gordonsmith Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 hi everyone. DONT COME TO OZ ON A 457. they are so restrictive. take an extra few weeks or months to get the PR visa then come. TRUST ME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 A lot of adverse publicity about these visas just now- a bit of 'vote catching' going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Have you run into problems with your 457? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Of coarse who in the right mind would want to be stuck with 1 employer. a 475 is not a visa to emigrate with. It is meant for an expat which are used to working for a company for 2 years then moving on obvious really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Depends what you want to do, doesn't it? If you want to permanently emigrate, then I agree with you Not everyone wants to do that though. Although it's hard to tell sometimes around this place, I'll give you that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 For some a 457 is the only way in. If you do have the chance of PR though then I agree. Hope everything is ok Gordon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Not everyone has a choice! The key is to research the visa, find out the restrictions and weigh it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcorners Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I'm on a 457 visa, have had no problems. They work for many people so saying 'don't come to Oz on a 457 visa' is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Hello, we came here on a 457 last July and we have found it a right pain the rear to be fair. You can hardly do anything on it! You are right it is so restrictive. It is great for getting here fast from the UK but its not great in the long term at all. We have just decided to go back to the UK. Partner hates his work and is being treated really bad and as most of the jobs here advertise for PR he has been unsuccessful at finding new work. The visa period is 4 years but there is no way we can stay here in this situation that long. We approached the company to nominate us for PR but got refused. We know this is because they do not want my partner to leave and helping it get PR opens doors for other jobs. I think this is very unfair that companies can refuse this. We are actually contemplating making a complaint to DIAC as my partner feels very discriminated against. Wondering if you could offer any advice on the process of this and if you think it is worth it. Or if you could point me in the right direction as to where i can get some guidance and help. We would never have come out here in the first place to be honest if we could have foreseen the issues we have experienced with the company. Sorry i know i am going off the subject here but i am very upset and feel very stuck here at the moment. I saw your post and it just got me going as i really do hate this 457 visa. I understood that if you were on 457 visa and you wanted to go back to your country of origin then your employer had to book your flights if you put a request into them. Is this right? I am now very worried as i have read somewhere in the company paperwork that if an employee resigns before the visa period in our case 4 years they will not pay for relocation back home. (if this is the case we are stuck here! How would get back because i know if partner resigns we have to leave the country within a month) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcorners Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Hello, we came here on a 457 last July and we have found it a right pain the rear to be fair. You can hardly do anything on it! You are right it is so restrictive. It is great for getting here fast from the UK but its not great in the long term at all. We have just decided to go back to the UK. Partner hates his work and is being treated really bad and as most of the jobs here advertise for PR he has been unsuccessful at finding new work. The visa period is 4 years but there is no way we can stay here in this situation that long. We approached the company to nominate us for PR but got refused. We know this is because they do not want my partner to leave and helping it get PR opens doors for other jobs. I think this is very unfair that companies can refuse this. We are actually contemplating making a complaint to DIAC as my partner feels very discriminated against. Wondering if you could offer any advice on the process of this and if you think it is worth it. Or if you could point me in the right direction as to where i can get some guidance and help. We would never have come out here in the first place to be honest if we could have foreseen the issues we have experienced with the company. Sorry i know i am going off the subject here but i am very upset and feel very stuck here at the moment. I saw your post and it just got me going as i really do hate this 457 visa. I understood that if you were on 457 visa and you wanted to go back to your country of origin then your employer had to book your flights if you put a request into them. Is this right? I am now very worried as i have read somewhere in the company paperwork that if an employee resigns before the visa period in our case 4 years they will not pay for relocation back home. (if this is the case we are stuck here! How would get back because i know if partner resigns we have to leave the country within a month) No, you can't just decide you don't like it here and get the employer to pay for your flights home. They will only pay for flights if they make him redundant. If he resigns, it's up to you guys to either find another sponsor or go home. Or, you could see if you are eligible to apply for any independent visas now that he has Australian work experience. The 457 visa does not prevent you from applying for any other visa so in that sense it's not restrictive. It just means you can get here quicker and apply for other visas in Australia and get Australian work experience. Why does your partner feel discriminated against? I believe the DIAC can only really step in if there is a clear mismatch between your partners working conditions (i.e. salary) and the working conditions of Australians in the same job. My company have a policy that they won't sponsor you for PR until you've been with them for 2 years on a 457, partly due to the July 2012 rule changes and partly so that if you do run off after you get PR well at least they got 2 years work out of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonsmith Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 this is only my advice, if you like it good, if you dont big deal. in my experience im rite, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 this is only my advice, if you like it good, if you dont big deal. in my experience im rite, My wife is a Nurse and came on a 457 to start with...subsequent advice suggested she would've got to Oz in a lttle bit more time but would've had much more options if she had gone for PR initially. It is useful for some people, but the conditions can make it difficult for others...it is far from ideal for a lot of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Not all 457 employers are bad!! Our experience has been very positive. Within six months of being here the employer was very happy to sponsor for PR - which we now have. Even though we could technically go and work anywhere, and are wholly unrestricted, we have no intention of going anywhere. There are people who choose the 457 route as a necessity, no amount of waiting in the UK for other methods of PR will get them it - and the 457 opens the very real possibility of getting that. I would imagine that many of those people take the calculated gamble - its either 457 and possible PR, or nothing. Its not fair to try and put everyone off, of course we are all are entitled to express opinions. By nature of life some are going to have good experiences, and some are not so good. But it is up to the individual to really look into who they are going to be working for, what the long terms prospects may entail, whether PR sponsorship is a realistic attainment etc. The pros and cons of the 457 are well documented. I think, unfortunately, that some come over here using the 457 as a quick 'I want to be there now' solution. I suspect that these are the people that take any job for any pay and conditions, pushing the worries to the back until they become a stark reality. I think I have probably seen a few of those on here.... However, there are also many success stories, of people who haven't found the visa restricting, who enjoy their jobs, get on well with those around them, settle, and then are either happy to head home having taken a challenge and won, or apply for PR in due time. I just think its important to show both sides... and the 457 is getting abit of a slating of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 this is only my advice, if you like it good, if you dont big deal. in my experience im rite, Thing is that you are not really giving any advice, more providing a one line statement without any further reasoning which may help people who are trying to make a decision or weight up the pros and cons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest76088 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 It might be more interesting if you explained your experience and why you had difficulties. Trust me I'm a doctor. BigD this is only my advice, if you like it good, if you dont big deal. in my experience im rite, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissofthegypsy Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Like Tickled, we came on a 457 and were sponsored for PR after 4 months. Works for some and not for others. You didnt really offer any advice though, thats like me saying, DONT GET PREGNANT! :Randy-git: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jit7 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Hi is everything ok Gordon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 The 457 is perfect for many. If you are coming to Oz to try living in another country with no intention of staying for ever, and many do, then its a great way to do that and has the benfit that when you go home you can cash in your super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 It totally depends on your situation. It is a temporary visa. Some people use it to move temporarily. Others (like us) use it to move to a job quickly with the intention of staying, and with a firm offer of sponsorship for PR from the sponsoring company (or the ability to apply for PR independently). Others use the visa to move permanently, but without the backup of a method to gain PR, in which case it is never going to fullfil their needs or expectations. The 457 worked well for us, and we are now less than a month from applying for citizenship, having gained PR almost a year ago. I do feel bad for those who are promised the earth by unscrupulous employers, who misuse the visa however, which does seem to happefairly frequently. Hope all is okay Gordon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 It might be more interesting if you explained your experience and why you had difficulties. Trust me I'm a doctor. BigD We came here on the 457 as that was our only option at the time. I will be honest when i was back in the UK i did not do enough research on the visa i just trusted that we would be ok on it and that my partner had secured a great working opportunity with a good company. Unfortunately its pretty hard to research the company fully when you do not know anybody who works for them and you have never been to Australia. The only information available to us was the company website really. Presumption can be your worse enemy i guess and now we are paying for the consequences. I guess its easy to think that companies who sponsor you and spend all that money on recruiting you will look after you. After a few months of arriving here my partner was moved location and as a result had a drop in pay and an increase in travel costs which put our finances into quite a big mess. We had just worked out all our spending and found a rental in area where we could afford and then all these changes where sprung on us and everything just came undone. At the new location my partner was then continuously swapped and changed around making planning a head very difficult (ie booking flights in advance to save some money) Although he is in the business where necessary changes are needed to be made to staff according to workload and productivity he was the only one out of everybody who was put here there and everywhere. Making life very difficult for him and making him feel very isolated and treated differently. He then applied for a job with another company in the same field advertising for the the 457. He had interviews tests etc and the job was pretty much in the bag but then when he went into work one day his boss called him and asked him about him seeking new employment elsewhere. His boss had made sure he did not get the job!! In a way he admitted this to him. Again this is appalling behaviour but nothing could be done about it. If we wanted to stay here he has to stay working for them and that is one of the main reasons why we are heading back to the UK. He is so unhappy there and its not worth staying here for all the unhappiness and stress he goes through. The latest thing to happen is he has just this month passed his 1 year service and was due a review and pay rise. Everybody he works with always has this and gets their pay rise each year. He has been told by his supervisor that the boss has told him not to do the review as he is not having a pay rise because he is looking for a new job!!! Now this is just the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard and i am pretty sure that this is unacceptable, but the thing is they seem to do what they want there. We have spoken to immigration and they have said if you request for your employer in writing to book your flights back home then they must do so. This is one of the obligations of the 457 including that they cannot try to retrieve any money from you for the recruitment and relocation costs of bringing you from the UK to Oz. I know gordonsmith you have said this is not this case but you contradict what Immigration advice. Please does anybody else know anything about this? As this is a real big concern not knowing whether we need the flight money as this is going to cost 1000s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 We came here on the 457 as that was our only option at the time. I will be honest when i was back in the UK i did not do enough research on the visa i just trusted that we would be ok on it and that my partner had secured a great working opportunity with a good company. Unfortunately its pretty hard to research the company fully when you do not know anybody who works for them and you have never been to Australia. The only information available to us was the company website really. Presumption can be your worse enemy i guess and now we are paying for the consequences. I guess its easy to think that companies who sponsor you and spend all that money on recruiting you will look after you. After a few months of arriving here my partner was moved location and as a result had a drop in pay and an increase in travel costs which put our finances into quite a big mess. We had just worked out all our spending and found a rental in area where we could afford and then all these changes where sprung on us and everything just came undone. At the new location my partner was then continuously swapped and changed around making planning a head very difficult (ie booking flights in advance to save some money) Although he is in the business where necessary changes are needed to be made to staff according to workload and productivity he was the only one out of everybody who was put here there and everywhere. Making life very difficult for him and making him feel very isolated and treated differently. He then applied for a job with another company in the same field advertising for the the 457. He had interviews tests etc and the job was pretty much in the bag but then when he went into work one day his boss called him and asked him about him seeking new employment elsewhere. His boss had made sure he did not get the job!! In a way he admitted this to him. Again this is appalling behaviour but nothing could be done about it. If we wanted to stay here he has to stay working for them and that is one of the main reasons why we are heading back to the UK. He is so unhappy there and its not worth staying here for all the unhappiness and stress he goes through. The latest thing to happen is he has just this month passed his 1 year service and was due a review and pay rise. Everybody he works with always has this and gets their pay rise each year. He has been told by his supervisor that the boss has told him not to do the review as he is not having a pay rise because he is looking for a new job!!! Now this is just the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard and i am pretty sure that this is unacceptable, but the thing is they seem to do what they want there. We have spoken to immigration and they have said if you request for your employer in writing to book your flights back home then they must do so. This is one of the obligations of the 457 including that they cannot try to retrieve any money from you for the recruitment and relocation costs of bringing you from the UK to Oz. I know gordonsmith you have said this is not this case but you contradict what Immigration advice. Please does anybody else know anything about this? As this is a real big concern not knowing whether we need the flight money as this is going to cost 1000s. Thank you for sharing your story lilypop - that sounds like a tough year for sure. It really is good to hear both sides of the coin. I hope things work out for you in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 As I see it if you are an expert in your field and a company needs you then the 457 is fine because they will make sure you get the right money are looked after etc. However if you cme on a 457 where there are many others who could come as well or they can pick and choose there is no real advantage to the migrant. All the advantage is with the employer. Its a way of turning over staff as well. Its a gamble, there have been many who have come this way and settled happily on PR but there have also been those that have a nightmare experience. If you have children and money is short, i e no fares back to the UK or have no money for health etc then I imagine its very very hard. Previous to joining this forum I had read articles about people being taken to the cleaners by employers, especially those whose first language is not English. As usual the gov looks into it but while they are looking into it, discussing this and that, people continue to be exploited. If you can take the extra time or are an expert in our field go for it, others think long and hard about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I largely agree with you Petals. My husband - who was the main applicant for our 457 and PR is indeed specialist in his field. They advertised widely across Australia before going International, and even then it came down to him and one other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 No, you can't just decide you don't like it here and get the employer to pay for your flights home. They will only pay for flights if they make him redundant. If he resigns, it's up to you guys to either find another sponsor or go home. Or, you could see if you are eligible to apply for any independent visas now that he has Australian work experience. The 457 visa does not prevent you from applying for any other visa so in that sense it's not restrictive. It just means you can get here quicker and apply for other visas in Australia and get Australian work experience. Why does your partner feel discriminated against? I believe the DIAC can only really step in if there is a clear mismatch between your partners working conditions (i.e. salary) and the working conditions of Australians in the same job. My company have a policy that they won't sponsor you for PR until you've been with them for 2 years on a 457, partly due to the July 2012 rule changes and partly so that if you do run off after you get PR well at least they got 2 years work out of you. Thank you for your reply Gordon. Sorry for hijacking your thread im just at a real loss at the moment and thought i could get some help being on the topic of 457's. Well we certainly have something in common we both dislike the 457 visa ha. I posted more details to my experience hope you get the chance to read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortlepuss Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 If you come here on a 457 visa, your employer agrees to repatriate you after you have served your contract period. If you are made redundant, they should repatriate you. If you leave cos you don't like it then you're paying your own fares. Personally I don't think anyone should come over on a 457 visa if there is any other visa option open to them - LAHFA is now gone, and it is too risky for the applicant. I came over on a 457 and my employer did the right thing and sponsored me - but I got agreement that they were going to do this after my 2 year contract was up. It was a bit dicey, and hated the insecurity, but didn't qualify any other way. If you have no intention of staying here, fancy popping over short term and have few ties, it could still be a perfect visa - takes next to no time for a company to organise and gives people the opportunity to experience the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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