Australia – Moving from a 457 Visa to Permanent Residency (PR) – What you need to know…

Pendragon have assisted hundreds of individuals over the years to move from a 457 Visa to Permanent Residency (PR) via the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) which is the most common route for 457 visa holders.

How to move to Permanent Residency (PR) via the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS).

The ENS Visa (subclass 186) is for skilled workers who want to work in Australia as a Permanent Resident and involves a two-step process;

1. Nomination by an approved Australian employer
2. Then an application under the nominated stream.

This visa is a permanent residence visa. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply. If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa such as the 457 visa or a bridging visa A, B or C.

The visa has three streams;

Option 1 below is the most common route for individuals who are working in Australia and hold a 457 Visa.

1. The Temporary Residence Transition stream is for subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for two years, while holding a subclass 457 visa, in the same occupation with their nominating employer (who is not subject to a labour agreement and who has lodged a valid nomination with The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) under the Temporary Residence Transition stream), who wants to offer them a permanent position in that occupation.

2. The Direct Entry stream is for (route used for overseas individuals only):
• people who have been nominated by their employer under the Direct Entry stream
• people who have never, or only briefly, worked in Australia, or
• temporary residents who do not qualify for the Temporary Residence Transition stream.

3. The Agreement stream is for subclass 457 visa holders sponsored by an employer through a labour agreement.

Basic Company Requirements
This information explains what is required from a company if they want to nominate a skilled worker (and dependent family members) for a permanent Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186).

You can nominate a skilled worker for this visa if:
• you actively and lawfully operate a business in Australia
• you have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position
• you offer a skilled position in the applicant’s field that is full time and ongoing for at least two years
• you pay a market salary rate
• you comply with Australian immigration and workplace relations laws
• there is no adverse information known about your business or any person associated with your business.

Basic Individual Requirements
• Must have worked for two (2) years in the occupation with the sponsoring company
• Have been paid the correct market salary for the two (2) year period
• Worked in the occupation as shown on the 457 Visa for the required two (2) year period

How Can Pendragon Help?
Pendragon have in-house experienced  qualified migration agents who assess each individual on a case by case basis and advise on the possibility and best route for obtaining Permanent Residency (PR).

Step 1: Individual assessment to advise options for PR

Step 2: Talk to the company who employs the individual and discuss the PR options through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)

Step 3: We have a meeting with the company to let them know what they have to get together or what they need to prepare to become a sponsor. This includes but not limited to such tasks as the following…

• Proof of training – if they cannot demonstrate this, we will take them through the best way to show this to be ready to sponsor in future (Some companies do not want to give their financial records to the department so will not want to sponsor for PR)
• Provide proof of a genuine position
• The individual can still look to move to another company who may be more willing to look at PR, they can stay on a 457 visa so changing jobs is easy and then we can speak directly to the new company and see if we can get them sponsorship ready

If you are currently on a 457 visa and your ultimate goal is to move to Permanent Residency, talk to us…

Phone: +612 9407 8700
Website: www.pendragon.net.au
Online assessment form: https://www.pendragon.net.au/contact/