Australia – Government scraps 457 visa program and replaces it with a new skills shortage visa

Australia has abolished its Subclass 457 visa for foreign workers and has introduced the new Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa.

The new visa is restricted to critical skills shortages and ensures that Australian workers obtain priority for temporary skills shortages.

According to the Times of India, the 457 visa was popular among Indians with 22% of the more than 90,000 visa holders coming from India.

Last year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had announced that the 457 visa programe would be replaced to “ensure Australian workers are given the absolute first priority for jobs.”

For the new visa, in order to qualify, the role that the employer wants to fill must appear as an occupation on the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations. Short term visas will be issued for two years, while medium term visas will be issued only for more critical skills shortages and for up to four years.

The new visa also makes it more difficult to obtain permanent residency and also has stricter requirements such as having at least 2 years of work experience, better English language proficiency and a criminal check.

Source:: http://www2.staffingindustry.com/row/Editorial/Daily-News/Australia-Government-scraps-457-visa-program-and-replaces-it-with-a-new-skills-shortage-visa-45471