Go over on Visitor visa or wait for 457 grant

[CapeTownGirl]

Hi,

 

I was hoping somebody could help me with this little conundrum...

 

Background:

I got a job offer from a big corporate in Brisbane who does sponsorships quite often. They use a migration agency in Australia. The visa application has not been lodged yet, but will hopefully be in by the 14th of October.

 

The company wants me to start as soon as possible and is pushing for a start date in December or early January. The problem I have is that with a 457 visa there are so many unknowns with regards to timing. All they could tell me is that it takes 6-12 weeks and for a type-A personality like myself, that is a pretty big window and it makes planning very difficult.

 

We still have to give notice at our rental house, finalise our end dates at our current jobs (they are aware of our situation) and move our cats over. Unfortunately I need to arrange these things sooner rather than later so was starting to think about just working with the start date of early Jan. If the visa should take 12 weeks, I should still get it by 9 Jan 2017 (depending on how much of a go-slow the department goes on over December).

 

Question:

We still have an active visitors visa from our previous trip to Brisbane (my mom and sister lives there), can we go over early January on our Visitors visa while we wait for our 457 to be granted (if it hasn't yet)? Or do we have to wait for our visa to enter the country? 

I realise I can only start working when I have the visa, but we have the benefit of having family there that we can stay with for a while, so not having an income in January is not the end of the world.

 

Any advice will be appreciated, I'm starting to make myself a bit crazy :). 

Edited October 2, 2016 by CapeTownGirl

[SD_MOA]

Hello CTG,

A SC457 visa can be granted while the applicant is in Australia so it would be possible for you to enter Australia on your visitor visa and wait for grant .  As you say you would not be allowed to work whilst on the visitor visa.  You need to be aware that no visa grant is guaranteed and a refusal is always possible also 457 visa processing is very slow at present so it is also possible that the application will not be finalised by the time your visitor visa expires.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards

[RedPanda]

This is one for the pro's to answer. The risks of getting it wrong are too high. Ask @SD_MOA or @TeeTMI

[MelanieMas]

12 hours ago, SD_MOA said:

Hello CTG,

A SC457 visa can be granted while the applicant is in Australia so it would be possible for you to enter Australia on your visitor visa and wait for grant .  As you say you would not be allowed to work whilst on the visitor visa.  You need to be aware that no visa grant is guaranteed and a refusal is always possible also 457 visa processing is very slow at present so it is also possible that the application will not be finalised by the time your visitor visa expires.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards

Hi there why is there such a delay we have been waiting today will be 4 months going crazy here  :

3 June Visa Lodged

3 August Nomination approved

3 August RFI requested

Still no news 4 October

[LeaS]

Hi there, 

 

I have just been through the same situation as yourself, and thought I would give you some background of our situation: 

@MelanieMas - here is our story. 

 

15 August 2016 - Job Offer Received

17 August 2016 - Contract Signed

23 August 2016 - All visa docs submitted to Company in Aus to process

27 August 2016 - Health Declarations Submitted online (I did these myself)

30 August 2016 - Visa Application Lodged

30 August 2016 - Medicals done in SA

07 September 2016 - Case Officer Assigned

12 September 2016 - Medicals Finalised (this took some time as we needed a medical report from our doctor)

28 September 2016 - Visa's Granted

 

So, it took us 4 weeks and 1 day in total. I think that the process was a bit quicker for us as I did the Health Declarations before the visa was lodged and didn't wait for the CO to request the Medicals. Although, I am also not 100% sure,

 

Good Luck, and please give me a shout if you have any other questions about this process. I will be glad to give you any other information to help you guys. 

 

Take Care, 

 

 

[MelanieMas]

@LeaS thanks for that , what area are guys going too?

and what was the position ?

[CapeTownGirl]

18 hours ago, SD_MOA said:

Hello CTG,

A SC457 visa can be granted while the applicant is in Australia so it would be possible for you to enter Australia on your visitor visa and wait for grant .  As you say you would not be allowed to work whilst on the visitor visa.  You need to be aware that no visa grant is guaranteed and a refusal is always possible also 457 visa processing is very slow at present so it is also possible that the application will not be finalised by the time your visitor visa expires.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards

 

Thank you so much @SD_MOA. This would be the last resort, I just wanted to know if it is even an option for an emergency.

 

Thanks @LeaS and @MelanieMas for sharing your experience. It is confusing that the process could be so much longer for some. I'm going to arrange our medicals tomorrow and see if that speeds up the process for us.

 

Congratulations @LeaS - Melbourne is awesome, I'm sure you are going to love it. 

@MelanieMas - I hope you get good news soon!

 

Edited October 4, 2016 by CapeTownGirl

[MelanieMas]

@LeaS we heading for Brisbane ?

[TeeTMI]

On 02/10/2016 at 5:53 PM, CapeTownGirl said:

If the visa should take 12 weeks, I should still get it by 9 Jan 2017 (depending on how much of a go-slow the department goes on over December).
 

 

Both December and January can be impacted by people taking leave - prime holiday time.

 

I agree with Stephen's comments above.  Plus, would add that the 457's timing can be a little unpredictable at the moment and if further information is required this will cause further delay. 

[LeaS]

@MelanieMas 

 

We are headed to Melbourne in November. I am going to be working for Monash University over there. 

Where are you guys headed?