Tourist Visa and Obtaining a Job

[frizzy1]

Hi all,

 

I wonder if someone could help me with this question.

 

My sister is currently in the process of sponsoring my parents on a Contributory Parent Visa and once they are in the country then she can sponsor me for last remaining relative - we can meet all of the criteria but understand that it could be 4 years before I actually get PR going down this route.

 

I am planning to visit my sister in October next year on a tourist visa (hopefully for 6 months) with my mum and dad and was thinking about doing some investigation into work options whilst I am out there i.e speak to some agencies etc and find out how employable I am.

 

Firstly, am I allowed to do this and secondly what if I am lucky enough to actually get a job with employer sponsorship - can I just change my tourist visa and get a work visa instead?

 

Or is this just a complete waste of time i.e will employers even consider someone who in on a tourist visa?

 

Any thoughts appreciated.

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Frizzy

 

The purpose of your proposed visit to Australia is primarily to visit family and friends:

 

Tourist Visa (Subclass 676)

 

Since you also know that you will become eligible for a Remaining Relative Visa, it is perfectly reasonable that you would wish to explore what the job situation in Oz would be like for yourself if you were to make the move to Oz as a Remaining Relly.

 

Indeed it would be very sensible for you to see whether you can rustle up a couple of interviews because that would give you the chance to explore what sorts of things a potential Aussie employer would look for when considering employing a new migrant who does not know Australia well etc.

 

If these explorations should result in an offer of a subclass 457 visa from an employer who is both eligible and willing to meet the criteria for the employer's end of it, and you are eligible for a 457 visa, then you will be 50% of the way to success:

 

Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457)

 

Sponsoring a Temporary Overseas Employee to Australia

 

People are not eligible for 457 visas just because an eligible employer offers a job. The occupation must be on the SOL or the ENSOL (or in the last resort one that can take advantage of the Regional Employer Concessions in Regional Australia) plus the visa applicant must have a suitable pre-existing skills set that would fit him/her up to do the job well. Trainee or apprentice roles are excluded from eligibility under the 457 visa scheme.

 

Assuming that all of the above is OK, then whether or not you would be able to make an onshore application for a 457 visa depends on whether or not Condition 8503 - no further stay - has been imposed on your tourist visa:

 

Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 52c. Imposition of Visa Condition 8503 - "No Further Stay"

 

Condition 8503 is discretionary. DIAC might impose it or they might not. If they do impose it the effect is to prevent you from being able to make a valid application for any other visa if your feet are on Australian soil at the time. However let us say you are in Perth. There would be nothing to prevent you from nipping to Bali for a week whilst an agent in Perth lodges an application for a 457 visa for you. If the 457 application is made on line and has been prepared properly, you could be a subclass 457 visa holder by the time you return to Oz after your week-long holiday in Bali.

 

Would you be eligible for a 457 visa, though?

 

Best wishes

 

Gill

[frizzy1]

Thanks Gill,

 

Yes that is the big question - would I actually be eligible for the 457 Visa.

 

And how do you know if an employer is eligible to sponsor you?

 

My job title as such, doesnt seem to appear on the occupation lists however approx 6 months when I first started looking into this, I got in contact with the agency my sister was using in Oz and sent them my C.V. They did confirm that they would sponsor me (with the usual conditions of salary etc).

 

Until now I havent given this much thought but a couple of questions now spring to mind given your response below;

 

1. Firstly does this mean that the agency have somehow managed to squeeze my job title into one of the ones on the lists? If this is the case then maybe I can get enough points anyway (I hadnt bothered looking down this route as I thought my job wasnt on the list).

 

2. Secondly, if the agency is willing to sponsor me, would it then just be a case of finding a job in Oz and saying I already have a sponsor (so the employers dont need to sponsor me)?

 

Sorry for all of the questions - you have been really helpful Gill.

 

Thanks again

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Frizzy

 

The stuff about what makes for an eligible employer is in the links I sent you for the 457 visa and Booklet 11. I'm not a migration agent so I have never examined the details - I merely know where the links to them are.

 

Recruitment Agencies used to be able to sponsor people for 457 visas themselves but that was outlawed in 2007. As I understand it, Workforce Solutions were the first such Agency to enter into a Labour Agreement with the Australian Government, so WFS can still sponsor for the visa themselves. However they insist that the worker must have a positive skills assessment in the relevant field, which is not always possible.

 

I was told recently that Credo Group Pty Ltd now also have a Labour Agreement, but I was told by a friend who may not understand the idea fully and I have not asked Credo whether or not this is the case, so I don't know - just something I was told which might or might not be accurate.

 

There is a task which is not for the faint-hearted, I'm telling you! It is called "Study the ASCO Code."

 

http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/Lookup/A86A0162E6F672DFCA256ADB001D10D4/$File/asco.pdf

 

The alphabetical index of occupations is at the back. Garbologist, Gravedigger and Prostitute are all in there, so we can rely on the notion that you are as well! However it is a bit more complex than that, so if you find what ASCO says you are, give me a shout and we can examine the idea in more depth.

 

No - there is no such thing as "general sponsorship" of an employee/migrant. It has to be specific sponsorship for a specific job with a specific employer, and you and the employer are both directly involved in obtaining your visa.

 

However, all this said and done... You will become eligible for a Remaining Relative Visa. You want to move to Oz at the same time as your Parents. You are - I believe - single with no dependants. If you can cut costs to the bone by living with your sister rent-free, why not simply use a Student Visa to hold the fort until the RRV is eventually granted?

 

Or a Working Holday Visa (unless you have already had one of those?)

 

Best wishes

 

Gill

[frizzy1]

Gill,

 

Thanks for that - nothing is easy is it!

 

I have just checked on the agencies website and they are still saying that they can sponsor directly;

 

International person requiring 457 sponsorship

For the International people who are looking to work in Australia and require a work visa we have various options including sponsoring them ourselves plus we offer them salary packing to maximize their income and end of year tax returns completed.

 

The agency is called Pendragon.

 

Just for fun I did look through the ASCO list but still cant really see where I fit - my job is an Account Development Manager in the insurance industry - basically acting as the contact between the insurer and the intermediary to ensure that we deliver our proposition etc to their customers and that we get as much business from them as possible. Also job includes finding new clients. So a combination of sales and client management.

 

I am sure I must fit in somewhere - as you say prostitute is on the list - mmm maybe I should retrain!! :biglaugh:

 

I need to read through the links you sent in a bit more detail I think as I am not sure at the moment how i apply for a job (assuming that Pendragon cannot sponsor me directly and that i am not on the list). But in the meantime if you think of anything else, then please let me know.

 

Unfortunately my sister lives in a studio flat in Sydney so no room for me to move in rent free which would have been a very good idea. I have enough money to see me through 6 months in Sydney without work (inc rent etc) but after that I am either going to need to come back to the UK, get a job and sit it out whilst waiting for the RRV or get a job in Sydney.

 

I am sure it will become clearer once I am out there but at the moment it all seems a major challenge to get employment!

 

Thanks again

[frizzy1]

Hi all,

 

I know for certain that I am eligible for the LRR visa but just have a few questions to help with the timing of my trip to Oz over the next couple of years.

 

Firstly, can anyone tell me if I can apply for the Last Remaining Relative Visa whilst on a Tourist Visa in Oz? What happens if the Tourist Visa runs out before the LRR visa is granted i.e do i get a bridging visa to remain in the country? How long does the bridging visa last?

 

If my Tourist Visa runs out before I apply for the LRR visa I know I will have to leave the country (assuming no employer sponsorship etc). What is the requalifying time to re-enter Oz on a further tourist visa.

 

Finally, if my Tourist Visa has run out and say, 3 months later I apply for my LRR visa, can I get a long term visa at the time to stay in Oz?

 

Sorry for all the questions but I am in the process of planning how to best time all of this.

 

Thanks again.

 

Frizz

 

,