Malcolm Turnbull quickly snapped us out of our long weekend dreariness last week as he launched a number of new immigration initiatives, beginning with the abolishment of the 457 Visa program. Whilst pundits almost unanimously agreed on the political intentions behind these sweeping changes, #HubMigOz has tried to make sense of it. Apologies in advance for the Acronym overload. I have also hyperlinked the shizzle out of the below to hopefully avoid confusion. Let me know if I missed one!
457 Visa (TSS)
• The 457 visa program will be superseded by the TSS visa program in March 2018.
• An application can still be made for a 457 until March 2018 if your occupation appears on the STSOL or MLTSSL
• Pending applications for a 457 visa that do not appear on the STSOL cannot be
approved and a refund may be available.
• All new applications for an occupation on the STSOL will be granted for 2 years
with the potential for a two year extension. There is no pathway to permanent residency using the STSOL.
• All new applications for an occupation on the MLTSSL will be granted for four
years. The applicant will become eligible for permanent residency after three years with an employer nomination.
• When the TSS arrives in March 2018, applications with occupations that appear on the STSOL will have to provide proof that they only wish to stay in Australia
temporarily.
• All new applications for occupations that appear on the STSOL and MLTSSL must
demonstrate minimum two years’ experience in that occupation.
Outcome:
If you are currently on a 457 Visa with an occupation that appears on the STSOL but not on the MLTSLL then you can still apply for Permanent Residency (186,187). Any new applications will not be eligible for Permanent Residency. This may also affect those changing jobs on a 457 Visa so perhaps delay the job search for a while.
186/187 Visa (Permanent)
• The new MLTSSL has been condensed by 216 occupations. The occupations that have been removed are listed here. An additional twenty four occupations are available for regional Australia.
• From March 2018 applicants will need to demonstrate three years’ experience in the selected position and employers must meet market salary and requirements and make contributions to a training fund.
Outcome:
If your occupation appears on the list above you can no longer make an application for a permanent visa (186,187) using that occupation. Occupations such as Retail Manager would still qualify in Regional Australia.
Apologies for the somewhat dreary update but hopefully it provides some clarity in #crazytimes.