SOME BACKGROUND FIRST...
We've been in Australia for three years in January 2012.
From January 2009 to January 2011 I worked for an employer in NT, Australia on a 457 visa.
In February / March 2011 our 457 visa was transferred / renewed from the NT to QLD and I resumed employment with my 2nd employer in Australia. We needed to move because schooling arrangements were substandard where I was originally employed and my children were suffering as a result.
My new employer has initiated a 857 RSMS visa which we are currently awaiting approval for.
MY QUESTION IS...
Am I allowed to leave my 2nd employer prior to completing 24 months of service with them, without breaching my 2nd 457 & 857 RSMS visa obligations?
Do my overall period of 36 months employed on 457 visas in rural areas also count towards the 24 month employment period required by RSMS visas or am I obliged by law (regulating visa applicants) to work another 24 month period minimum for my 2nd employer before being eligable to make a 'legal' next move?
I understand that the 2nd employer also wants his money's worth but it also does seem somewhat unfair that I have to now work 48 months to obtain eligibility to make my next move on an 857 (PR) visa, whereas the minimum requirements are 24 months.
The schooling needs for my children has been met since our move to my 2nd employer, however during the interview stage (a year ago now) my 2nd employer said that various opportunities existed for the career path that I was driving towards, however being employed with my 2nd employer one year down the line, I have come to notice that these opportunities do not exist at all. Don't get me wrong my employer is good for me, but I was lied to by an employee during the interview stage. None of these expectations are ussually documented; it just gets discussed - so no physical evidence of this exist today. It however concerns me that I am wasting my career away like this for another two years idling in jobs / roles that doesn't see me growing - simply to get our citizenship approved. Don't get me wrong, getting citizenship is important to me, but I also have only so many years to grow / mature / built-on my career and to me being in the latter half of my life, every year is important.
From my past experiences I sense that employers will promise anything simply to lock prospective new employees down for a period of at least two years using the visa process. I say this because my 1st employer dragged their feet for 18-20 months prior to approving the go-ahead of our PR applications (857 RSMS visas) thus to keep me locked in for longer than 2 years (they had hoped I'll stick in there until the PR got approved); however I was in such need to make the move for better schools for my children at the start of a new year that I left before the application was lodged with the government. By the time I left I had already completed 24 months on that 457 visa.
