Temporary Business Visas – More Changes Under Way The last 20 years have seen a great increase in the number of foreign nationals wishing to work in Australia. As a result of this new trend as well as the Australian growing need for skilled labour, the Australian government introduced a visa catering for temporary entry of business and skilled overseas workers. Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa also known as Subclass 457 visa was introduced into the Australian immigration system by the Howard government back in 1996. Since 1996, the Subclass 457 visa has undergone a number of transformations to accommodate the need to streamline the application process and to address the Australian need for skilled workers. Generally, since 1996 the application requirements became less stringent and the application process more streamlined. The Subclass 457 visa process consists of three stages, namely: - Sponsorship by the company wishing to engage the temporary entrant to work in Australia;
- Nomination of the temporary entrant to fill a vacant position within the business; and
- Visa Application by the temporary entrant.
The Australian government introduced an electronic online facility allowing the applicants to lodge all three stages of the application process online. Online applications are given priority over paper applications and are processed faster, which provides encouragement to use the online lodgement facility. The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, namely the Hon Kevin Andrews MP recently announced further changes to the Subclass 457 visa system effective from 1 July 2007. So far the applicants’ knowledge of the English language was not a major factor affecting the grant of a Subclass 457 visa. From 1 July 2007, a new English requirement will be introduced calling for all sponsored workers to show functional English language skills. The term “Functional English language skills” is equivalent to an overall band score of 4.5 in an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. For some occupations even a higher level of English language skills will be required. Nevertheless, the applicants will not necessarily be obliged to sit the test to prove that they have Functional English language skills. A process to establish who is and who is not required to sit an IELTS test is yet to be developed. It is important to note that the new English language requirement is going to apply not only to those applicants who lodge their applications after 1 July 2007, but also to the applicants whose visa applications have not been decided by this date. In addition to the new English requirement, the Australian government is currently also working on a new arrangement aimed at fast tracking of visa applications under Subclass 457. The government hopes to achieve this by priority processing the applications of the employers who have a good business sponsorship record and visa applicants from low risk countries. The new methods, which will be used to fast track visa applications are yet to be finalised. Prepared by: Davorin Cajic (B.A.LL.B) Registered Migration Agent MARN: 0531026 (May 2007) |
