Book Now PLEASE NOTE:
On March 18th 2018, the 457 visa was abolished and replaced with the Subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa which has different conditions and eligibility criteria.
Do you have a 457 visa and want to transition to PR?
BUT your employer recently sold/restructured the business and even though you’ve been kept on working there in exactly the same job, you’re convinced your two year road to PR started from the beginning again when the new employer took you over after the transfer of business?
… Think again! We may have good news!
The best pathway to permanent residence for a 457 visa holder is via the TRT (Temporary Residence Transition) Stream of the Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) or the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS). The TRT stream allows a 457 visa holder to apply for an ENS or RSMS visa after two years of full time employment in the same position with the same business. Previously, if your employment became “interrupted” for example by the employer selling the business or the business being taken over, even though you have stayed in the same job, in the same place, the two year period had to start again, unless you could prove that the two companies were ”associated entities” under the Corporations Act.
There are significant advantages in applying for a permanent ENS visa via the TRT stream. Importantly, there is no requirement for a skills assessment, which is a huge bonus for those relying on experience rather than qualifications, there is no three year post qualification requirement and the English requirement is less onerous.
Previously, where a company was prchased by a new owner or taken over, establishing that the companies were associated entities ranged from difficult to impossible. There were many 457 visa holders who became extremely frustrated and upset when the business they had been working for was sold or restructured, and despite continuing in the same job, they had to start the two year clock again, because they found themselves working under a new company ABN.
One of our clients found himself in this situation when he was 4 days short of the required two years and had to start his clock again because his employer sold the business – even though he had been kept on in the same position.
In a rare piece of good news, 457 visa holders caught in a transfer of business scenario can be comforted in the knowledge that the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) has changed its transfer of business policy for the better.
From mid last year, where the sponsoring employer has restructured the business or sold the business or created a new legal entity, AND the 457 worker has continued to work in exactly the same position, performing the same duties in the same location, with the same working conditions, and/or the same management and/or the same business name under a new legal entity, the two years will continue to accrue and not be interrupted.
In other words, you no longer have to reset the clock to zero.
Obviously, each transfer of business scenario needs to be examined and assessed thoroughly to ensure that the new policy applies. Your new employer must become an approved sponsor and also nominate you to work in the new business in the same position and occupation as before.
You will need a competent registered migration agent to help with these scenarios, to eliminate any potential confusion or misinformation and muck ups, and to put the appropriate facts to the DIBP to ensure your case is assessed properly.
Let AHWC Immigration Law guide you through any new employer issues and get you your PR faster.
Call AHWC Immigration Law on 1300 887 818 to arrange a consultation or book a consultation and we’ll provide you with an appraisal of your visa situation and your prospects of going from your 457 visa to PR (Fees apply).
