly 10 years but based in Asia then was required to relocate here. I've been in Melbourne since Feb 2015 on a 600 business visa, not officially employed here, just supporting as the position of CEO whilst still technically employed by the Asian company. I'm required to move my employment here now though. Not looking forward to the higher tax though ;-/ Whole timeline: Nomination approved Nov 2015 (basically as CEO, I submitted this on behalf of the company and nominated myself) 457 submitted and Bridging visa A granted Nov 2015 Request for medical to be updated due to change in requirement Feb 2016 Assessment in progress March 4th 2016 Bridging visa B applied for and granted April 2016 457 granted April 8th 2016 I'm from UK but my wife and step-daughter is Thai but all got granted. Other than the extremely frustrating long wait and being stuck here without being able to travel, there were no issues. I'm guessing it took so long because of my age (46) plus my wife being from a higher risk country. I am on a plane out of here tonight though for 2 weeks ;-)

Has it actually been 'assessment in progress' for 4 months? Mines been like that since 4th March although nomination approved 24th Nov and 457 lodged the same day. I've just had a bridging visa B granted so at least I can get out of here for a few weeks but it's pretty limited and they've only given me a 3 week pass to return I didn't think they took prisoners here anymore :-/

National holiday in Victoria today so no update here. My 457 has been applied for since Nov 24th. Medicals updated to new requirements 16th Feb. Assessment in progress since 4th March. I need to leave for a bit early April but can't as I'm on a bridging visa A. Does anyone know if I get a bridging visa B, will it affect the timeline of my main 457 application? I've been waiting for so long I don't want to have it paused or anything while I'm away.

How long has it been assessment in progress? I got a request for info on 16th Feb, submitted a couple of days later. Only changed to in progress on last Friday

Mine has changed from 'application received' to 'assessment in progress' I've been waiting since the lodge date of 24th Nov then 16th Feb they asked for the medicals to be repeated because the requirements had changed or something. Any idea how long it will typically take to do now it's changed to this status? I'm getting really frustrated with it now. I'm from UK so low risk but spent 6 years in China plus my wife is Thai so I'm guessing they consider me high risk now. I'm a CEO moving to Melbourne in an intercompany transfer. Company sponsorship and nomination all done last year, plus I'm actually in Melbourne already, unable to leave or do anything meaningful because of the restrictions on my bridging visa.

I don't know if it made a difference but last week I asked my MA to send an email asking for an update as it had gone over the normal service period for a low risk person. She sent it and exactly a week later, got a reply saying; Thank you for your enquiry. As I am sure you can appreciate, all non-citizens applying for visas to enter Australia are considered on an individual basis and against legal requirements set out in Australia's migration legislation. The timing for the completion of assessment of applications varies from one case to another depending on individual circumstances. However, please be assured that your application is progressing and a decision will be made as quickly as possible. Not a particularly helpful response from IMMI however the very next day after the reply, we did get the progress moving with the medical request. Maybe coincidence or maybe it really did poke them a bit (maybe also annoyed them too which is why they are asking for the medicals to be repeated...)

Got an update on mine today. Company sponsorship completed and nomination etc was approved early November and the 457 application for me was submitted on 24th November, with bridging visas issued same day. Been stuck as 'application received' ever since. Got a notification this morning that the application was being processed and that we need another medical. First time around, we only needed chest xrays which were all done before the submission went in and accepted. They didn't need the full medical. Now they want the full 501 medical. That's easy enough for my wife and I to do it in Melbourne (although it's $500!) however our daughter is still in Thailand at school. Back in October when we did hers originally she was 10 (limit is over 11, xray is required) and she needed the full medical as being from an 'at risk' country but NOT the chest xray. At the time, I really pushed saying I wanted to have the xray done because she was turning 11 in November but they wouldn't do it because it wasn't on the referral letter. Now, they want to have a chest xray for her. It's no big issue but it's just frustrating because where we used to live and where she goes to school is 3 hours away from the named hospital in Bangkok and the xray literally takes minutes to get done. Wish they had done it before when I asked! I'm from UK however lived and worked in Asia (high risk countries) for so many years that I'm guessing they are classing me now as high risk. My wife is Thai so she was naturally a high risk but they treated us both as low risk before (again, despite me really pushing to say we should have the full works done on the medical just in case) Guess once these are completed, hopefully that will be it. Taking forever though and I still don't actually 'want' to be here. I miss the warmth and excitement of Asia. Melbourne weather sucks! :-/

My 457 visa was lodged as 24th November and still has 'application received'. Bridging visas granted the same day. Im in a kind of weird position where my company has moved me here to found a subsidiary company. I've done all that as CEO on a 600 visa travelling to and from Asia. Once the company was formed we applied to be able to sponsor alien employees with me as the named person responsible for sponsorship, even though I am foreign and not employed here (done and accepted early November) now my own 457 is just stuck in the waiting loop. In affect, I'm accepted as the head of the company which is sponsoring my own application, despite not being employed here (yet) When the company was accepted we got a letter specifically naming me saying now I can proceed with the 457 application for me. I'm from the UK so considered 'low risk' (based on the Immi category of being able to get an electronic 600 visa) so processing times should be 2 months however my wife is Thai so high risk. That said, the migration agent said my wife's application is just automatic and mine is the primary. If mine is granted, hers will be too. Im also stuck here now which is really annoying and restrictive to my work because my 600 visa expired in January and I'm on a non-travel bridging visa meaning I can stay until 28 days after the end of 3 months from my last entry date (takes it up to April) but if I leave, I can't get back in unless I apply for anther 600 visa. i was told I could apply for another 600 but only from outside of Australia but the risk is it will either not get granted (because the 457 is in process) or confuse and delay the main 457 application) I'm not worried about the application because I'm sure it will be OK however I'm just a bit frustrated by how long it's taking and not really being able to chase it up as its restricting my ability to travel. Plan is, once granted, my company will just transfer my employment to here. I think think it's also been made a little complicated due to my work. I had to declare any period of more than 3 months outside my country of origin in the last 5 years in 'high risk' countries for the health assessment. I've spent the last 6 years based in Beijing supporting SE Asia and actually haven't spent more than 3 months in one place but all of the period within SE Asia bar about 1 month total back in UK. Of course, at the time I had no I had to keep a record so I had to go through 3 full passports worth of stamps to create a total record of all travel over this time in chronological order with number of days in each place just to show there were no single 3 month blocks in any one country :-/ We've actually been here in Melbourne for a year already on and off with the 600 visas but now I'm being forced to get the 457 because my head office want me to move my salary here and consider this a permanent placement (potentially renewing the 457 after the 2 year limit and so on....) I'm not overly excited about it to be honest. It's not all it's cracked up to be living here and I've never been so unhappy so whilst this application is going through to tick the box for my company, I'm actually looking to move jobs and get out and back to Asia ;-)

Interesting and similar views now and I think I found the answer I was looking for so thanks for that! Melbourne is very 'nice' but it simply isn't for me. It's too much like the UK, too slow and too much like the normal way of life. I'm not ready to do that yet, nor do I think I will be. My retirement is already planned out with our house in Thailand but I've got a few years left in me yet before I finally throw the mobile phone in the sea and spend my days painting my boat on the beach... Sent the CV off today for some posts in Singapore, Hong Kong and KL but as I'm not desperate, I'll bide my time for the right offer and at least ride the summer out here

Now that's something I hadn't considered and probably the most obvious thing anyone's pointed out to me. I have, to be fair, led a pretty hectic lifestyle for so long, being an expat in fast paced, exciting and exotic locations. Now, whilst still an expat, I'm in a country that speaks the same language and is no challenge. When I look at it from that view, I am now living the 'normal' life! So, maybe Melbourne isn't really a boring place; it's just not the place for me! Time to brush off the CV maybe...

For the last 15 years I've rotated between Asian cities like Bangkok, Hong Kong and KL with the past 6 being based in Beijing. I call Melbourne robotic and boring because it is just that. There is no energy in the city or the people. The mundane way of life revolves around going to work in an office and going home interwoven with the seemingly only 'done' thing to do of sitting in a restaurant or wine bar listening to loud people complain about their jobs. As I said, on paper, Melbourne has it all available however the reality for me is that it is just not exciting enough. I've spent a lot of time coming to Australia for work over the past 20 years, often staying up to a month at a time. I really thought I kind of liked it however I think the knowledge that I had a return ticket and a place to go home to clouded how I saw things. I never liked visiting Beijing when I was just travelling but I enjoyed it when I finally lived there. Conclusion for me is that Australia is an ok place to visit but as someone else here said, living somewhere and trying to make a home is a whole different ball game and it's not an extended holiday when you don't have a ticket out

I'm new to this forum but I have to say after reading these great posts, it's made me feel a bit better that I'm not alone or going mad. I'm originally from the UK but 6 years ago moved to Beijing for a new job. It wasn't my first choice of location but the job offer was great opening a new foreign subsidiary for a German company so I went for it. 6 years in Beijing was not easy but it also was exciting and a challenge. I went there not being able to speak a word of Chinese and with my whole life in one suitcase. Then a year ago the company decided to open an office in Melbourne and wanted me to head it up on the basis that it should be easy for me being an English speaking country (and them being German) I didn't really want to do it but also didn't really have a lot of choice so figured I'd give it a go. I have to say that after 8 months here I absolutely hate it. I love my job and and have it very cushy with an excellent salary package.Living in China is very hard and you feel very alone with the language barrier but in 6 years I've never once though of quitting. Since being in Melbourne, I honestly feel not a day has gone by where I've not felt like throwing it all in and handing in my notice. Thing is though, I can't really put my finger on why I hate it. I just do. I can't settle here, the people are difficult, the weather is really bad (I know summer is coming but China also has bad weather and pollution that didn't bother me), the houses are dark and poor quality - not to mention expensive! I just don't know what it is and it keeps me awake at night worrying what my options are Mywife (who is Thai) really didn't like Beijing and was quite excited about moving here but even she can't settle and often talks about missing our home in China. Why is it we can't settle? On paper, Melbourne does seem to have everything available. Good food,massive Asian community (to make the wife feel happy or even remind me of China), nearby beaches, good public transport in and out of thecity. It's not like we sit indoors all the time but we still don't like it. We have a circle of friends but still feel lonely and isolated. Again,for the first time I actually feel homesick, even for the UK and I always thought you'd have to put a gun in my back to return there,and even then I'd risk a flesh wound. My job takes me to cover SE Asian and my happiest moments over the past 8 months have been on a plane leaving. Even with the extensive travel I do, I don't look forward to coming 'home' (in fact we struggle to call it home) I feel really stupid because I've got a good job, well paid and full relocation package so effectively it costs me nothing to be here soyou'd think I'd be happy but for the first time in my life I'verealised the truth behind the saying money isn't everything. I don't really have a point to this post or even a happy solution so I apologise for stumbling across this forum while awake at 1.30am googling 'Unhappy in australia' and using it to just vent my feelings If someone knows how to make life in Melbourne more exciting then I'm all ears but for now, I think I'm simply bored with this sleepy,mundane robotic city but I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future.