Advice for 457 Sponsorship Visa for Motor Technician/Mechanic with Agency

[Sparksy1979]

Hi everyone, this is my first post, hoping someone out there might be able to offer support and advice.

 

After our second trip to Australia over Christmas my husband and I are now ready to make the move using his skilled trade as a motor technician/mechanic.

 

We have signed on with an agency and have been advised that the quickest way would be down the route of a 457 sponsorship visa. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If so how long did everything take? From signing onto an agency to flying out? We have said we are open to most areas but are slightly restricted as my husband would like to stay with the same brand of car (Audi) he has worked on for the past ten years because he feels more comfortable but is open to sister brands like VW.

 

Unfortunately time isn't on our side as my husband is now in his mid 40's but we don't regret waiting as we both wanted to make sure the move was right for both of us and have been able to and enjoyed trying and testing a number of areas.

 

We are a little worried though about the visa process and not being educated on the process we are unsure what to expect. Is there a chance we may not get in? or does that not normally happen if you secure a contact with a company out there?

 

If anyone can offer advice from a similar experience it would be appreciated, you don't want to get your hopes up too much but after deciding to go for it, at this point if anything went wrong we would be devastated.

[VERYSTORMY]

Firstly, if you are taking migration advice, make sure the agent is MARA registered.

 

A 457 is a company sponsored visa, so your husband would need to secure a job with a company who is willing and able to sponsor.

 

The thing to note is that this is a temporary visa normally for up to 4 years. It is tied to the employer so that if your husband left that employer or was made redundant he would have 90 days to find another company willing and able to take over the sponsorship or you would all have to leave the country. As a result i normally dont recomend it for families.

 

However, if he is 45 or older it is normally too difficult to get enough points to apply for a permanent visa so this may be the only realistic option. What i would advise is that if he secures a job offering spnsorship, he negotiates to have the company sponsor for permanent residence once you are all here. It would be important to do this quickly as getting it over the age of 50 would be dificult.

 

The hard part with a 457 though is securing a job offer and all he can do is apply for jobs. He may be worth contacting Audi service centres in Oz

[Rupert]

Hi everyone, this is my first post, hoping someone out there might be able to offer support and advice.

 

After our second trip to Australia over Christmas my husband and I are now ready to make the move using his skilled trade as a motor technician/mechanic.

 

We have signed on with an agency and have been advised that the quickest way would be down the route of a 457 sponsorship visa. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If so how long did everything take? From signing onto an agency to flying out? We have said we are open to most areas but are slightly restricted as my husband would like to stay with the same brand of car (Audi) he has worked on for the past ten years because he feels more comfortable but is open to sister brands like VW.

 

Unfortunately time isn't on our side as my husband is now in his mid 40's but we don't regret waiting as we both wanted to make sure the move was right for both of us and have been able to and enjoyed trying and testing a number of areas.

 

We are a little worried though about the visa process and not being educated on the process we are unsure what to expect. Is there a chance we may not get in? or does that not normally happen if you secure a contact with a company out there?

 

If anyone can offer advice from a similar experience it would be appreciated, you don't want to get your hopes up too much but after deciding to go for it, at this point if anything went wrong we would be devastated.

 

So you have sighed up with an agent but what are you doing about finding a job? What agency have you signed up and have you handed any money over? Don't forget the simple rule in life NEVER pay anyone who says they will find you a job, it applies here too. There are these companies out there which I call the "selling dreams" companies, you don't want to get involved with one of them.

 

With your husband in his mid 40s, the 457 visa is in any case a terrible option for you. Why would you want a quick visa if it is a terrible visa for you? If you want to move permanently then you need to find a permanent visa, although if your husband is 45 already then this will be very hard. *Can you clarify his age, it is very, very important.*

 

If he is not yet 45, then you need to stop wasting time wondering about 457 visas and get cracking with skilled migration.

 

If he is already 45 then he is unlikely to have enough points for skilled migration and he would need to find an employer sponsor. You would hopefully find one that would sponsor for PR straight away. If not you have to hope that you will find one that will sponsor for a PR visa before he is 50. After 50 it becomes harder again, impossible in fact if he is not earning over $130k per year, which I don't think mechanics would be?

 

So in summary, certainly you should not be getting hopes up, you have an uphill battle ahead here and may well have left it too late.

 

Can you start by confirming his age? And then perhaps your age and occupation too?

[MaggieMay24]

As VS and Rupert have said, your husband first needs to find a job before he can do anything about a 457 visa. Finding a job from overseas can be very difficult as rules are changing to make it more difficult for companies to sponsor without first confirming they can't hire an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Motor Mechanic is an occupation that requires evidence of Labour Market Testing.

 

So before you get your hopes up and certainly before giving money to any agency, I'd suggest you look at job opportunities.

[Sparksy1979]

Thank you everyone for your advice. In answer to your questions, after asking around, we have signed on with a reputable agency, techs on the move, we realized pretty quickly some of the agency's out there do not have anybody but their own interests at heart.

 

We knew this particular visa came with restrictions, having a couple of friends who had gone over, both with different circumstances, ages, areas, family situations and year of migration, only thing in common is the motor trade.

 

My husband is 44, I am 10 years younger and although my occupation of medical administrator is mentioned somewhere its not a qualifier and isn't quite the equivalent of what my current job entails and its actually just the two of us, we don't have kids.

 

Thank you for the information VERYSTORMY, the agency have said to my husband with his skills and experience they are pretty confident they will find him something in an area we would both be happy to settle in and have been talking to a few dealerships, I wasn't aware of the permanent residency situation. I thought you could only apply after 2 years, are you able to negotiate this earlier with the employer? How does that work?

 

We are also not been leaving everything to the agency and have been actively looking ourselves for employers out there willing to sponsor. We have discussed the possibility of alternative visa's with the agency but at this present moment in time until we know the outcome of current negations are holding back.

 

Unfortunately the timing to move forward hasn't been right until now, maybe it is too late and we have missed our window however we have had to deal with some personal circumstances which where more important to overcome first.

[VERYSTORMY]

The first thing i will say is the techs on the move do not appear to be MARA registered and so do not rely on advice regards the migration aspect. I also would not pay money for them to help find a job - that is something you can do yourself.

 

At 44 years old, it may be possible to still go for a PR visa, depending when his birthday is. If he has at least 6 months then he could potentially with help get it in before he is 45 and loses too many points. It may be worth speaking to a good MARA registered agency such as Go Matilda who will do an initial assessment for free. If they think they could get the PR done in time, then that would be the way forward

 

No, you do not have to be on a 457 for two years to apply for PR. He can even apply for PR now if he could get it done before 45. Company sponsored PR is available at any time. All the two year rule does it take away the need for a skills assessment. So, if he did it quickly he would need a skills assessment. If he can find a job, then he needs to ask if they would be willing to sponsor PR as well as the 457 and if so when.

[Suzukiscottie]

Sounds like the agency are saying all the right things to hook you in. Recruitment agencies work by having heaps of people on their books. All of them looking for work and opportunities. And the agency make money from the employers by sending lots of "screened applicants" for jobs in the hope that the employer will select just one of them. So employers face additional costs by recruiting through an agency rather than from the pool of job seekers directly. I'm 44 and in my 4th year of a 457. If I'd have had more knowledge of the system at the time I'd have realised then that at my age, a 457 wasn't the correct visa (here as a family of 5). The 457 is called a temporary visa for a reason; there is no certainty of anything behind it and that has always been lingering away in our thoughts for the past 4 years. We've now started the application for PR; should have done it years ago!

 

If you can afford it, I'd speak to an independant migration agent with a view to making your own application for PR now, rather than temporary 457 through a recruitment agency.

 

I'd be surprised if a skilled motor technician couldn't get a job somewhere in the industry fairly quickly. PR would then allow the tech to move from job to job until the right job is found at some stage. 457 restricts the flexibility to move.

[Rupert]

Thank you everyone for your advice. In answer to your questions, after asking around, we have signed on with a reputable agency, techs on the move, we realized pretty quickly some of the agency's out there do not have anybody but their own interests at heart.

 

We knew this particular visa came with restrictions, having a couple of friends who had gone over, both with different circumstances, ages, areas, family situations and year of migration, only thing in common is the motor trade.

 

My husband is 44, I am 10 years younger and although my occupation of medical administrator is mentioned somewhere its not a qualifier and isn't quite the equivalent of what my current job entails and its actually just the two of us, we don't have kids.

 

Thank you for the information VERYSTORMY, the agency have said to my husband with his skills and experience they are pretty confident they will find him something in an area we would both be happy to settle in and have been talking to a few dealerships, I wasn't aware of the permanent residency situation. I thought you could only apply after 2 years, are you able to negotiate this earlier with the employer? How does that work?

 

We are also not been leaving everything to the agency and have been actively looking ourselves for employers out there willing to sponsor. We have discussed the possibility of alternative visa's with the agency but at this present moment in time until we know the outcome of current negations are holding back.

 

Unfortunately the timing to move forward hasn't been right until now, maybe it is too late and we have missed our window however we have had to deal with some personal circumstances which where more important to overcome first.

 

Really need to get specific on this age, how old *exactly* is your husband, i.e. 44 and how many months? As I said earlier this is the most critical piece of information we need to point you in the right direction.

 

Australia has a skilled migrant program and you should definitely have been looking into this (subject to exact age of your husband). This will provide permanent residency and once you have that you can start worrying about jobs. Anyway will not go into it further just yet in case you announce he is 45 next week, so can you let us know.

 

If your husband is say 6 months off being 45, then please drop this idea of looking for jobs and looking for a 457 visa. You could be missing your last chance at getting permanent residency as there is no guarantee a 457 will lead to it. I would be very dubious about an agency that is not telling you this, they certainly do not have your best interests at heart if they are letting you think that 457 is the way to go.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Rupert

[Sparksy1979]

Thank you again to everyone for your advice, my husband and I have had a looonnnnngggg chat this weekend about it all, he does have 6 months left before he hits 45 and I have researched everything everyone has said in response to my first post. It was all quite confusing but I think I have the jist of what everyone was pitching in now.

 

I honestly don't think the agency is mis-leading us, they respond every time we email with another concern or worry, and we email A LOT and they have been transparent in what was available to us, however, we have decided to at least try the PR idea and if that fails we have the other visa to fall back on. Already send out an inquiry email to a recommended migration agent for their return after the Easter break, not much we can do until then. I took one look at the all the forms and thought eeeekkk defiantly need the help.

 

Couple of last questions, has anyone every heard of someone being turned down for PR whist already over in Australia on the 457 visa?

 

I know you cant put a time frame on these things but realistically, in everyone's experience, how long does the application for PR take before you are ready to move? Its opening up a lot more options for us but comes with many more questions.

 

Thanks again everyone. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Rupert]

Thank you again to everyone for your advice, my husband and I have had a looonnnnngggg chat this weekend about it all, he does have 6 months left before he hits 45 and I have researched everything everyone has said in response to my first post. It was all quite confusing but I think I have the jist of what everyone was pitching in now.

 

I honestly don't think the agency is mis-leading us, they respond every time we email with another concern or worry, and we email A LOT and they have been transparent in what was available to us, however, we have decided to at least try the PR idea and if that fails we have the other visa to fall back on. Already send out an inquiry email to a recommended migration agent for their return after the Easter break, not much we can do until then. I took one look at the all the forms and thought eeeekkk defiantly need the help.

 

Couple of last questions, has anyone every heard of someone being turned down for PR whist already over in Australia on the 457 visa?

 

I know you cant put a time frame on these things but realistically, in everyone's experience, how long does the application for PR take before you are ready to move? Its opening up a lot more options for us but comes with many more questions.

 

Thanks again everyone. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Well I can't be so forgiving of the agent, I feel very cross on your behalf as I know how close you came to losing out on any chance of moving to Australia permanently. Regarding time frame, you do need to stop thinking of speed of getting visa and start thinking of quality of visa.

 

You have six months to lodge the skilled migrant visa, this is good, plenty of time well so long as you don't dawdle. Ask away with your questions, but really, this makes life much easier and it is with the 457 that things become uncertain and you should have a lot more questions about that to be honest.

 

The 457 is a temporary visa, loads of people do not progress to a permanent visa from it. Sometimes people have had to pack up their life in a month and leave due to redundancy, that is three months now but still the risk is there. Having a 457 visa first offers some but very little advantage towards a future permanent visa application, in your case I don't recommend it because soon you will have no chance of securing a permanent visa by yourselves, now you can, so do it.

[VERYSTORMY]

Yes, many people do not get the chance to go from 457 to PR. I have seen a number of my friends have to leave. My own occupation has come off the SOL list now and is schedule 2 on the CSOL and will probably come off altogether soon. So those on the 457 can no longer apply when it does.

 

There have over the years been many people made redundant and had to leave Oz because they could not find another sponsor. One of the very regular members on the Perth Poms forum is in this predicament now.

 

If you work fast you could gain PR before your husband turns 45.

 

I too am VERY sceptical of the agent you are using and would recomend you speak to another agent such as Go Matilda as the advice you have recieved to date is poor

[Joebloggs]

If you don't mind the thrill of a gamble then the 457 plan is ok.

[Team AB]

Hi All

 

Having browsed the various threads on here for the last few months looking for helpful information, we understand the need for information to be accurate and reliable. With is this in mind for future browsers, we felt it right to say that we have just had a fantastic experience with Gavin from Techs On The Move (http://www.techsonthemove.co.uk).

 

Obviously we can't say if it was the case last year, but he is definitely MARA registered (number 1466786). He is based in Sydney, was always available to talk about any and all queries/concerns we had with the migration and job-seeking process. He never put any pressure or hard-sell on me and never made me any promises regarding employment. We found him to be extremely honest, efficient and reliable. He secured a great job for me within a few weeks of initial contact, processed the 457 visas for our whole family (which were granted in only two weeks!) with apparent ease and, very importantly, we paid NOTHING for his services either for recruitment or the visa applications.

 

In short, we would whole-heartedly recommend that any mechanics looking for new employment opportunities in Australia contact him for a (no pressure) chat. We'll also point out that we're not affiliated to techs on the move in any way, just very happy 'customers'.

 

All the best to future browsers :wink: