Post Work Period Changed for Australia’s 457 Visa Holders
Australia has just announced that there are changes planned to their visa for foreign skilled that is Australia’s 457 visa. Currently, workers in Australia in this type of visa are able to stay on in the country for 90 days after their employment officially ends but this is due to change to 60 days. Australia’s Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton stated this week that the status would change this week. This move was made to ensure that Australian workers are prioritized over workers from overseas, and to protect Australia’s 457 Visa workers from taking on illegal jobs after leaving their official employer. The government has made a point of overseeing Australia’s 457 visa programme and reviewing it to ensure that both local workers and immigrant workers are protected. Workers who are employed in Australia on Australia’s 457 visa programme are able to work for up to four years, and are supposed to fill positions that cannot be filled on a local level. In-demand jobs include midwives, neurologists, lift mechanics, chefs, and cabinetmakers among other jobs, the last year saw the bulk of 457 visas given to professional cooks.
Currently, the majority of these specialized work visas go to people from India, around 26.8% followed by 15% to UK citizens and then Chinese workers, who get around 6.6% of Australia’s 457 visas. There appear to be no plans to reduce the number of visas given to foreign nationals, and if a worker has had a job in Australia for some years, it is expected that they would be able to make contacts with other Australian employers within the 60-day post work period. People from other countries will always be attracted to work in Australia as the wages are known to be high, and there is a good standard of living with a warm temperate climate, beautiful landscape and buzzing, modern cities.