457 Overview of employer-guaranteed work visas
457 employer-guaranteed work visa, guaranteed and nominated by Australian local employer for employers in Australia. If the employer's guarantor is established for less than 12 months, the applicant's visa is normally only approved for a period of one year, and if the employer's guarantor is established for a period of more than 12 months, the applicant's visa may be granted for a maximum period of four years. March 2018. The 457 visa will be replaced by a temporary skills shortage (TSS) visa.
Validity of 457 visa
- From 19 April, occupations on the STSOL occupation list will be able to obtain only two-year visas, while those on the MLTSSL list will continue to apply for four-year visas;
- Immigration 4.18 New deal on 457 visa impact, please click here.
- Immigration 7.1 New deal on 457 visa impact, please click here.
457 employer-guaranteed work visa application steps (three steps can be submitted separately or together, but the trial steps are done in a step-by-step order)
- The employer applies to become a guarantor;
- The occupation of the applicant nominated by the employer;
- Application for visa submitted by applicant
457 employer-guaranteed work visa requirements for employers
Basic conditions for employers to become guarantors
- Legitimate business;
- The company does not have a bad record (including the person in charge of the company);
- Meet immigration training requirements
- Note: after obtaining the guarantee qualification, the employer may guarantee more than 457 applicants for a period of 1.5 years (for an employer with less than one year of establishment) or 5 years (for an employer with more than one year of establishment) during the period of validity of the guarantee qualification.
How can I apply to be a qualified guarantor?
- To prove that you're trying to hire a local employee but you can't find the right person, put in some newspapers or online job advertisements;
- If the company has been operating in Australia for more than 12 months, the following training requirements will be met:
- Use at least 2% of total employee salary expenditure as an industry training fund (in the same industry), o
- Train employees with at least 1% of their total salary expenses (trained employees need to be citizen or PR), employees' total wage expenses including: wages, commissions, bonuses, allowances, pensions).
Note 1: the new deal of July 1, 2017, determines that the training fee calculation period may be the previous financial year or 12 months prior to the submission of the relevant application.
Note 2: an industry training fund may refer to a scholarship fund recognized in the tafe of an accredited industry body (the same industry). Click to see how employer training fees are paid
- Note 3: starting from March 2018, training standards A and B will be replaced by the training Aussie Fund (Skilling Australians Fund), and employers will meet the training requirements by paying taxes and fees to the Fund according to the number of guarantees. Employers with a turnover of less than A $10 million will pay a one-off A $1200 a year for each TTS visa holder, the temporary skills shortage visa that replaced the visa in March 2018. Employers with turnover of more than A $10 million will pay a one-off A $1800 a year for each TTS visa holder (i.e. temporary skills shortage visa that replaced the visa in March 2018);
- If the company operating in Australia has been operating for less than 12 months, the following requirements need to be met:
- Provide an auditable plan, including salary projections for the next 12 months, how much is expected to train employees, and how the company implements training programs to meet training requirements. The training takes the form of:
- Pay for a regular course for employees (no online courses, 7.1 New deal increase in 2017)
- Sponsor a scholarship fund with formal courses for employees
- Depending on the size of the company, continue to employ apprentices and graduates
- Apprenticeship: official contract authorized by the state government, training contract
- Recent graduates: they can only be counted as part of the cost of the training, because their salary is not the entire coverage of the salary
- Hire a special person to train your employees.
- Hire a training organization to provide training for your staff
- Provision of on-the-job training
- Need to document learning results at each stage
- Need to monitor and evaluate the training process
- Provision of additional enhanced technical training during the training process
- Experienced personnel need to be assigned for training and assessment
Note: in addition to the above-mentioned criteria for employer guarantee eligibility, there is another, called negotiated labor agreement category employer guarantee. Negotiation of labour agreements is obtained through negotiations between employers or recruitment companies with the Australian government, which is the equivalent of a contract between companies and the Australian government.
Negotiations on labour agreements are based on:
- The employment of the principal employer in Australia is not on the employer's guaranteed STSOL and MLTSSL list;
- HR companies recruit overseas employees on employer-guaranteed STSOL and MLTSSL lists for the enterprise;
- An employer's guarantee qualification that does not meet the criteria.
In order for the employer to have a sufficient basis for negotiation with the Government, he or she needs to prove that:
- There is a real shortage of jobs that employers want to guarantee;
- I really can't find the right Australians to work;
- And prove that the company is also trying to train local Australians.
The negotiating labor agreement shall enter into force after the signature of the parties and shall be eligible for guarantee for a period of three years. In applying for a labour agreement, employers should pay attention to:
- Indicate which jobs are scarce and why not fill vacancies by hiring Australians (need to prove that they are trying to recruit locals);
- The number of employees who need to be hired overseas;
- Indicates that the company needs the skill level, English level and salary of the overseas employees. If the semi-skilled workers are professional and in short supply, they can also be considered.
- Copies of the relevant letters / documents should also be included indicating that all persons of interest have been consulted;
- To learn more about the application process, email to labour.agreement.section@border.gov.au.
What doesn't count as Training benchmark??
- Not in this industry, but more extensive training;
- The trained employee is not citizen or PR;
- Training provided to the person in charge of the company or to the family members;
- Tuition fees for online courses (requirements for a 7.1 New deal increase in 2017);
- Fees for subscription to magazine books (increased requirements for the New deal of 7.1 in 2017)
457 employer-guaranteed work visa requirements for applicants
- On the STSOL and MLTSSL lists applicable to the employer's guarantee, the qualifications and work experience meet the skill level requirements of the Immigration Board for the nominated occupation;
- If the nominated occupation is a technician category and that occupation is on the TRA-457SMP list, a TRA career assessment is required; if the nominating occupation is an Project and Program Administrator, or Specialist Manager not elsewhere classified, an VETASSESS career assessment is required; Other occupations do not require occupational assessment;
- If there is a requirement for a nominated position, the registration permit or registration requirements for that position need to be met;
- The average IELTS G score is no less than 5 points, not less than 4.5 points per item, or equivalent to that level of other language scores. (no exemption from English may be applied for as of July 1, 2017. Unless you are an employee of an Australian overseas employer, apply for exemption with an annual salary of 96400 Australian dollars.
- There is no limit on age (but if you want to transfer a permanent residence visa after three years, then you are not more than 47 years old);
- Good health and good conduct. (the principal applicant and family members are required to take out medical insurance);
- 457 visa exemption policy please click here
457 employer-guaranteed work visa application process
Note: 457 visa holders must find a new employer within 60, or the visa will be cancelled.
457 employer-guaranteed work visa review cycle
- Company qualification examination stage: 1 month;
- Company nomination phase: 1 to 2 months
- Visa application stage: 75% of applications take 4 months and 90% take 9 months.
