The full name of 457 business visa is Class: UC (Temporary Business Entry); Subclass: 457 (Business Long Stay) Visa. It aims at attracting overseas business people to conduct business activities or overseas professional talents to work in Australia so as to prosper Australia's economy. The Subclass: 457 visa is a business (working) visa whose grant is based upon the business/employment background and qualifications of the application. Its validity period varies from 3 months up to 4 years.

The Subclass: 457 Visa can mainly be divided into three categories:

THE FIRST CATEGORY:

Sponsorship by overseas companies (any company outside Australia) (It is unnecessary to apply for sponsorship in advance)

Requirements: The applicant must

• be sponsored by a sizeable overseas company which has, or is intending to, set up its subsidiary in Australia;
• conduct business activities in Australia as a senior executive in the subsidiary;
• have certain managerial experience and relevant qualifications;
• in certain circumstances the applicant can be a representative of an overseas services seller who will represent the overseas service seller in negotiations, or signing contract for the supply of those services in Australia.

Characteristics: The sponsoring company does not need to apply for sponsorship in advance. Either private, or collective-owned, or state-owned businesses has the right to sponsor. The application can be made either outside or in Australia. The representative of the Service Seller cannot be involved in the actual supply of the particular Service their overseas employer provides. The validity term of this visa can last up to 4 years.

THE SECOND CATEGORY:

Sponsorship by local companies in Australia

Requirements: There are two kinds of business sponsors in this regard: standard or pre-qualified business sponsors.

A standard business sponsor indicates how many employees they wish to nominate when they apply for sponsorship status. There is no sponsorship fee, but a nomination fee is paid to each nomination.

Pre-qualified business sponsors can nominate any number of activities and employees, over a two year period from the date of approval. A sponsorship fee has to be paid initially and for any extensions, but there is no fee for each nomination.
In each applicant the sponsoring company must be able to provide evidence of lawfully operating in Australian and be operating profitably enough to be able to afford the overseas employee.

The applicant must

• be sponsored by a Australian company which is lawfully operating in Australia and financially profitable;
• possess the necessary skills and/or qualifications to perform the nominated activity
• conduct business activities in Australia as a skilled employee in the company;
• have certain managerial experience and relevant qualifications;

Characteristics: Once a sponsoring company obtains pre-qualified business sponsorship, it can nominate any number of overseas workers within the period of sponsorship validity. The application can be made either outside or in Australia. The visa permits the holder to remain in Australia for up to 4 years.

THE THIRD CATEGORY:

Supported by Labour Agreement or Regional Headquarters Agreements

Requirements: The application must

• include a nomination of the applicant by a party to the Labour Agreement, and;
• identify the approved Sponsorship of the particular activity the application is based upon, and;
• provide details of the specific Labour Agreement to which the application is based upon, and;
• provide evidence the employment will comply with all the relevant Laws and requirements of the Labour Agreement, or;
• identify the specific Regional Headquarters Agreement the application is based upon, and;
• identify the specific activity the applicant will perform and its acceptance under the regional headquarters Agreement;

Characteristics: The Labour or Regional Headquarters Agreement is a formal agreement between the Unions and a particular industry/overseas company to allow certain skilled workers entry into Australia to perform certain occupations and activities on behalf of an Australian, or Australian based, employer. The Agreements must have unanimous agreement by all parties before they can be used to sponsor/nominate any applicant. They are, in most cases, initiated by the employer/industry body seeking the Skilled employees.

This Centre will provide the applicant with the following serves:

• Undertaking a free preassessment of the relevant materials provided by the applicant required by the Centre;
• Accepting the applicant's entrustment and fulfilling the related formalities when the preassessment is passed;
• Preparing detailed information and materials for the applicant;

After signing the contract, the Centre will, based on the original materials provided by the applicant, prepare a complete set of application documents for the applicant, including sponsorship application, legal declaration, business proposals, filling out forms, translating documents and delivering documents;

Submitting the application (The Centre will be responsible for submitting the application to the Australian Immigration Office or its overseas posts);

Keeping in touch with the Immigration Department until the application is granted (in terms of providing supplementary information, inquiring about the progress of processing so as to ensure the applicant can get the visa at an early date).

The documents that must be provided:

The applicant's notarial certificate of birth, notarial certificate of qualification (the highest level), notarial certificate of working experience or employment certificate from the work unit, the photo copy of the company's business license (chopped with the company stamp), the company's balance sheet, profit & loss account or financial report.

The documents that the Centre suggests to provide:

The company profile, products introduction, the relevant documents that demonstrate business contacts between the company and Australia or other countries, the photos of the company and its products and the relevant documents such, as accounts, that demonstrate the company's achievements.

As each individual applicant has different qualifications, background, economic strength and business intention, the materials needed for each application is also different. After the applicant has officially entrusted the Centre with the handling of his/her application, we will provide a detailed list of documents that should be prepared by the applicant, based on each case's particular conditions. Under some circumstances, as the applicant is unable to get all the materials required for the application. In that case, in order not to miss a good opportunity resulting from delaying the application (because the Australian Migration Regulations are frequently amended), the applicant may lodge the application first and supplement the relevant materials later on.

What advantages does this Centre have in handling the application entrusted?

Established in 1989, this Centre is currently one of the largest education and migration agent companies in Australia. We have set up representative offices in Australia's three major cities. This Centre is expert in handling application of business investigation, working visa and investment migration. Visas of this category relate to many highly professional areas such as business & trade, finance & audit, investment and migration. This visa is also the prelude to permanent residence application. Hence the consistency of the application is essential and time requirement is strict. If the original materials are not perfectly prepared, it may lead to the failure of 457 visa application or, though 457 visa is granted, there is no further chance to apply for permanent residence.

This Centre will make an overall planning for the applicant based on their particular situation. The Centre will choose a best channel for the applicant, which not only most suitable for their own condition but also enable them to make profit by engaging business and satisfy migration requirements at the same time. This includes arrangement of distribution ratio of ownership interest in a registered company, the level of funds invested, choice of business varieties ( in line with the migration regulations for permanent residence application), so as to help the applicant achieve their goals quickly and successfully. Meanwhile, we can provide professional services to let the applicant's children study in Australian schools so as to ease their worries about this matter.

This centre has a number of senior registered migration agents who can speak multiple languages such as Mandarin, Canoness, Chaozhou dialect, Minnan dialect, Vietnamese, Korean and English. Every applicant will be convinced of our superb services by our hundreds of successful cases. Australia-Asia is the key to your success!