The recent wave of Covid-19 cases in New South Wales and Victoria has impacted certain sectors significantly. The Hospitality and Tourism industry can be listed as the most exposed to service disruptions, together with Retail. For what concerns the context of migration, a very frequent scenario is the one where the holders of an employer-nominated visa (like TSS 482) are not performing their usual duties due to the business being temporarily closed or working with reduced personnel. For some of those temporary visa holders, the situation is particularly delicate because they are using the 482-Visa to accumulate work experience and become eligible for a permanent visa. An example is the TSS 482 being converted into a 186 TRT.

In relation to this, the Department of Home Affairs has recently updated its Covid-related portal and the respective section dedicated to employer-nominated visas. It is possible to read that a person being temporarily suspended from usual activity due to the pandemic (‘stood down’) but not permanently terminated (‘laid off’) will be still able to maintain a valid visa. This also includes a reduction of working hours, normally not allowed to people under an employer-nominated visa.

In the case of a definitive interruption of the employment, however, the classic rule imposing the visa holder to find a new employer within 60-days or to apply for a different Visa remains current.

Find below an extract of the Department of Home Affairs official page:

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