Recently at our Q&A session for HR professionals and business owners, Interstaff’s migration agents addressed how working holiday visas could be used as a pathway to a 457 visa.
The question posed to us was: “Following the new short and medium-term arrangements for 457 visas, has the government mentioned any likely flow-on impacts to working holiday visas?”
During the seminar, we explained that from March 2018, the new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS Visa) replacing 457’s would comprise of two streams: the Short Term Stream allowing for a two-year visa and the Medium and Long Term Stream four-year visa. At this stage, the Immigration Department has not advised of their intention to place similar restrictions on work and holiday or 417 visas.
The 457 visa changes will however have flow-on impacts for graduates, who will need to have the necessary work experience to apply for the new visa program as a skilled person. When the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa replaces the 457 visa in March 2018, all applicants will be required to have at least two years of work experience.
Working holiday visas could be a way for applicants to work towards the necessary two years of work experience for a TSS visa. Although the working holiday visa holder will have a six-month maximum restriction to work with the same employer, working holiday visas can allow time to build experience and plan for a subclass 189 permanent residence visa, as well as experience work in rural Australia. We’ve seen a lot of professionals and trades persons take this route.
Business Migration | Strategic Thinking
Want more Business Migration Q&A’s? Find out our answers to the questions businesses asked us about the new English language requirements for 457 visas or view the slides from our seminar on the 457 visa changes.
If you have any queries about how the 457 visa changes impact your business, we encourage you to contact Interstaff’s registered migration agents at [email protected] or on +61 8 9221 3388 (or National Free Call 1800 449 858).
Source: Interstaff
