Wombat84 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I'm on my second WHV visa (417) and have been working for an employer for nearly 6 months - 6 months is up next week. My boss has (very last minute) decided he wants to sponsor me on a 457 visa, so he has nominated me and I will also lodge my visa this week. My question is, is there a bridging visa that will allow me to continue working for the company after the 6 months is up? I thought I read somewhere a while ago that there is, but now all the info I can find is for when your WHV is expiring and you would otherwise have to leave the country. This is not the case for me - I can stay until May, I just can't continue to work for this employer. Also if I did get a bridging visa and, say, my 457 application was refused, how long would I then be able to stay in the country? Would it mean I couldn't stay until May anymore? And just to be clear, even if there is a bridging visa that I can and do apply for, I will stop working for the company next week until the bridging visa is approved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 It's not a bridging visa, it's an application to extend your work rights. Are you going through an agent? If you type in "Extending working rights on 417" into google the first document that comes up is the application. Good luck, my agent wouldn't apply for it for me as he said there was no point (so I had to stop working for 6 weeks) but I have since heard of quite a few people being granted this permission if there is an application pending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Grey Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hello Wombat, You can apply to have an extension of your 6 month work condition under exceptional circumstances. One of those circumstances could be to allow you to remain in your current job while a decision is being made on a 457 visa application. As pointed out above this isn't a bridging visa, it's simply an extension of the 6 month condition. The form alone isn't usually enough, you'll also have to supply a letter from your employer. These extensions should be lodged at least a couple of weeks before the 6 months is up, so don't be surprised if you receive a email going into long depths about processing times and the pressure it places on the system. As you've stated in your post, you cannot carry on working past your 6 months until you receive permission. Make sure you send it to the right place as well or you'll add extra time to the processing while they transfer it internally. All the best, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wombat84 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thank you both, that's very helpful Yep I'm fully expecting to have to stop work for a couple of weeks until I (hopefully) receive permission. How do I know what the right passport office is? I'm applying from Brisbane so I assume it will be the Brisbane office? I haven't seen anywhere on my application so far that states this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wombat84 Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Just in case anyone in a similar situation in the future reads this thread...I emailed my extension form and supporting letter from my employer to the Brisbane 457 visa office yesterday, and got a response today granting the extension! Woohoo! Now I can continue working until the decision on my 457 comes through If they grant my visa, I hope it comes through quickly...if they're going to decide it's a 'no' then I hope it takes a while so I can keep working here as long as possible, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Just in case anyone in a similar situation in the future reads this thread...I emailed my extension form and supporting letter from my employer to the Brisbane 457 visa office yesterday, and got a response today granting the extension! Woohoo! Now I can continue working until the decision on my 457 comes through If they grant my visa, I hope it comes through quickly...if they're going to decide it's a 'no' then I hope it takes a while so I can keep working here as long as possible, haha. Well done, that's great news. I really wish I'd had the same information back when I was off work waiting for my visa to come through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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