There are a number of work visas available for a person seeking employment in Australia.

The main ones include:

A holiday working visa

A resident visa

An internship visa

An investor's visa

A business visa

The business visa applies to a person that wishes to work in Australia from three months to four years.

Short term business visa

This visa is available for business people that will stay in Australia for a short period of time to attend seminars, meeting, conferences, training etc.

Long term business visa

This visa is available for business people working for a company that is from their own country, with a department based in Australia or an Australian company that has been contracted to do a specific job.

This long term visa is known as Subclass 457 visa. There are a few simple requirements to be reached in order to obtain this visa.

• An employer should sponsor the applicant to fill a specific designated position.

• The applicant should have the experience, skills and qualifications for the job being applied for.

• Additionally they must be eligible for licenses or registration relevant to the nominated position.

• They must be able to show proof of being reimbursed, to at least the minimum level, applicable to the job, at the time of entry.

A successful applicant of a Subclass 457 visa will be entitled to stay for the full duration of the visa if it doesn't expire with the termination of the end of their sponsorship.  The Subclass 457 visa will allow a successful applicant to stay in Australia un restricted, and on a multiple entry basis. When a person has successfully obtained a 457 visa they are then allowed to apply for a permanent visa status with no limit to the number of times an application can be posted.

In 2010 there were some major changes for some temporary visa holders, with regards to their applications for permanent residency. The Skilled Occupation List (SOL) has now been reduced from over 400 to 181. The new list now contains much more highly skilled professions which require a high level of education and a high degree of formal training. The changes were made because of past large inflows of low skilled workers. Students on either a Subclass 572, 573 or 574 visas will be affected the most.

The Subclass 457 visa from the 1st of July 2010 also saw some changes to the list of its occupations. But unlike the students visa occupation list the Subclass 457 occupation list has only been changed slightly and remains similar to the older list.  The old 457 list used the ASCO system which has now been replaced by the ANZSCO system of classification. More information about the updated list can be found on the The Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.

There are three steps involved for anyone seeking a Subclass 457 visa.

The first step is submitting a sponsorship application and the employer must be approved as a sponsor. The sponsoring company must show that:

• They are the direct employer.

• The employee they are sponsoring will benefit the Australian economy.

• They will develop the employee's skills

• They have active, sound and lawful business history.

The second step involves submitting a business nomination; this is carried out by the employee. The employer is required to show:

• They are an approved business sponsor.

• The employee will be paid at or more than the minimum salary.

• The employee meets the minimum skills set.

The third step involves lodging the visa application. At this final stage the company must show

• That they have an current and approved business sponsorship.

As with any visa application, The Australian Government of Immigration and Citizenship have both an informative and comprehensive website and are available to help all potential applicants with any visa query. Alternatively, an applicant could seek the help of one of the many qualified immigration lawyers. Since the majority of workers tend to settle in urban areas, most of the lawyers specializing in immigration law tend to be based in the major metropolitan areas of Sydney and Melbourne, though obviously not exclusively so.