The likely final amendment to pathways to permanent visas for subclass 457 – Temporary Work (Skilled) visa and subclass 482 – Temporary Skill Shortage visa holders were made this week. The age cap for some 457 visa holders have been abolished altogether and 482 visa holders in the Short-term stream who were in Australia when borders were shut can apply for a further 482 visa under this stream without needing to leave Australia.

Age cap lifts for legacy 457 visa holders, but only for 186 visas in TRT stream

The previously announced lifting of the age cap for legacy 457 visa holders has come to fruition.

A new instrument registered 4 April 2022 but commencing 1 July 2022 inserts a new definition of legacy 457 worker, which is a person who 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.

This definition will be inserted into the instrument that exempts an age requirement for a subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme visa under the Temporary Residence Transition stream only.

Why the subclass 187 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa under the Temporary Residence Transition stream was omitted is hard to understand.

Further onshore 482 visa applications in the Short-term stream allowed from 1 July 2022 until 1 July 2023

The Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) received amendments for a few visa subclasses. A major change is for 482 visa holders in the Short-term stream who will be able to make further onshore 482 visa applications in this stream from 1 July 2022 to 1 July 2023.

Ever since 482 visas commenced, applicants for a 482 visa in the Short-term stream must be offshore if they have held two or more 482 visa in the Short-term stream and was in Australia when they applied for their last visa. These provisions, which do not apply to either the Medium-term stream or Agreement stream, seem unnecessary and antiquated especially when borders were closed due to the pandemic and the government’s pivot to retaining as many workers in Australia as possible due to labour shortages.

From 1 July 2022, applicants who were in Australia from 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021 as 482 visa holders in the Short-term for one or more periods that total at least 12 months, and who makes a further application for a 482 visa in the Short-term stream before 1 July 2023 will not be required to leave Australia to validly lodge this application.

This amendment also allows the Minister to change the end date if he or she requires. The Explanatory Statement suggests that this is to assist in facilitating them to transition to a permanent employer-sponsored visa, which may be either a 186 visa or a 187 visa under the Temporary Residence Transition stream.

Other amendments include:

• Extending and enlivening subclass 476 – Recognised Skilled Graduate visas to 14 April 2024 if the primary visa holder was outside Australia before the original end date of their visa and sometime between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021, and the visa was not cancelled before it expired. The original end date of their 476 visa must also be before 14 April 2024. This retrospectively comes into effect on 31 January 2020 so any person affected, and whose visa expires after this date will have their 476 visa extended.

• Adding regulations that have specific requirements for subclass 601 – Electronic Travel Authority visas (ETA visas) to be validly lodged. ETA visas are interesting as many are applied for by travel agents but there are other arrangements that may allow an applicant to apply using details of their ETA-eligible passport, including using the government’s own AustralianETA mobile app from 5 April 2022.

All ETA visa applicants must be either outside Australia or in immigration clearance.

There is some overlap between the 33 ETA eligible passport holder jurisdictions and subclass 651 - eVisitor eligible passport holders, which are all European countries.