Options from 457 to Permanent Residency in Australia

People who come to Australia on 457 visas and find the country and the lifestyle appealing are venturing through their options to stay in Australia by applying for 457 to PR.

This process does not happen automatically after certain requirements are fulfilled. Qualified individuals still has to apply in person. This is also the first possibility in mind to rid certain concerns about what happens when a person loses his/her job on a 457 visa of when the economy is a bit sluggish. Individuals will be much relieved not having to rely on the employers or sponsors in order to remain in Australia.

Commonly, from subclass 457 visa, people pursue the following means in applying for permanent residency:

• By way of Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS);
• Via Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS);
• Through Skilled Migration; and
• Applying as the Partner of an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident

The ENS and RSMS programs are both comparable to the 457 visa processing with just additional fundamentals. The RSMS mainly applies for employers centered in regional zones of Australia. These regional areas are outlined in the migration regulations. With both ENS and RSMS, an employer nomination for permanent residence is still a requisite. Certain company files and financial information will have to be disclosed by the employer as part of the process since the employer will have to meet the training benchmark standards to be able to nominate or endorse an individual. As part of the minimum requirements, one or the other employer will have to spend 1% of the payroll on training Australian employees or use 2% of the payroll on an Industry Training Fund. This is not usually a major concern as employers mostly have to satisfy these mentioned requisites already to be able to sponsor an individual for a 457 visa.

The ways to apply under ENS or RSMS:

Through the Direct Entry Stream

Skills assessment in the latest profession and a minimum of three (3) years work experience in their occupation are an applicant needs to accomplish under ENS – from any place they came from. The medical and character checks and mainly the English language requirements are also to be fulfilled by the applicant. The RSMS applicants on the other hand must have a pertinent qualification to their profession. Certain trade tests must also be satisfied on certain conditions.

457 Transition Stream. Applicants must have worked for their employer/company who/which nominated them for permanent residency in Australia for at least two (2) years on a subclass 457 visa. Skill assessment still depends on certain line of trades and not as strict when it comes to the English language requirements. The medical and character checks still need to be completed.

Skilled Migration is another option for qualified applicants. Employers make this application independently. An individual must score at least 60pts to be able to lodge an Expression of Interest since it is a points-tested application. DIAC selects the candidates who have the best skills and high scores and then the applicants get invited apply for permanent residency. Individuals with State Nomination have ways to advance in the application process.

Partner Migration is a widely held option for a 457 visa holders being in a genuine and ongoing relationships with Australian citizens or permanent residents. Marriage is not a requirement as genuine de facto and relationships of twelve (12) months or longer qualifies for a partner visa application. A partner visa is usually approved for three (3) years and soon after a couple of years one can consider to apply for permanent residency Australia.

457 visa holders have to look thoroughly at their options in applying for permanent residency Australia. Consult a migration specialist in order to talk over certain state of affairs and work out the best option to proceed with.