Mr Tan has turned back on the tough stance of the 457 visa and announced that visa applicants in preparation will not be affected by the new permanent residence restrictions that will come into effect in March. But immigration agents are wary of the statement, advising the parties to apply for permanent residence as soon as possible.
According to the Australian Financial Review, on April 18 last year, Australia's goverment suddenly introduced a new rule on 457 visas. Australia's Home Office informed immigration agencies this month that applicants who submitted 457 visas before April 18 could still apply for permanent residence two years later.
Goverment will cancel its 457 visa in March, replacing it with a more limited flow of two-and four-year technical visas, with only four years of technical visas providing a permanent residence route.
Companies have criticised the new restrictions as a sign that they are hampering highly skilled workers and are uncertain whether new restrictions will be imposed on 457 visa applicants and holders.
At a forum last year to discuss reform, the interior ministry told immigration agents that the grandfather clause (Grandfather Clause) was not applicable to those who had applied for a 457 visa. It also means that the new rules apply to 457 visa applicants who have submitted their applications.
However, the department's latest circular appears to reverse that, saying those holding 457 or bridge visas and applicants before April 18 will not be subject to new requirements.
As a result, the age limit for 457 holders applying for permanent residence after March remains 50 years, not 45 years of the new policy, and can be converted to permanent residence in two years' time, rather than the three-year limit required by the new policy, Nor will it be implemented according to the new list of occupations.
"these arrangements are still pending final approval," the Home Office said.
With the exclusion from permanent residence, the announcement of the new deal last year sparked outrage among senior foreign managers and now has a new transitional arrangement.
Peter Papadopoulos, an immigration lawyer at Nomos, said his company was cautious about it until there were more details about the scope of the grandfather's terms of law. "what the Ministry of the Interior means is that people who apply for permanent residence after March 2018 are still hopeful that they will not be bound by the new rules," he said. But we told our clients that this policy proposal came only from the department's website brief and that if the customer has already met the existing framework conditions, we recommend submitting a permanent residence application now. "
Ernst & Young's global head of immigration, Wayne Parcell, said there was new hope, but warned: "the Ministry of the Interior news is not guaranteed, because immigration legislation has not yet been published, so there is still uncertainty before April 18, 2017." The transitional arrangements appear to be aimed at avoiding a peak in visa applications in the first few weeks of March, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs now needs 10 months to process 90 percent of applications.
