This visa is a multiple entry visa that allows you to live and work in Australia for up to a period of four years. You must have proof of a job offer; in line with your skills and experience and one that meets the minimum salary requirements. You have to stay within your chosen profession/ occupation while on this visa.

You will be sponsored directly by your employer. The company would then be your sponsor. Note that your employer will also need to be eligible to sponsor. VISA FIRST will check that the employment position is approved.

VISA FIRST will give a free assessment of your Australian employer’s eligibility to sponsor.

Your position must be consistent with the position description lodged with DIMIA at the time of your sponsorship. If your position is to change, we must first seek approval from DIMIA by the lodgement of a new position description.

If the new position is outside your initial position description at the time of your sponsorship or you wish to change employer, you will need to lodge a new visa application

No. VISA FIRST will assess your eligibility for a visa for free, which will be based on many criteria including qualifications and work experience. We will need a letter of job offer and a detailed copy of your CV. We will not apply for your visa unless we are confident that you are eligible.

There are none.

No, any nationality can apply, once they have an approved job offer.

The following documents are required for the Assessment stage of your Sponsorship visa application:

1. A genuine job offer from an Australian employer, who is willing to sponsor you;

NB: Your letter of offer/ employment contract should be stating:

• Company Business and Trading Names, ABN and ACN (if available);
• Company contact details (postal address, telephone/ fax numbers, etc.);
• Title of the job position, as well as description of the occupation to be filled, including skill and qualification requirements and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position;
• Period of employment and working hours (not less than 40 hours per week);
• Base salary and total remuneration package offered per annum (Note: The minimum base salary required is AU$ 41,850 (for 38 working hours week) / (AU$ 44,053 (for 40 working hours week) / AU$57,300 (for ITs or managers) - per annum. Base salary is the gross salary paid, excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals and vehicles).

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Please send us an updated copy of your CV, including:

• Certified* copies of any education and training certificates/ diplomas held, as well as any other evidence of qualifications obtained, relevant to your Australian job offer;
• Certified* copies of employer references;
• Full employment history, including information for each employer/ position:
  • Employer's name;
  • Position held / name of occupation;
  • Date started;
  • Date finished;
  • Duties, tasks, responsibilities - required and performed on this position.

*To certify your documents you need to visit registered Justice of the Peace attorney in order to certify the copies of the documents requested. On the copies, the Justice of the Peace must put date, sign and stamp, as well as his/ her name and contact details.

On receipt of the above documents we will contact you to confirm your assessment results and to advise you upon the next step of your visa application. Additional documentation requirements will follow.

A Chest X-ray and/or Medical examination will be a part of your Sponsorship visa application. Please do not pass any health examinations in advance! There is a strict procedure related to all health examinations and you will be notified of this procedure in details at a later stage.

• Company Business and Trading Names, ABN and ACN (if available);
• Company contact details (postal address, telephone/ fax numbers, etc.);
• Title of the job position, as well as description of the occupation to be filled, including skill and qualification requirements and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position;
• Period of employment and working hours (not less than 40 hours per week);
• Base salary and total remuneration package offered per annum (Note: The minimum base salary required is AU$ 41,850 (for 38 working hours week) / (AU$ 44,053 (for 40 working hours week) / AU$57,300 (for ITs or managers) - per annum. Base salary is the gross salary paid, excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals and vehicles).

• Your full contact details;
• Your education history;
• Your fluency in English, written and spoken;
• CV should be at least 1 page and no longer than four.

Please also attach:

• Certified* copies of any education and training certificates/ diplomas held, as well as any other evidence of qualifications obtained, relevant to your Australian job offer;
• Certified* copies of employer references;
• Full employment history, including information for each employer/ position:
  • Employer's name;
  • Position held / name of occupation;
  • Date started;
  • Date finished;
  • Duties, tasks, responsibilities - required and performed on this position.

• If you have tertiary qualifications, then a MINIMUM of 1 year experience relevant to the nominated position is required.
• If the tertiary qualification is less than a degree (i.e. diploma or certificate) then the MINIMUM experience required will be at least 2-3 years.
• If there is no tertiary qualification, a MINIMUM of 5 years experience relevant to the nominated position is required. This also depends on ASCO as to what is actually required of prospective applicants, according to what ASCO deems as the qualification requirement of the position that is nominated. ASCO is the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations.

In some instances certain occupations require:

• An Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) certificate or diploma or higher qualification and 12 months relevant employment experience; or
• At least three years relevant employment experience.

All relevant employment experience must be evidenced via references from previous employers.

Certificates (e.g. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Training, Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Training) do NOT equate to a formal qualification. The certificate courses referred to vary in duration. You may be able to tally the duration of each and come up with something meaningful. It would depend on each case, the level of experience combined with what you have. A couple of those certificates with 2 years experience may not suffice.

The issue of a Sponsorship visa is discretionary and depends on examination of each individual case. Though VISA FIRST have priority processing with DIMIA (Australian Department of Immigration) enabling finalising a visa application in 6-8 weeks, processing periods may vary beyond this period. Please note that insufficient information from either yourself or your sponsoring employer may result in additional delays or visa refusal.

Yes. You do not have to be offshore to apply.

Yes, provided they do not have a "no further stay" condition on their Tourist 676 visa. All other conditions that may be on your Tourist 676 visa will change when your 457 Sponsorship visa is issued.

No.

Yes. Until the new 457 Sponsorship visa is issued you must conform to the 417 Working Holiday visa conditions. If these conditions are breached, for instance if you stay with the one employer for more than 3 months, your 457 may be rejected.

Provided that your Sponsorship 457 Visa application is lodged before your 417 Visa expires, then you can be issued with a Bridging Visa, which confers the same terms and conditions as your original 417 Working Holiday Visa, i.e. you will still not be able to work for more than three months with a single employer. This condition in relation to the three months with a single employer continues, not with standing your 457 Sponsorship application.

In the event that an application indicated to the Australian Department of Immigration that the conditions of the existing Visa have been breached, the Department will reject the application - further, if this was the case, and knowing the application would most likely be rejected, VISA FIRST would not be in a position to be able to lodge the application on your behalf.

If your 417 Working Holiday visa has not yet expired, you will still retain the 417 visa. However, if the 417 visa has expired, you will be given notice that you have 28 days to either obtain another visa, or depart the country.

When you obtain your 457 Sponsorship visa, your requirements for health insurance change. You will be advised to consult your insurance company.

Spouse, de-facto and dependants of visa holders under this category are able to work and study during their stay in Australia. Spouses and dependants, however, may incur education/tuition costs for any study undertaken in Australia. You should contact the relevant education provider about such costs. You should note that under State legislation, school-age dependants may be required to attend school while in Australia. Dependants studying at tertiary level attract the same fees as those which apply to overseas students.

A dependant is a member of the family unit of the visa applicant. This may include the spouse/ partner of the applicant, any dependent children (under 18 years of age) or some other dependent relative.

From outside Australia: VISA FIRST charge €2000/ £1500/ CA$3100/ AU$3000 per sponsorship application.
From within Australia: VISA FIRST charge AU$2500 per sponsorship application.

If you do not get your 457 Sponsorship visa, after you have received a positive assessment from VISA FIRST we will refund your admin fee. However, the government processing charges are non refundable.

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will not be able to receive a refund of the application charge.

If your visa application is refused, you may apply for a review of the decision. You will be notified of your review rights in writing. You will also be advised how to apply for a review and the time limits for lodging such an application.

Make sure you print and keep a copy of your visa approval letter. You should discuss health insurance arrangements with your sponsor. Generally, temporary business entrants are not entitled to access Australia's national health insurance scheme.

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