Temporary Work (skilled) Visa - Subclass 457 - HELP!

Captain Kidd

Hi All,
Myself and my girlfriend are preparing to submit an application for a Temporary Work (Skilled) Visa (subclass 457), whereby if one of us obtains a job offer, we can both work and live in Oz for up to 4 years. We are particularly concerned about:

1. Being able to find a job from Ireland;
2. Providing ‘de-facto’ evidence that we are in a relationship, considering we do not currently live together and so do not have a joint bank account or Lease Agreement.

Has anybody been through this application/job seeking process and if so would you be able to give us any tips? VisaFirst have offered to take care of the application for a fee of €2,875! Lovely as it would be to hand it all over to them, we’re going to need to do it ourselves, any idea how much it would cost?. Any advice to help us on our way would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!’

DeclanClune

I assume that those fees are inclusive of DIAC fees which were increased this week.

Sent PM

Captain Kidd

Hi Declan. Thank you for your post. The breakdown is as follows: €1,500 VisaFirst basic processing fee, €500 additional processing fee for inclusion of my partner within the application and the remainder DIAC fees which I believe have recently doubled for applications lodged post 1st July 2013. We are going to need to process the application ourselves due to the hefty processing fee. Do-able we think, but we would definitely benefit from the experience of a couple that have been in our position and were willing to post a few tips.

DeclanClune

I am happy to advise if you have particular questions but I would prefer not to discuss an application on an open forum.

Thanks
Declan Clune

Mod edit Declan you are posting as an individual on this forum. This forum is for an open discussion.

Batgurl

Hold up.

Do you have an employer willing to take you on on a 457?

A 457 visa is an EMPLOYER nominated visa.

Without a job already offered, your application will go no where.

jackbhoy

Batgurl wrote: »

Hold up.

Do you have an employer willing to take you on on a 457?

A 457 visa is an EMPLOYER nominated visa.

Without a job already offered, your application will go no where.

Exactly. I would've expected the visa agent to spot that first but he seemed a bit more focussed on his sales pitch.

DeclanClune

Guys,

To be fair, I have posted several comments on boards regarding 457 and other visas. I know that the 457 requires you to have a job offer. We wouldn't be able to take on the case in the first place without that.
It doesn't meant that you can't advise what fees would be in the event that you do get a job offer however.

Thanks
Declan Clune

hussey

Captain Kid - a 457 visa is a visa which the employer should pay the costs, although it happens that some employees pay the cost just to be happy to have a job. Although as Declan said, this could be more advise than a job offer.

I would be very weary of paying any money until you have a signed employment contract. Regardless of what agency it is.

You do not need to live together or have a join bank statement for defacto. It is easier with it, but not needed.
Things like flights together, holidays, etc etc, are all good evidence of a relationship.

DeclanClune

hussey wrote: »

I would be very weary of paying any money until you have a signed employment contract. Regardless of what agency it is.

Absolutely - you need to have a job offer from an employer in the first place. It's a basic requirement of the visa application.

As Hussey says, unless you have a signed contract you are at nothing. DIAC will reject your application end of story.

Captain Kidd

Thanks very much everyone for your time and your comments. We are aware that the 457 visa is an employer sponsored visa. Neither of us have secured a job yet but we are working towards this. Myself and my girlfriend work in very different fields; Graphic Design and Project Management and each have a nice bit of experience, good references etc., so we would hope that one of us would be able to arrange a job in advance if we work hard enough to find one and market ourselves as best as possible. We are aware that only one of us needs to be offered a job and that the other can be listed as a partner on the visa. That is why we are so concerned about the ‘de-facto’ evidence of being in a relationship and anything else that might prohibit us from making a valid application.



On this de-facto evidence, thank you Hussey for your suggestion of backing up the fact that we are in a relationship with flight bookings etc. Do you know how much of this type of information we would need to present if we don’t have official documents like Lease Agreements? We would be very much obliged if you could point us in the direction of any information on this. The Australian government website lists all the official documents but doesn’t say much about the range of information accepted in the absence of official evidence, how much of it would be required etc.



Any other tips on putting the 457 visa application together ourselves would really be very much appreciated. We have applied for the Garda clearance, but would like to get any other long lead items out of the way too in advance. We’re hoping to move over at the end of September, which would mean the job hunt kicking off in earnest at the beginning of July. As such, we’re going to be spending the month of June polishing the CVs, getting the visa application forms prepared and doing everything else possible to try ensure that one of us stands a chance of being offered a job.



Thanks all

Captain Kidd

Anyone?

Batgurl

Captain Kidd wrote: »

Anyone?

Anyone what?

What are you looking for?
You've been told you need a sponsor employer willing to nominate you.

Everything else can be found in old threads using the search function.

Captain Kidd

Sorry Batgurl,

In short does anyone know how much of this type of information (evidence of a relationship) we would need to present if we don’t have official documents like Lease Agreements?

Any other tips on putting the 457 visa application together ourselves would really be very much appreciated.

Thanks

AngryHippie

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm

"It is important that a couple claiming a de facto relationship are able to provide evidence that:

they have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others
the relationship between them is genuine and continuing
they have been living together or have not been living separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Some of the factors to be considered in deciding whether the partners satisfy the requirement include:

knowledge of each other's personal circumstances
financial aspects of the relationship, joint financial commitments such as real estate or other assets and sharing day-to-day household expenses
the nature of the household, including living arrangements and joint care and responsibility for any children of the relationship
the social aspects of the relationship, provided in statements (statutory declarations) by friends and acquaintances
the nature of the commitment, including duration of the relationship, how long the couple has been living together and whether they see the relationship as a long-term one."

In short, everything can be considered as evidence. Financial is the big one. Dual bank account being a must.
Lease with both names is a bonus.
Loans and payments in both names is a big bonus
Receipts for travel together are helpful
Social activity together is helpful , (club memberships etc.)
Statutory declarations by Australian citizens saying how long they have known you both and what the status of your relationship is.
Your personal statement if you get the opportunity to make one is also a good opportunity to state exactly what the relationship means to you, and what your vision of the future together entails.
Photographs of the two of you together can also be submitted, but might not be accepted without a time stamp.


Best of luck with it.

Diddler82

Captain Kidd wrote: »

Sorry Batgurl,

In short does anyone know how much of this type of information (evidence of a relationship) we would need to present if we don’t have official documents like Lease Agreements?

Any other tips on putting the 457 visa application together ourselves would really be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Not to sound smart .. but find an employer willing to take you on!

Do not give anyone a penny without a signed contract of employment before going through the hoops for a 457.

Everything else will fall into place once you find the employer so this needs to take priority over everything you are doing.

Mellor

Captain Kidd wrote: »

Hi All,
Myself and my girlfriend are preparing to submit an application for a Temporary Work (Skilled) Visa (subclass 457), whereby if one of us obtains a job offer, we can both work and live in Oz for up to 4 years. We are particularly concerned about:

You need more than a job offer. You need an offer of sponsorship, very very different.

Providing ‘de-facto’ evidence that we are in a relationship, considering we do not currently live together and so do not have a joint bank account or Lease Agreement.

By the sounds of it, you aren't actually in a defacto relationship.