Question: Can you get me a 457 work visa? And can you get me a job?
To answer the first question, “it depends if you have an employer sponsor”. To answer the second question, “no”.
One of the most common questions I get is: Can you get me a work visa?
Answer: It is only possible to apply for a work visa (eg. Like a 457 visa) if you have a job offer from an employer who is willing to sponsor you to work in Australia.
Furthermore, the employer/business must be assessed if they are eligible to sponsor in the first place. Their eligibility comes down to whether they have an established training record (if they have been operating for 12 months or more) and meet one of the training benchmarks specified under the legislation. If it is a new business that has been operating for less than 12 months, then they have to demonstrate that they have an auditable training plan to show their commitment to training on an annual basis.
The position also needs to be assessed if it is listed on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL) of occupations that can be sponsored for the purposes of the 457 work visa. The position also needs to meet Labour Market Testing requirements, Market Rate Salary requirements (above a minimum threshold) and also align to the worker’s (visa applicant’s) credentials.
All of the above are just some basic things you need to understand when asking the question of whether you can get a 457 work visa.
The second most common question I receive on a weekly basis: Can you get me a job?
The answer is no. As a job seeker, you are required to compete within the job market to apply for advertised vacant positions and successfully secure a job offer.
Once you have a job offer, then you can contact a migration agency like VisaOne to assess, advise and assist you with the process for a 457.
If you are an employer who has found a job applicant that you would like to sponsor, or if you are a job applicant that has secured a job offer and need to know how to secure a 457, please contact us by sending us an email to solutions@visaone.com.au and we can help you further.
Question: What are my chances of success? Can you definitely get me the visa?
A common question I get from visa applicants, sponsors, and employers is "What are my chances of success?" and "Can you guarantee to get a positive outcome?".
The fact of the matter is, applying for anything with the Department of Immigration, whether it is a visa application, sponsorship, nomination, or revocation, is a "judicial process". In other words, there are a set of procedures and prescribed rules (requirements) that you must follow in an "application process", where a "decision" is made by an authority (ie. Immigration).
Due to this fact, it is not possible to guarantee an outcome because the decision maker must use their own personal (and very human) judgement on whether your documents, evidence, and circumstances fit within the prescribed rules (according to them).
In fact a lot of people get negative decisions, made by Immigration, overturned (to a successful decision) when they apply for a review (appeal) to the Migration Review Tribunal. This can occur when the evidence or circumstances have been misinterpreted, or if the legislation has not been applied correctly, by Immigration.
The truth is, you can only prepare an application as perfectly as possible to maximize the chances of a successful outcome.
That is why it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the procedures and requirements when it comes to lodging an application to the Department of Immigration. That way, you can competently prepare what is needed to comply with the legislation and policies at the time you apply.
It is equally important to also interview your migration agent, if you will be engaging one to handle your application because if you are paying a professional to manage your case, you have to be confident that they have the experience, proof of past successes, and a system (to replicate their successes) to prepare an application that will possess the highest possible chance of success.
One warning sign of an incompetent agent, is if they "guarantee" a positive outcome. Now that you know that applications are a judicial process, you know that a positive outcome cannot be guaranteed. In fact it is against the Migrations Agents' Code of Conduct to guarantee an outcome and make claims of being able to do so.
So my recommendation is "do your research first".
Whether you have the time to research the procedures and requirements yourself, or hire a migration agent to professionally do it for you, you have to clearly understand:
Only use an agent if you cannot do any one of the above yourself, or if you do not have the time to execute the above steps competently or in a timely manner.
Contact us if you require help with your application.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: How long does it take to get a visa?
The time it takes to get a visa can range from days to months and sometimes years depending on what kind of visa you are applying for.
You must also take into consideration the time it takes to "prepare" your application.
So if you want to take control of your application and the timing of everything, then follow these steps to plan how much time you need to prepare your visa.
FOUR STEPS TO PLANNING YOUR TIME:
I hope that helps.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: I just started a new relationship? Can I sponsor my partner?
So you're in a de facto relationship and you've learned from friends, family, government officers, and even the immigration website that you "must" be in a relationship for at least 12 months before you can lodge a partner visa. In fact, the common belief is that you must be "living together" for 12 months and not a day less.
True or false?
Yes this is true.
BUT... The 12 month period can be waived under certain circumstances. For example if you already have a child of the relationship then you can waive the 12 month requirement.
You can also waive the 12 month period if your relationship has been legally registered through any of the Australian State or Territory government registrars. Specifically the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
By waiving the 12 month period, you can sponsor your partner to apply for their partner visa even if you have only recently started your relationship. The length of time is no longer a "must", however you must still demonstrate that your relationship is genuine, continuing & ongoing, and to the exclusion of all others (in other words monogamous).
If you are having trouble proving your relationship is genuine to Immigration, call 1300 619 977.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: I got a band score of 5 in IELTS, do I meet the IELTS requirement for a 457 visa?
Most people believe that the passing marks for English is a minimum of 5's across all four components of the IELTS General Test (i.e. Reading, writing, speaking and listening).
However from the 18th of April this year (2015), Immigration loosened the requirements and allowed people to show a band score (ie. Average score) of 5, with no scores less than 4.5 in any of the four components.
This is a big deal, considering how the IELTS testing organization has been largely viewed as a monopoly giant in the English testing industry and having an unexplained knack of failing people’s individual scores by 0.5. This change since the 18th of April, will allow more people who can meet the band score average to go ahead and apply for their 457 working visas and get on with life.
Kudos Immigration. Kudos.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: What do you do as a migration agent and what can you do for me?
When I use to work for the Department of Immigration over a decade ago, I use to ask myself the exact same question. Purely because of how much people paid migration agents. I never understood how much work went into a case, because from my end as an Immigration Officer, all I saw was the final product (ie. The application/case) which we would simply process and have assessed for a decision.
Now in my 12th year as a migration agent I can truly answer this for you. I will first give you the straight forward "shallow" answer, and also answer the latter question of what can a migration agent do for you.
Firstly, most migration agents will work for your case by doing most of the following things:
Above are the common tasks that migration agents and their staff will perform for their clients. These tasks can be extremely time consuming if you were to perform them on your own without any guidance. Especially if you are unsure of your eligibility and not certain of the requirements and how to meet them.
Migration agents can cut through all that uncertainty and give you precise and accurate advice that will save you time and alleviate the fear and headaches of not knowing if your application will be approved or not. For most people who use agents, they pay for a professional service to get their case done the right way, the first time.
BUT, WHAT CAN AN AGENT REALLY DO FOR YOU?
How do you chose an agent amongst the thousands out there?!
It's simple. Get a migration agent who KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS.It is easy to find a migration agent that can perform all the tasks I mentioned. So it then begs the question, what is the difference between each agent? The answer is "EXPERIENCE".
I'm not just talking about the duration of time they have been registered for. I'm talking about the real world experience they have with handling both simple and complex cases.
I'm talking about how skilled they are as a communicator, negotiator, and strategic thinker because if your application hits a road bump (such as getting a difficult Immigration Officer, or having your documents and evidence scrutinized by Immigration), how are they going represent your case and guide it to a successful outcome.
Your agent must be able to represent your case with both legal accuracy and strategic actions to ensure that every possible avenue of success is taken. They can only do this if they have been able to "SOLVE PROBLEMS" that they have encountered with Immigration and escalating cases to Senior Migration Officers, or to section managers and program directors to enable decision makers to take into consideration every aspect of your case.
These are just some of the questions you can ask a migration agent. You should ask any questions that are important to you when wanting to hire a migration agent.
If you have a fairly straight forward case, then you may want to find out other things that are important to you such as:
I hope that helps.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | VisaOne | Changing Lives Everyday
Popular Question: How can I prove my relationship?
Throughout my career I have encountered relationships of all forms and mixtures. We truly do live in a multicultural society and proving one's relationship can be done in so many ways these days.
A common question I get from people is "how do I prove my relationship?". It's not as simple as showing photos, living together and having a joint bank account. Yes these things do help, but really what Immigration are looking for is evidence that demonstrates that you are in a committed genuine relationship to the exclusion of all others. In other words... A real monogamous relationship.
So here are the areas which you can organise your evidence into:
The above categories will clearly paint a picture for your Immigration case officer because it shows everything from now and into the future.
So whatever visa you are applying for, the above can help you prepare your evidence of relationship.
To find out more information, contact us at VisaOne and we can will do our best to help.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing People’s Lives
Question: What exactly do I need to provide? What documents does Immigration need?
To answer the question, you can find out exactly what list of documents you need to provide for a specific visa on the Immigration website (www.border.gov.au). Every visa on their website has a document checklist which you can follow.
Now does getting all the items on the checklist mean you will get a visa approval guaranteed? Probably not. The most important question that successful applicants ask is “Am I eligible?” This is the most important question because an advisor should ask you questions that relate to your eligibility first. After you have been assessed as eligible, you can then put together specific evidence to prove your claims.
Having a precise list of documents that satisfies the requirements, and clearly explains your situation, is far more important than following the standard checklist on Immigration’s website. If you do not understand the eligibility criteria, and how to satisfy them, you may be met with some resistance and hurdles when an Immigration officer is assessing your application.
By providing specific evidence that matches your claims and the requirements, Immigration can make a sound decision based on all the evidence and documents provided (which may sometimes be more than what the standard Immigration checklists require, and sometimes less – but still satisfying the visa criteria).
Get the right advice and find out if you are “eligible”. I also recommend getting a second opinion if you are not confident with your advisor’s experience and knowledge, then make an educated decision yourself to understand the visa requirements.
Bridging visas are some of the most complex visas out there. It is not because they are difficult to apply for, but because of how they operate. Understanding how each one relates to another will depend on your situation.
In most situations you can get a bridging visa if you are applying for a valid substantive visa whilst you are in Australia. This is because the bridging visa is attached to an actual application. The only instance where you can apply directly for a type of bridging visa is if you are the holder of a current bridging visa (that is in effect) or if you do not hold a visa at all (and you are seeking to become lawful).
To help you understand Australian bridging visas, here are the top 3 things to remember:
Below is a list of the most common bridging visas. See which one best applies to your situation.
BRIDGING VISA A
BRIDGING VISA B
BRIDGING VISA C
BRIDGING VISA E
Every person’s situation is different and your situation may require a more strategic approach, especially if you are unlawful. It is very important to know all your possible options, and make an educated decision about how you wish to resolve your situation. Seek help if you need it. A professional’s advice may be all it takes to secure your future and your family’s future.
Question: How do I know if my business is eligible to sponsor?
This is one of the most common questions that employers ask when they enquire about sponsorship, and there seems to be a perception that turnover, profit and the size of the business (number of employees) is important.
While these are important measures in determining business health and growth, they are actually not important when it comes to meeting the 457 Sponsorship requirements to be eligible as an approved sponsor.
The 457 program was designed to enable genuine and actively operating businesses of any size and stage of their business maturity (i.e. new/start-up or established businesses) to sponsor foreign staff if they are having difficulties in hiring locally for some reason.
The most common problems that businesses are experiencing include:
Given these reasons and any other situations that employers face, in trying to hire great staff, businesses have the ability to hire from the global pool of talent available both in Australia and overseas. Businesses that have sought our help to sponsor foreign talent include sole proprietors, small businesses and medium to large enterprises, both private and government.
To determine if your business is eligible to sponsor, here are a few things to consider:
When businesses come to us for help, we often find that one or more of the things mentioned have not been properly demonstrated in their documents and evidence. So we help them to meet these requirements by giving them very direct and precise instructions and advice, in order for them to meet the requirements and secure a successful sponsorship approval.
If you think you need help and assistance to get a better understanding of the requirements and process involved, it is best to seek a professional opinion so you don’t have to waste the most valuable commodity in business. Time.