Changes in Australian 457 visa to affect Indians

Australia-Visa.jpg Changes announced by Australia to 457 visas for overseas skilled workers will affect Indians working there as they reduce their stay from 90 days to 60 days after they leave their employment to scout for another job. 457 visas allow foreign workers and their families to relocate to the country Down Under for a period of up to four years if they are sponsored by an  employer to take up a job for which hiring an Australian or permanent resident was not possible. Indians would be affected the most as they are the largest overseas workforce in Australia. Britons and Chinese rank second and third, respectively. Employed under this visa are people drawn from various occupations with differing salary levels such as cooks, midwives, lift mechanics, cabinet makers, neurologists and more. The largest number of visas issued in the last financial year was to cooks, it was reported. India Live Today quotes Peter Dutton, Australia’s Immigration Minister, as saying on 16 October that beginning from 19 November the duration for which  subclass 457 visa holders can stay in Australia after they exit their employment would be cut down to 60 days from 90 days These changes were carried out as it met its intention of supplementing Australian workers. Holders of 457 visas, who were only allowed to work for an approved sponsor, were barred from taking up informal jobs and ineligible for unemployment benefits. According to Dutton, this change was carried out to reduce competition for Australians looking for jobs from foreign workers. Although the government appreciated the contributions of the various skilled people working in Australia on 457 visas, if an Australian was ready to take up a job, then it was its policy to accord priority to them, he added. If you are looking to migrate to Australia, take the help of Y-Axis, India’s premier visa, immigration and overseas careers service provider, to file for a visa from one of its 19 offices located all over India.