More Changes for the Australian 457 Sponsorship Visa
This year the Australian government has announced a lot of changes to several visas and immigration regulations. The main purpose of those changes is to help the local business and help the economy while improving the immigration quality.
Earlier significant changes in regards with the Australian Sponsorship 457 visa was announced and it raised a lot of interest due to the big popularity of the 457 Sponsorship visa. As you might know the program will be discontinued as it is known and will be replaced by the Temporary Skilled Shortage TSS program as of March 2018.
Now the latest changes from July are in regards with the Australian 457 Sponsorship visa and the Skilled Occupation List. 36 new occupations are included in the SOL. (Those new occupations apply also for the 186 visa subclass.) Some occupations are moved between Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).
Other important changes concerning the 457 Sponsorship visa are the English language exemption will apply only in cases when the applicant is working for the given sponsor but in foreign location. The income of the applicant should exceed AUD 96 400. As of now a police clearance is required as well. Additional Skills Assessment will be required if the applicants for the Sponsorship 457 visa are from Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan and their occupation is Chef and Cook.
There is also a new category introduced for the Sponsorship companies called – Accredited Sponsorship. This new stream allows low volume sponsors to be accredited if they comply with the requirements of AUD 4 million turnover and at least 90% Australian employees.
More information about Australian visas.