Sponsoring a worker in Australia

[jersey10]

Does anyone have experience with sponsoring a worker so they are granted permission to stay in the country? I have a casual worker who is good and would do a good job in a permanent position i have available. If i move them into the permanent position they will require sponsorship as their current visa expires in 2012. I am seeking insight as to is it a painful process to sponsor a worker (cost, paper work, etc.)
Does anyone have any experience, stories or advice?

 

[Eager]

I have absolutely no experience in the matter at all, but my observation, which you may take as advice if you wish, is that it is silly to worry about the cost. if the worker is so good, you would crawl over broken glass to retain him or her.

Similar to ongoing training of both new and established workers, think of the cost involved as an investment instead.

 

[nomore4s]

My wife recently helped sponsor a worker and here is her thoughts on the process.

It's relatively easy. Immigration were very helpful and the process was pretty quick. The cost is pretty minimal. I'm pretty sure it was less than $1000. You pay for the first two stages and the person requiring the visa pays for the 3rd stage. A little bit of paper work required but nothing too complicated. Worth the effort for a good employee.

Here is a booklet which has all the information for sponsoring

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books9.pdf

In summary (from page 4).....

Application stages

There are 3 processing stages in sponsoring an employee from overseas under the
subclass 457 visa program:

Sponsorship
The employer applies for approval as a standard business sponsor.
This is required to nominate an occupation for a subclass 457 visa.
More information on the Sponsorship stage can be found in Part 2 of
this booklet.

Nomination
The employer nominates an occupation for a prospective or existing
subclass 457 visa holder. More information on the Nomination stage
can be found in Part 3 of this booklet.

Visa application The person nominated to work in the nominated occupation applies
for the subclass 457 visa. This is the final step to obtaining a
subclass 457 visa. More information on the visa application stage can
be found in Part 4 of this booklet.

So the first thing that needs to be done is the sponsorship. This is an online form that can be found at

http://www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/employer-sponsored.htm

On page 24, it states that the minimum salary for (temporary skilled migration income threshold) for a sponsored employee is currently set at $49,330. This is to make sure the person can support themselves in Australia (for those people that don't have an australian sugar mamma/daddy). If the 'market salary' for the nominated occupation is lower than this, this visa cannot be used.

 

[jersey10]

Wow, fantastic help. Thanks everyone.

 

[jersey10]

what happens if you sack the worker after you begin sponsoring them?

 

[pixel]

what happens if you sack the worker after you begin sponsoring them?

Google "457 visa australia" and you'll find an answer to all your questions.
Some are from the worker's view, e.g. FAQs like http://www.murdoch.edu.au/hr2/information/FAQ_457_visa_holders.pdf

 

[waimate01]

Done it a couple of times. Immigration lawyers will want to charge you ten or fifteen grand, but it really just comes down to filling in a bunch of forms carefully and creatively but not fictionally. Pretty easy to DIY and just pay the filing fees.

Its important to understand that what you end up with is slightly similar to an indentured slave, which despite the sound of it, isn't such a good thing. For maximum contentment, after your initial success you should encourage the worker to go on and apply for residence in their own right, so they can keep working for you because they want to; not because they have to. In both cases they got their permanency at the first opportunity, and remained productive employees for many years after. I think being careful to not exploit the situation yields a more dedicated employee.

Google "457 visa australia" and you'll find an answer to all your questions.
Some are from the worker's view, e.g. FAQs like http://www.murdoch.edu.au/hr2/information/FAQ_457_visa_holders.pdf

 

[pixel]

Does anyone have experience with sponsoring a worker so they are granted permission to stay in the country? I have a casual worker who is good and would do a good job in a permanent position i have available. If i move them into the permanent position they will require sponsorship as their current visa expires in 2012. I am seeking insight as to is it a painful process to sponsor a worker (cost, paper work, etc.)
Does anyone have any experience, stories or advice?

In a totally unrelated context, I came across this website: http://www.mackeylawyers.com.au/
If you live in or around Melbourne, you may simply ring and put your questions to them. There may be costs involved, but without asking, you won't know.