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187 Visa - Change of Business owner/ Employer


HollyER

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Hey guys, I'm super new at this, so if I do anything wrong - sorry in advance!

I am on a 187 visa as a hairdresser and it was lodged on 28/02/2018.. In late November my boss sold the business (he had to unfortunately) and I got a new employer.                                                             My new boss is happy to take over sponsorship, and so my agents have informed me that we have to start the whole process again including visa application fee's.. I have already spent $17,000 on this visa, so this was a bit of a shock.

A fellow staff member is a little further along than me and her agents have apparently just changed the employer details, saving her the costs of the application fee's and the waiting time all over again.. My agents are saying her agents are wrong and when I call Immigration (3 times now), they can't help as they say they don't have the correct information. They gave me an email address to use, which I have but have had no response as of yet.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or experience with this? Thanks heaps 🙂

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What visa are you actually on now? You can’t be on 187 if you are still in the process of sponsorship. If you are on a temporary sponsored visa a new owner should take that one over. 

Without knowing all the details no one can give you advice, if you have a registered migration agent then ask them to explain fully.  I also do not understand why it has cost you $17000 that seems excessive to me, do you have a breakdown of costs?

 

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Hey, thanks for the quick reply.. Sorry for the missing info, it's a little confusing to me.

I am on a bridging visa as I was on a NZ spouse visa until October 2018. I believe I am on a bridging A visa.. My agents have told me I will go onto a bridging C visa once the application is updated.

Costs already paid were agent fee's $6050, visa application fee's for me $3670 and my fiancé $1835, skills assessment as I went travelling for a year so had to get one done ($3,500), RCB $450 plus other costs such as a bridging B visa for when I travelled last year, but altogether I have spent $16,289.00. I do have a registered agent and they are quick to respond, but the info is never clear and I'm dubious as its such a huge extra cost when my work mate isn't paying it too.. I guess I can only wait and see what happens with her application.

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3 hours ago, HollyER said:

Hey guys, I'm super new at this, so if I do anything wrong - sorry in advance!

I am on a 187 visa as a hairdresser and it was lodged on 28/02/2018.. In late November my boss sold the business (he had to unfortunately) and I got a new employer.                                                             My new boss is happy to take over sponsorship, and so my agents have informed me that we have to start the whole process again including visa application fee's.. I have already spent $17,000 on this visa, so this was a bit of a shock.

A fellow staff member is a little further along than me and her agents have apparently just changed the employer details, saving her the costs of the application fee's and the waiting time all over again.. My agents are saying her agents are wrong and when I call Immigration (3 times now), they can't help as they say they don't have the correct information. They gave me an email address to use, which I have but have had no response as of yet.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or experience with this? Thanks heaps 🙂

Hi Holly, 

Please ask your new employer if they have bought the business and are operating with the same name and ABN if so then you could just change your employer's details but if they are going to operate as a new entity and change the business ABN then unfortunately your agent is right you will have to start all over again. Hopefully you get lucky and don't have to start all over again. 

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It’s a new abn.. My agent has told me the same thing today..

Also that I probably have to cancel a trip to Indo to meet my little brother (who lives in the uk) in August, as once I start a new one I will be on a bridging C visa, and apparently if you leave on that you can’t return?

It’s so unfair after spending so much money and working so hard. Makes me feel sick to my stomach that this can happen. Plus my agent said in theory it can happen again if my new boss lost the business or if something happened before my application is through. I wish I never started it and just went to NZ as my fiancé is Kiwi.. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! 

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2 minutes ago, HollyER said:

It’s a new abn.. My agent has told me the same thing today..

Also that I probably have to cancel a trip to Indo to meet my little brother (who lives in the uk) in August, as once I start a new one I will be on a bridging C visa, and apparently if you leave on that you can’t return?

It’s so unfair after spending so much money and working so hard. Makes me feel sick to my stomach that this can happen. Plus my agent said in theory it can happen again if my new boss lost the business or if something happened before my application is through. I wish I never started it and just went to NZ as my fiancé is Kiwi.. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! 

Sorry to hear this...are U from the UK too? If you live with your fiancé in NZ...U can always come back after U get Ur Kiwi PR.

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Yes I am from England and he is Kiwi, feeling a little stuck as my fiancé is studying at University so he has a year left.. I actually ended up writing to David Coleman as I don't think it's right that after all the cost they can make you reapply - my agent confirmed I could be in the same position if the new boss had to sell before my visa is accepted. I thought about going to NZ, but we wanted Aussie PR so that we could get a decent mortgage.. 🙂

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  • 3 weeks later...

My wife and I, from the States, have just gone through the same situation as you and yes it’s extremely unfortunate regarding the laws not being able to transfer an ABN on a 187.  Actually applied the same time as you.  She is a restaurant manager who’s sponsoring employer sold is and now has new ABN.

i wouldn’t recommend going on a bridging visa C as you will loose work rights (which you can apply for an exemption for) and you can not leave the country.  With 2 years processing times that’s along time to be stuck.

So what we did by the advice of our migration agent is this:

while still on the BVA for the original 187, the new employer submitted a 482 nomination TSS.  The nomination/application was actually approved in 7 days. Not sure if we were lucky or what, but the agent was surprised how quickly it processed as well. In October this year we will apply all over again for a new 187 before the laws change and it is completely abolished.

the upside to this route is now we have a substantive visa that gives us work rights and ability to stay and travel in and out for the next two years while completely avoiding a bridging visa C.

the reason we are waiting for October is that is when my wife has 3 years full time experience, which wasn’t required when we applied for our initial 187 application.

again, it’s unfortunate but I guess it’s the price to pay to live in Australia.

 

good luck 

 

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Hey,

That sucks for you guys too! I didn't think to check the 482 nom.. My new agent is saying I can apply for a new 187, leaving the current application in the mix so I have a Bridging B and C running - letting me travel in August, then when I return, I can withdraw the dud 187 and leave the new one running.. 

I hope he is right! I will check out the 482 though - so thanks heaps for the idea 🙂

Good luck to you guys too!

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That's not a bad idea, but still taking a risk as august is still over 3 months away.

In our circumstance our Migration agent was worried about having two open applications with different ABN's.  Our initial plan was to withdraw the 1st 187 once the new 482 was lodged.  The migration agent believed that making genuine applications is in your best interest with Department of Immigration, when something not genuine takes place (i.e. withholding from the department that your sponsoring ABN is no longer in existence), they can hold that against you in the future.  And it's sounds like nowadays the Deparment is trying to hold anything against any application.

So that was the plan, but once we launched the 482 nom/app I was away for the week and intended to officially withdraw when we returned.  And in literally 7 days the 482 nomination/application was approved.  Even more interesting was the fact that since we had medicare under the pending 187 application we fulfilled the health care coverage requirement.    So I left the original 187 application running, even though I know it could never be approved.

Fast forward a month from approval of the 482 (about 13 months since the initial 187 application) the original 187 nomination was picked up by a CO and refused.  I'm actually glad we waited because the refusal outlined details of why the nomination was rejected.  And this may prove helpful for our subsequent nomination later this year.

I'm curious if the nomination was picked up since maybe the system flagged the approved 482 and a pending 187 as this was only half way through the global processing times of 187.  We'll never, know.

My only advice is just be careful with the bridging visa C as you'll need to put an application in for work rights once it's that visa kicks in.  And make sure to withdraw that original 187 application once the nomination is refused (you get 28 days).  Having a REFUSED visa on your record is something the Department can definitely hold against you for future applications.

 

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That’s a great result (482) in 7 days!

You’re right, it is a little scary not knowing if the pending 187 will be picked up before we go away.. My first agents said there was no way I could go away but my new one thinks that I have a good shot.. So I’m trying the new agent, who’s fees are also $1500 less than my current ones! Even with their $1k discount! 

Thanks heaps for the info and I’ll make sure once my pending 187 is refused that I withdraw within 28 days 🙂

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  • 7 months later...

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