Merchants Prosperity

What is 408 Pandemic Visa?
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The COVID-19 Pandemic event visa (408) isa subcategory of the Temporary Activity visa (408). The 408 visa is mainly for people who need to come to Australia to carry out a variety of temporary activities and undertake a variety of temporary work.

The 408 Pandemic Visa is designed by the Australian Government to assist certain temporary visa holders who are unable to leave Australia to return to their country of origin due to the impact of the pandemic by providing them with a path to legal residence in Australia. The visa has been officially implemented since April 4, 2020.

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What are the requirements to apply for 408 Pandemic Visa?
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The applicant is in Australia;

Unable to leave Australia to return to their country of origin due to COVID-19;

Currently holding a temporary visa valid for less than 28 days, or visa has expired but not more than 28 days;

Not eligible for other temporary visa applications;

Employers are required to demonstrate that the applicant is actually working in a critical sector and cannot find a suitable Australian citizen or PR to take up a job.

 

 

Which temporary visa holders can apply for 408 Pandemic Visa?
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(1) Holders of a working holiday permit (462/417) who work in a critical field but are unable to meet the renewal requirements;

(2) Holders of temporary technical work permits (482/457) working in key areas;

(3) Holders of seasonal Agricultural work Permit (403) whose visa is about to expire;

(4) 485 graduate work visa and 500 study visa holders whose visas are about to expire;

(5) 600 tourist visa holders whose visas are about to expire.

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What are the key areas of work?
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Applicants can work in key areas including but not limited to agriculture, food processing, health care, elderly and disabled care, child care and other key work personnel.

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408 How long is the pandemic visa valid?
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It is mainly divided into 6 months or 12 months.

Where you can apply for 12 months: If you can demonstrate that you are engaged in critical areas of work in Australia, you may be granted a 12-month 408 pandemic visa.

Circumstances where you can apply for 6 months: If you are not working in a critical area, you may be granted a 6 month 408 pandemic visa. However, it is necessary to prove that this is the only visa that the applicant can apply for.

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408 Does the epidemic visa have the right to work?
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If the applicant is working in a critical field, holding this visa is allowed to work. If not, you don't have the right to work.

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What should I pay attention to after getting 408 epidemic visa? 408 visas usually have an 8107-Work Limitation:

The holder must work for a specific employer or perform a specific job;

They can neither stop working for their employer nor change their employer, occupation or position;

Must engage in the activity permitted by the visa approval and must not engage in any other activity or for oneself/others;

If a license, registration, or membership is mandatory for a job, the requirements need to be met.

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Need to pay attention! If the applicant is engaged in a critical field of work, they will need to provide relevant supporting documents and explain why they cannot apply for a visa, why they cannot leave Australia before the visa expires, explain how to leave Australia after the ban is lifted, etc. The content is complex, and you may miss some details if you are not careful, so we also hope that you can consult our immigration professional advisers to apply.