Employers sponsoring foreigners to work for them in Australia have been warned they might be exposing their businesses to potentially catastrophic risks.

http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,16863806-37775,00.html

That's quite an interesting article. The company that's sponsoring me on a 457 visa have made it one of the terms of my contract that until such time as I become a Permanent Resident, I must show evidence that I (and my family) have full private medical insurance (looking at approx $4000 for a year! The flip side to this is that they will sponsor me for PR within 6 months of starting if they like me and I like them, so hopefully the medical issue will be relatively short term, as I will then only get private to plug the gaps that Medicaid won't cover.

IMHO If you are sponsored on the ENS system you either must be on a very high salary otherwise they cannot sponsor you for PR until you have been with them for two years

Not necessarily - you can apply for a permanent visa via the ENS if you have had your skills assessed as suitable by the relevant skills assessing authority and, unless exceptional circumstances apply, you have had at least 3 years experience in the occupation:

http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/employers/ens.htm

Best regards.

quote:

Originally posted by Kenny:
IMHO If you are sponsored on the ENS system you either must be on a very high salary otherwise they cannot sponsor you for PR until you have been with them for two years

Thanks for that Alan,
I am in quite a specialist field and have been doing the same job for 25 years. The situation I previously explained was as given to me by my future employer, and having read the info on the link you have provided, it all ties up with what they said. Even so, it's comforting to read the official Immigration version, so thanks, once again.