The Minister of Immigration has announced that anyone who held, or had applied for, a 457 visa before or after 18 April 2017 and had been in Australia in the specified period, can now apply for a permanent visa subclass 186TRT, regardless of their age.
Certain temporary skilled visa holders, known as ‘legacy 457 workers’, may now be eligible to become a permanent residents in Australia by applying for a Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa (subclass 186 visa), or a Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa (subclass 187 visa).
The revised legislation will now exempt those who are on a Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa (subclass 457 visa) holders, who had not met the age requirement under the subclass 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition Stream (TRT stream).
Known as a ‘legacy 457 worker’, more subclass 457 visa holders will now be eligible for permanent residence in Australia from 1 July 2022. Legacy 457 worker means a person who, for a subclass 186 visa application:
- held a subclass 457 visa on or after 18 April 2017; and
- was in Australia for at least 12 months between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021.
For further information, if this announcement affects you or you require any further details, please get in touch with our expert team.
We will be hosting a live webinar – register here to hear more details from our immigration experts and have the opportunity to ask questions.