Applying for a Temporary Activity (subclass 408) Visa

Temporary Activity (subclass 408) Visa allows you to come to Australia to do specific types of work on a short-term, temporary basis. Currently, it is involved in the following streams: 

  1. Invited for other social and cultural activity (Invited Participant) stream 

  2. Sporting Activities stream 

    1. Sport trainee 

    2. Elite player, coach, instructor, or adjudicator 

  3. Religious Work stream 

  4. Domestic work for executives stream 

  5. Superyacht Crew stream 

  6. Research activities stream 

    1. Research  

    2. Research (student) 

  7. Exchange Arrangements stream 

    1. Staff exchange 

  8. Special Program stream 

    1. Youth exchange program 

    2. School to School Interchange Program 

    3. School Language Assistants Program 

    4. Other programs 

  9. Australian Government Endorsed Events stream 

    1. COVID-19 Pandemic Event 

    2. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 

  10. Entertainment Activities stream 

    1. Performing in film or television production subsidised by the government 

    2. Performing in film or television production not subsidised by the government 

    3. Performing in productions not related to film or television 

    4. Production roles other than as a performer 

    5. Support staff for profit 

    6. Nonprofit engagements 

    7. Documentary program or commercial for overseas market 

 

Do You Need A Sponsor for the Activities? 

Excepting the application for Australian Government Endorsed Events, all other streams require your sponsor to pass the sponsorship test or the support test and to be a temporary activities sponsor. The sponsor may be a person or an organisation which depends on the stream you are applying for.  However, you don’t need to wait until the sponsorship is approved, and the application for approval as a sponsor is sufficient for your visa application. 

 

Australian Government Endorsed Events Stream - Pandemic visa 

The government has taken the initiative to recover the Covid-19 impacted economy. Unemployment in Australia is at its record lowest, and businesses across all sectors require skilled workers to fill vital positions.  

 

Eligibility for the Temporary Activity 408 Visa

This Pandemic visa has recently been very popular among the applicants as it only essentially requires you meet some general and basic criteria: 

  • Be in Australia 

  • Evidence of your employment or an offer of employment.  

  • Hold a substantive visa with work rights that expires in 90 days or less, or that expired 28 days ago or less 

  • Genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia 

  • Adequate means to support yourself/ yourselves to live in Australia 

  • Arrangement of adequate Oversea Visitor Health Cover 

  • No debt to the Australian Government 

  • No visa refusal and cancellation history 

  • Sign the Australian Value Statement  

 

Fees for the 408 Visa 

There is no Visa Application Charge for Pandemic visa applicants! 

 

How long can you stay on a Temporary Activity Visa (Subclass 408)? 

This visa allows you to stay in Australia to work if you are employed or have an offer of employment in a key sector or any other sector of the economy.  

Up to 6 months 

If you work in a non-critical sector and do not have other visa options, this visa allows you to stay in Australia due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. 

Up to 12 months 

If you are working or have a job offer in the key sectors: 

  • agriculture,  

  • food processing,  

  • health care,  

  • aged care,  

  • disability care,  

  • child care,  

  • tourism and hospitality. 

 

Other Streams: How to Be a Temporary Activities Sponsor? 

Before you apply for the visas in other streams (other than the Australian Government Endorsed Events stream), your sponsor must have applied for approval as a temporary activities sponsor even if the application has not been decided or your sponsor is a temporary activities sponsor. 

To be an eligible temporary activities sponsor, your sponsor must be either of: 

  • an Australian organisation that is lawfully operating in Australia; or 

  • a government agency; or 

  • a foreign government agency; or 

  • a sporting organisation that is lawfully operating in Australia; or 

  • a  religious institution that is lawfully operating in Australia; or 

  • a person who is the captain or owner of a superyacht, or an organisation that operates a superyacht; or 

  • a foreign organisation that is lawfully operating in Australia. 

Also, there is no adverse information know to immigration about your sponsor, or that information is reasonable to be disregarded. 

 Last, the sponsor needs to show their capacity to comply with the sponsorship obligations prescribed in the Regulation: 

  • 2.78.   Obligation to cooperate with inspectors   

  • 2.80.   Obligation to pay travel costs to enable sponsored persons to leave Australia   

  • 2.80A.  Obligation to pay travel costs--domestic worker (executive)   

  • 2.81.   Obligation to pay costs incurred by the Commonwealth to locate and remove unlawful non-citizen   

  • 2.82.   Obligation to keep records   

  • 2.83.   Obligation to provide records and information to the Minister   

  • 2.84.   Obligation to provide information to Immigration when certain events occur   

  • 2.85.   Obligation to secure an offer of a reasonable standard of accommodation   

  • 2.86.   Obligation to ensure primary sponsored person works or participates in nominated occupation, program or activity   

  • 2.86A.  Obligation to ensure primary sponsored person works or participates in activity in relation to which the visa was granted   

  • 2.87.   Obligation not to recover, transfer or take actions that would result in another person paying for certain costs   

 

How long the Australian 408 Visa Processing Time?  

Currently, the Department is processing a large volume of COVID-19 Pandemic event visas received since the beginning of the pandemic. The Department is focusing on critical skills to support the Australian Government’s response to COVID-19. 

The published processing times are for applicants working in a key sector. If you are not working in a key sector, your application may take longer to process. 

Visa applications that have all the required information may be finalised faster than the published processing times. For more information, see Visa processing times. 

When you lodged your application, the Department granted you an associated bridging visa. This bridging visa will come into effect if your substantive visa expires before the Department finalises your application. Your bridging visa will maintain your lawful status in Australia before a decision on your application. 

Your application might take longer to process if: 

  • you do not fill it in correctly 

  • you do not include all the documents we need or we need more information from you 

  • it takes us time to verify your information 

 

How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You?   

Australian immigration can be very complex - if you want to find out more about a visa or citizenship matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can book a Migration Planning Session with one of our immigration lawyers to seek professional advice by calling +612 8310 5230 or email us to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com.   

We speak fluent English, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Burmese and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter. 

This article/presentation (“publication”) does not deal extensively with important topics or changes in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you find this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact our office. 

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