457 Skilled (Subclass) Work Visa
Changes to 457
Since this article was written major changes have taken place in Australian migration law. Please discuss how these changes have impacted on your migration journey to Australia
According to statistics as shown in 2014 and 2015 by the Australian Immigration Department, the application for the Australian Temporary Work (Skilled) subclass 457 visa has increased by 15%. This visa category has gained extreme prominence over time as a record of 30,000 applicants were granted the visa in 1998 which incredible increased to a landmark of 120,000 in 2013. It has become the best choice to the skilled cadre and students likewise as it allows for migrants who are sponsored by an Australian business under the standard business sponsorship or labour term with the Australian Immigration Department entry to work for a period of 4 years having to be screened on the basis of skills, English proficiency, health as well as background check.
Skilled migration list
To be employable with the Australian 457 visa, the Skilled Occupation List of the Australian government must be filled for a position by an employer. Such an employer will also have demonstrated a good trackable record of employing Australians with no evidences of ill-treatment or bad work practices against the work force. In some cases, labour market testing may not be necessary where a labour term has been negotiated with the Australian government.
Career Prospect with 457 (Subclass) Work Visa
The acceptance of this visa category is relatively high as figures has shown that the application for it in the last 9 months in 2014 which was 35,440 has projected to a value of 40,870 (approximately 15%) in March 2015.
The following information shows the proportion in percentage of the categories of applicants:
| SERVICES | SHARE % |
| Accommodation and food | 37 |
| Information Technology | 31 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical | 27 |
In the same statistics, UK, India, and China shared 50% of the granted visa applications, where 25% holders are foreign travellers and students.
Scientific, Professional and Technical Surge on 457 Visas
The Australian Financial Review bulletin has revealed that around 20,000 new engineers are needed in Australia annually whereas approximately 9,500 engineering students graduate each year. It is also traceable that the rise in application for 457 work visa category by professionals, scientific and technical cadre was due to their shortage within the Australia economy. 5,935 work visas have been secured by this skilled cadre since 2013.