Australia Scraps 457 Visas – How this will impact you

The subclass 457 will be abolished and replaced with a new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS), which will commence by March 2018. The government believes its purpose and change is to support businesses in addressing genuine skill shortages in their workforce and will contain a number of safeguards which prioritise Australian workers.

It is unclear what the 457 changes will mean for the transition from temporary to permanent residency although existing visa holders will be grandfathered under the old system, providing a level of certainty at least in the short-term. The issue will arise when a 457 visa holder wants to extend their stay, it is still unclear if they could extend their 457, or apply under the new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) when their visa expires.

Under the previous 457, visa holders could be eligible for permanent residency after two years. Know there are changes to the permanent residency arrangements under the new scheme. There is no residency pathway under the new two year visa, while in the four year visa, holders will see permanent residence eligibility period extended from two to three years.

Validity period: The maximum duration of 457 visas issued from 19 April 2017 for occupations that are on the STSOL will be two years. Occupations on the MLTSSL will continue to be issued for a maximum duration of four years.

List of Occupation Change:

• Skilled Occupation List (SOL) KNOW the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL); https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work/Skills-assessment-and-assessing-authorities/skilled-occupations-lists/mltssl; and
• Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL) KNOW the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL); https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work/Skills-assessment-and-assessing-authorities/skilled-occupations-lists/combined-stsol-mltssl

Current holders of a 457
For those already in Australia they are not in immediate danger. The Prime Minster said those already on 457 visas would be protected from the changes. “For those people here on a 457 visa at the moment, there will be a grandfathering arrangement. They will continue under the conditions of that visa.”