Legacy 457 Worker’ Age Limit Exemption for 186 Permanent Visa

As defined in the legislative instrument, a legacy 457 worker, for a subclass 186 visa application, means a person who :

held a Subclass 457 visa on or after 18 April 2017; and
was in Australia for at least 12 months between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021.

The age exemption relating to legacy 457 workers is intended to capture all Subclass 457 visa holders after the abolition of the Subclass 457 visa was announced on 18 April 2017. Those holding a Subclass 457 visa at the time of application for the TRT stream of the ENS visa will be eligible for the age exemption. Additionally, those who previously held a Subclass 457 visa but currently hold a TSS visa, will also be eligible for the age exemption, provided they meet the above requirements.

This exemption is available to applicants who applied for the TRT stream of the ENS visa on or after 1 July 2022 and is intended to be accessible for two years from its commencement.

This measure seeks to complement the pathway to permanent residence for short-term stream TSS visa holders and retain skilled migrants, who worked in Australia throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it is expected that individuals seeking to access this exemption would have worked on an appropriate temporary skilled work visa throughout the period of eligibility. Where this is not the case, applicants may still be eligible for the age exemption, however, DHA will consider the applicant meets all other requirements to the TRT stream of the ENS.