Guest threeintooz Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Hi all Can anyone help us please, I have been offered a job and sponsorship with a 457 visa with a company near Melbourne. The problem is the more we compare the visa with a permanent one the more confusing it is becoming. Is there any upper age limit on the 457 dosnt seem to be, I would be under 45 but my wife (Gill) will be 45 this july. We cant see any age restrictions but then what will happen when we want permanent residency, will we have to apply for another visa or do we apply for pr another way. Hope I have explained that well enough!! I am sure we are worrying about nothing but it would be great to here other peoples opinions and experiences. Thanks in advance Paul:wacko:Gill:realmad:Nathan:arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Hi all Can anyone help us please, I have been offered a job and sponsorship with a 457 visa with a company near Melbourne. The problem is the more we compare the visa with a permanent one the more confusing it is becoming. Is there any upper age limit on the 457 dosnt seem to be, I would be under 45 but my wife (Gill) will be 45 this july. We cant see any age restrictions but then what will happen when we want permanent residency, will we have to apply for another visa or do we apply for pr another way. Hope I have explained that well enough!! I am sure we are worrying about nothing but it would be great to here other peoples opinions and experiences. Thanks in advance Paul:wacko:Gill:realmad:Nathan:arghh: Hello Paul Welcome to Poms in Oz. There is no age limit for a 457 visa. However, you will be keen to upgrade to a PR visa aas soon as you can. You might be eligible for skilled independent migration or your employer might agree to nominate you for an ENS visa. (You should make it a condition of the Contract of Employment that your Employer will nominate you for an ENS visa within a specificied time-frame.) If by then you are 45 or over, then your employer would have to make the case for why DIAC should exempt you from the normal age-limit. Please see here: Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856) That will not be difficult to do if your occupation is in demand. What do you do? How old are you at present and do you know whether you would have enough points (120) for a skilled independent subclass 175 visa instead? Your wife's age is irrelevant. Only the age of the skilled applicant matters. Best wishes Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Karen A Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Hi Paul There are no age restrictions on the 457 visa providing you work in a regional area and get an employer to sponsor you. If the job offered is one on the MODL list then once employed you can apply for pr asap after. If it's not on the list then you have to work for two years before you apply for pr. The older you're when applying for pr the more difficult and your employer has to put a case forward to state that you're an exceptional candidate. Karen A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest threeintooz Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Thanks Karen and Gill for your answers they have backed up what we thought, the trouble is sometimes the more you look into things the more confused you get. Gill to answer your questions I am 38 and a qualified agricultural machinery fitter and do score enough points to go independent. Trouble is I have been a workshop manager for the last few years and the job I am going to do in oz is an area service manager a step up again. As I am sure you are aware I would have to go back on the spanners to qualify for independent points. The company I am going to work for wants me sooner rather than later so a 457 is quickest. Fortunately I know the boss so I am not worried about being let down, but I think your point about getting something in the contract about pr sponsership is good and I will see about sorting that. As you said we will want pr as soon as possible so hopefully soon after arrival we can that moving along. Thanks once again for your help Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 HI Paul You obviously won't have a problem with the preferred age levels for the ENS visa. However, it would be preferable to get a positive skills assessment if you can before you head for Oz. Otherwise you would have to be on the 457 visa for 2 years before you could become eligible to upgrade to the ENS visa. please check here: Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856) I don't know what the skills assessment for you would involve. Please refer to this list and then follow the links. A-Z Occupations List - Australian Skills Recognition Information Sometimes you have to think pretty laterally with the skills thing. A chum of mine is married to a guy who does something hi-powered with offshore gas rigs. He is an electro-hydraulic engineer or something roughly like that. However because of working with gas he has basic gas qualifications as well. They called him a "gas fitter" for the skills assessment. Since he earns over $150K AUD a year he is plainly not a "gas fitter." It is the best example I can think of so I hope it will do.... People generally reckon that it is much easier to do the skills assessment before you leave the UK, because it is so much easier to get the references and other documents together whilst you are still here (or TRA or whoever demand extra documents in connection with the assessment.) Also, once you are in Oz you have so many other things to do that it is harder to find the time to devote to the skills assessment. You have to bear in mind too the restrictions if you are on a 457 visa. I'm no tax expert but you need to look into that. Also, if you want to buy a house but you do not have PR, then you need FIRB consent. Please see here: FIRB: Foreign Investment Review Board - Home I don't know whether the FIRB policy in Victoria is to insist on new-build property only for those without PR. It is in some States, apparently. Additionally, if you have PR when you buy your first house in Oz, you get a First Time Home Buyers grant of $7,000. Not a king's ransom but this is a Federal Government grant. In some states, having PR when you buy your first house in Oz can also mean quite significant stamp duty relief, which again may not be available if you do not have PR when you buy. Please see here: Calculators - realestate.com.au Stamp duty is in excess of 10% in some of the States. I don't know the rules for Victoria. I do know that in WA, if you have PR when you buy your first house, there is no stamp duty if the price is under $500,000. I do not know whether it is a case of nil stamp duty on the first $500K of the price or whether the house has to be less than $500K, and anyway I am describing the rules about West Australia. But it might help to give you an idea of what to check out (I hope.) You are OK for Medicare on a 457, which is something, though it is limited cover. Please see here: Visitors to Australia - Medicare Australia Additionally there is something called LAFHA (Living Away From Home Allowance.) All that I understand about it is its name and that it can be a good perk of being an employee who only has Temporary Residence in Oz on a 457 visa. Apparently it is a good perk - can be worth quite a bit - but it is not a perk at all if it is not part of the employment deal! I think there is quite a bit to consider besides the details of the visas. Best wishes Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest threeintooz Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Gill Many thanks for all your help and advice, I shall be looking into all of your points carefully. Once again thanks. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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