The Department of Immigration and Citizenship have announced that as From 1 December 2010,  Overseas Business Sponsor applications (currently processed at the Australian Embassy in London) relating to business sponsors based in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, will now be processed in the Australian-based Business Centre of Excellence.

Applicants will still be able to lodge at the Australian Embassy in London but no processing will take place at the overseas post. Applications will be transferred to Australia for processing. As part of the transfer process visa applicants will receive an Acknowledgement Letter detailing contact information for the appropriate case officer.

This change to the processing of Overseas Business Sponsors will affect all applications lodged in relation to the subclass 457 visa scheme from 1 December 2010. 

The new 457 Overseas Business Sponsor processing model reflects the preference of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to centralize the processing of major Australian visas in Australia to enhance global process consistency and efficiency.