bakingbad

I was an international student doing nursing in Australia. I got really lucky being hired by one hospital who's willing to give me sponsorship (visa 457). However I was very confused with the details regarding visa 457 and made a huge mistake into believing that I could only apply for the visa once the nominating procedure has been completed. Therefore I did not make a visa application before my original student visa expired (31/12/2015). The day before my student visa expired I actually went to the immigration office and spoke with one of the staff and was told to come back and see them if I still haven't made a visa application of leave the country before my student visa expired. So I did go back to see them on the 05/01/2016 and talked to a status resolution officer. I explained my situation and how I misunderstood the process for applying for visa 457. Then I was given a bridging visa E which ends on the 19/01/2016 with a condition for me to apply for a substantive visa no latter than 13/01/2016 and to report back to the immigration office on 19th. That status resolution officer seemed quite sympathetic and told me "the whole thing seems pretty straightforward to me, just apply for the 457 visa before 13th and you should be fine". So I relaxed. However few days ago I found out that even though the immigration department has given me some time to apply for a substantive visa, my 457 visa application might actually be refused as it's stated on the immi website that "Your visa (457) can only be granted if there are factors beyond your control which caused you not to be the holder of a visa and there are compelling reasons to grant the visa. You need to attach a submission to your application detailing the factors that caused you not to hold a visa and why these factors were beyond your control, and what the compelling reasons are for granting you a visa". After this discovery I talked to several immigration lawyers and agents and was told that my 457 application is quite likely to be refused due to above statement. They suggested me to either leave australia and apply for 457 offshore or apply onshore but face possible visa refusal, and also suggested me that if I am to apply for 457 onshore, I could get their help with dealing with schedule 3 criteria. However today I rang up the immigration department hotline and talked to someone who's specifically responsible for dealing with quires regarding 457 application. I told her that I'm worry my onshore 457 application might be refused due to that "factors beyond your control" thing. However she told me that I would not be expecting any issue with the application since I'm currently holding a BVE, which was given by them (immi) to me so that I can have some more time to apply for 457. She also mentioned that if my 457 is eventually refused, it would be due to my application not meeting requirement rather than overstaying and holding a BVE while applying. What she said kinda contradict what I was told by immigration lawyer and agent (who mentioned that my 457 onshore application might be refused simply due to not holding any substantive visa while making the 457 application onshore) So who do you think I should trust? Immi? or immigration lawyer and agent?

so just to confirm...when i'm filling the online application, regarding the Country of Residence's section, all I have to do is to put "Hong Kong" into it since this is my home country and the system will be able to recognize which country i'm lodging the application in (which is new zealand)? and in case I have to have a health examination and biometric collection, the system will simply send me to the office in NZ for the procedure to be completed? thx!

thx rammygirl! :cool: do you know how long does it normally take if I am to apply for whv in nz and state that i will seek employment as a nurse in my application?

oh i forgot, one last question. if my country of residence is Hong Kong (since it asks for your home country) but I lodge my application in nz, will that be a problem?

thx mate :smile: do u mind if i also ask 2 more questions? so I've completed my health examination (medical examination, blood test and x-ray) in march 2015 for my student visa, will i need have a new body check again for the whv? also I'm planning to do some nursing work while on whv, do i have to expect significant delay for the processing of my application if i do choose yes to that one particular question asking whether u'll seek employment as a health professional in oz. (btw i've got my english results, oz nursing registration already)

So I have dual citizenship from both hong kong and the united kingdom. However I don't have a Hong Kong passport, so I assume when I'm filling in the online application form this isn't going to be a problem? Also I'm currently in Australia and have tried to start the application for WHV (I understand we have to be outside oz for the first whv, I just wanna have a look at the application process) and the system said the information you given indicated that you are not eligible to use this service at this time. So my question is, is this because of me being in Australia or is the dual citizenship thing? (Passport holder from HK can only apply for WHV in Hong Kong)

I've actually talked to one of the agents and was told that right now, I have two options. 1. to leave the country and apply for 457 offshore, that shouldn't be a problem since I did not overstay my welcome for more than 28 days and I had never breached any conditions (apart from this one) on my previous student visas. 2. stay and apply for 457, but the chances of getting one is 50/50 as it depends on the case officer allocated to my case

thx for ur reply. I'll contact him later today, hope its not too late.

So today I've checked that if i want the visa 457 to be granted, I will need to prove that there are some factors beyond my control which caused me to not hold a valid substantive visa when I apply for the 457. I'm just wondering, is "having to wait for my nursing registration from AHPRA" a acceptable reason?

Aren't migration agents charged approximately one thousand dollars if I require a consultation or simply ask for advice?

I can't afford to pay such a big amount all at once at the moment...but thank you for your advice anyway!

thank you so much for your assistance! I'm planning on going to immi's office today to discuss the issue again!

Hi everyone! I was an international student who have recently completed my degree in australia and have been hired and my employer is willing to give me sponsorship. However I got really confused regarding the 457 visa and its application process and made a huge mistake into believing that I can only apply for the visa after the nomination procedure is done. Therefore I did not lodge an application after my student visa expired. The day before my student visa expired I went to the immi office and talked to one of the officers and was told to come back and see them if I still haven't applied for a substantive visa or leave the country. So I did and go back to see them two days ago. The lady in the office told we what I should have done and then referred me to a case officer (I believe they are?). Long story short, I talked to the case officer and was granted a bridging visa E with a condition to apply for a substantive visa before a certain date. So here comes my questions, 1. will this whole incident greatly affect the chances of me getting a 457 visa? 2. if it does, what can I do? Should I send an email to immigration now and explain the whole thing to them again? 2. when i lodge the application for visa 457, which bridging visa will I be given and can I work while on that bridging visa? thanks,