Australia replaces 457 visas with TSS visas

The popular 457 visa program of Australia has been removed, with a new legislation becoming effective from 18 March. It will be replaced with a new visa program known as TSS (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa.

The 457 visa will be annulled by the Migration Legislation Amendment Regulations 2018 and replaced with the new Subclass 482 visa. With the new visa, employers are allowed to access skilled international workers if they are not able to find workers with the requisite skills in Australia.

The new visa, which will be available in two streams (short term and medium term), requires compulsory work experience in addition to better English language proficiency for the medium-term visa. It will hereafter be also necessary for applicants to obtain skill assessments, which are positive before they can begin applying for visas.

SBS Punjabi says that experts are of the belief that many overseas students who could obtain employer-sponsored visas after graduating will find it tough to get these new visas because of the extra conditions.

The short-term visas under the TSS will be granted for two years and the medium-term visas for up to four years with the IELTS (International English Language Testing Service) exam under which overall band score of 5 and at least 5 in each of the four components is necessary.

It also has been made clear that with short-term visas, people do not get a pathway to permanent residency. In 2017, Australia’s Federal Government implemented major changes to employer-sponsored visas which will become effective soon.

Henceforth, businesses wanting to sponsor international workers on short-term visas of TSS can bring them under occupations listed on the STSOL (Short-term Skilled Occupation List). For the four-year visa, they can access them in occupations on the MLTSSL (Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List).

Included in the TSS also is a Labour Agreement stream that lets employers of Australia access skilled foreign workers in line with a labour treaty with the government, where it can be shown that required talent is not available in the labour market of Australia.

If you are looking to work in Australia, talk to Y-Axis, the world’s no.1 immigration and visa consultancy, to apply for a visa.