Australian Immigration Daily News

With a significant slowdown in General Skilled Migration, there is a significant rise of interest in the Global Talent Independent (GTI) visa program. This program aimed to attract qualified professionals to work and live permanently in Australia. Recently GTI merged into a single subclass 858 visa, aiming to address impracticalities such as inability to apply for this visa within Australia in some instances as well as the need to depart Australia for grant of the visa.

In terms of the candidates, the program seeks to attract individuals in sectors working in cyber security, energy and mining technology, space and advanced manufacturing, data science and ICT, among others.

What makes the GTI program so interesting?

The aim of the GTI program is to attract qualified professionals in the areas considered future-focused sectors, such as the ones mentioned above, for the purpose of providing innovation and development in tech economies.

 In order for individuals to apply and be successful in applying, they must have the following requirements:

1. Prove they have international recognition through evidence providing
2. Have outstanding ability in their area of expertise by proving to Australia that they are a potential asset in their professional area
3. Not having difficulties or obstacles to find employment in Australia in your professional area
4. Have been nominated by a company or organization as a global talent in the same professional area
5. Prove that they can attract a salary greater than or at least AUD $153,600 annually.

Unlike General Skilled Migration (where invitations are being issued at a record low numbers), the GTI program is capped at 15,000 places for this financial year.  GTI applications are also priority processed by the Department of Home Affairs which makes the pathway towards permanent residency more viable in today’s environment.

According to SkillSelect, the Department of Home Affairs issued just 200 invitations for subclass 189 visa.  The SkillSelect Dashboard indicates that there are approximately 60,000 Expressions of Interest in the pipeline. Accordingly, more candidates are turning to other visa types which lead towards permanent residency including the GTI.

The application process for Global Talent Visa must follow the following steps:

1. Prepare (Expression of Interest) If you meet the program requirements, the application will receive priority processing
2. After receiving your unique identifier, you can lodge your visa online. The applicant can be either in or outside Australia depending on the stream they are applying for.
3. Although the process appears simple, the workings of the GTI requires attention and cohesion, therefore it is recommended to at least seek preliminary advice through a qualified professional in immigration field.

Not every candidate qualifies for the GTI visa.  It is vital to demonstrate that the candidate is prominent in on of the seven sectors:

•             AgTech

•             Space and Advanced Manufacturing

•             FinTech

•             Energy and Mining Technology

•             MedTech

•             Cyber Security

•             Quantum Information, Advanced Digital, Data Science and ICT

The nominator should also be carefully selected to ensure they meet the relevant criteria.

Further Information

Legal Training Australia will be hosting a CPD session on GTI visas conducted by Accredited Specialist and Immigration Lawyer, Christopher Levingston on 9 December 2020 at 12 noon AEDT.  To book in, visit: https://legaltrainingaustralia.com/webinar-cpd/

If you want more information on GTI visas, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.