Australian Embassy
China

Temporary Business Entry (Long Stay) – Subclass 457 - Information

Business - Long stay (Subclass 457)

From 10 September 2012 the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has introduced changes to the way that visa services are delivered in China. For more information see: IMPORTANT NEWS

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On this page: Introduction; Applying for this visa; Further Information

Introduction

This visa is for employers who would like to employ overseas workers to fill nominated skilled positions in Australia. Employers can be:
• an Australian business
• an overseas business

With this visa you can employ overseas workers for a period of between one day and four years.

With this visa those people you employ from overseas can:

• work in Australia for a period of between one day and four years

• bring any eligible secondary applicants with them to Australia – secondary applicants can work and study

• after entering Australia, have no limit on the number of times they travel in and out of Australia.

Business - Long stay (Subclass 457) applications generally involve three stages of processing, namely; sponsorship, nomination and visa application. The employer is responsible for applying to be a business sponsor and for nominating the position to be filled by an overseas employee, and the employee is responsible for applying for the visa. These sponsorship, nomination and visa applications may be made either separately or together.

If you have been sponsored and nominated by an Australian business (either under a standard business sponsorship or a labour agreement), the standard business sponsorship application; the nomination application and your visa application must be made either online at www.immi.gov.au or on paper form 1066 and lodged in Australia.

If you have been sponsored and nominated by an overseas business under a standard business sponsorship, the standard business sponsorship application; the nomination application and your visa application must be made on paper form 1066 and lodged at an Australian mission overseas, and you must be overseas (not in Australia) at the time of the application. You should lodge your application in China. See: Applying for this visa (below)

There are a number of responsibilities that the Employee and Employer must be willing and able to meet in order to obtain a Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa. These are summarised in the table below:
 

Who Responsibility
Employer

• Apply to be a sponsor to recruit overseas workers
• Nominate the positions you want to fill
• Recruit the overseas worker/s to fill your nominated positions
• Act as a sponsor for your employees applying for a visa
• Cooperate with the Department’s monitoring requirements
• Meet costs and other obligations as part of the program

Employee

• Accept the offer of employment from the sponsor
• Apply for a visa
• Meet all the conditions of the visa

Applying for this visa (overseas business sponsorship only)

The following information is designed to assist you in preparing and submitting your application:
• Checklists (including application forms)
   - Visa application checklist 
   - Nomination checklist 
   - Sponsorship checklist
Lodging a Visa Application in China (including important information about where to submit your application)
Visa Application Charges and Payment Options (including important information about paying by Postal Money Order)
Processing Times
Visa Labels
• Please refer to the General Information page for detailed information on:
   • Health Examinations
   • Appointing a Migration Agent or Authorised Recipients 
   • Supporting Documents
   • Document Fraud
   • Verification Checks
   • Decision Notification
   • Contacting Us
   • Providing Feedback

Further Information

For information regarding this visa it is recommended that you visit the DIAC website at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/index.htm. A booklet (Booklet 9 – Temporary Business (Long Stay) (Subclass 457) Visa) is also available with more detailed information. To obtain this booklet, you may download it for free from the DIAC website:
See: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books9.pdf

Australia also has a range of other temporary and permanent visas not covered in the above mentioned booklet that cater for the needs of Australian employers and business people. For more information on other temporary residence visas, please go to the following address: www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/visa-options.htm

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