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[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h2″ question-0=”What is the Global Talent Visa Program?” answer-0=”The Global Talent program, commonly referred to as the GTIP, seeks to attract ‘the best and the brightest’ from around the world. This is achieved by offering a streamlined and priority pathway to Australian permanent residence.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h2″ question-1=”What is the process of applying for a Global Talent visa?” answer-1=”Our office is helping lots of amazing applicants with this program. We have developed a 3 step process for applying. Visit our website and discover how we can help you in your application.” image-1=”” count=”2″ html=”false” css_class=””]

The Global Talent Visa program aims to attract top talent in certain critical sectors. It is designed to help Australia compete with countries such as Canada, the US and the UK for the world’s best and brightest. The program targets individuals who are distinguished in their field in the government’s target sectors and who are likely to be able to earn at least AU$167,000 in Australia. This amount relates to the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT) which is indexed annually usually on 1 July.

Ajuria’s dedicated Global Talent Visa team has successfully lodged many applications for Global Talent Visas and are now seen as some of the leading experts in this specialised area.

Why the Global Talent Independent Visa Program (GTIP) over other options?

The program is attractive in many ways:

  • Priority processing means these visas are given the highest priority of all Australian migration programs. The process is streamlined and extremely efficient with Global Talent visas meeting the government’s priority requirements being granted in as little as 1 month from lodgement but usually in an average of 3 months.
  • Once invited to apply for the Global Talent Visa, the pathway to permanent residence is much more certain and it is not the subject to months if not years of processing which is the case with other visa programs such as the 190. The government sees this as a much more targeted approach to attracting talent in sectors seen as critical to Australia.
  • The visa is granted without being the subject to any employment conditions. This means individuals are free to move roles and/or employers.
  • Because the visa is not tied to an employer, there is no training levy which can be a saving of AU$3,000 or AU$5,000 depending on the size of the employer.
  • Our international borders have been practically closed since last year, however if granted a visa through Global Talent Visa program, no exemption to enter Australia is required from the Australian Border Force as individuals are granted Australian permanent residence and are free to travel
  • Being a permanent resident provides a pathway to Australian citizenship.

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Global Talent Visa

Who can apply for the Global Talent Independent Visa Program?

Whether overseas or in Australia, individuals eligible for the Global Talent Visa program can lodge their Expression of Interest (EOI). This is part of the process that we most love working on in our office as it allows us the opportunity to put arguments forward as to why a candidate would be so attractive to Australia. A lot of our clients are based overseas and  in other parts of Australia. We most often work with our clients on the GTIP over Zoom or other video platforms.

If invited to apply, a visa application is then lodged under the GTIP pathway. Given the recently relaxed rules, anyone in Australia who holds a valid visa can now apply for a Global Talent visa provided they meet the usual requirements. This has certainly broadened the number of eligible applicants as prior to this change only certain visa holders were able to apply for a Global Talent visa from within Australia.

How are Global Talent Visa applications prioritised?

Australia’s Immigration Minister can offer ‘Directions’ for processing of visas with the GTI being at the top of the priority list. The latest Direction (number 89) released on 17 December 2020 was issued to:

To enable the Department of Home Affairs to give effect to the priority processing intentions of Government for the Global Talent cohort. This will support the responsive processing of applicants that are identified as highly desirable by Government.

This is why these applications are processed so quickly by the Department of Home Affairs.

Applications not made in relation to the target sectors or a related sector, with evidence or current or future earning equal to or above the AU$167,000 threshold receive the second highest priority processing of their application. Due to limited places allocated under the Migration Program, processing times generally exceed 12 months for applications in this group.

What are requirements for nominators?

Ajuria Lawyers can help your GTI nominator with the relevant paperwork.

A Global Talent Nominator must have a national reputation in relation to the area of achievement and must be:

  • an Australian citizen;
  • an Australian permanent resident;
  • an eligible New Zealand citizen; or
  • an Australian organisation.

There are some Australian Industry bodies such as Engineers Australia and the Australian Computer Society who can act as nominators.

What are the government’s target sectors for the Global Talent Visa Program?

As the government continues to target talent from around the world, the scope of the talent program targets 10 sectors:

(a) Resources;

(b) Agri-food and AgTech;

(c) Energy;

(d) Health industries;

(e) Defence, advanced manufacturing and space;

(f) Circular economy;

(g) Digitech;

(h) Infrastructure and tourism;

(i) Financial services and FinTech; and

(j) Education.

Applications made in relation to the above-mentioned sectors or related sectors, and where applicants provide evidence of their current earnings or future salary being equal to or above the threshold, will be given priority processing of their Global Talent Visa applications.

Applications under other sectors can still be made but will receive the second highest priority.

What are the specialisations in the 10 target sectors?

Below are some examples of specialisations in each of the priority sectors. Specialisations listed here are not exhaustive and are representative only to provide an indication of what each sector can cover:

Resources

  • Advanced visualisation technologies, e.g. sensors;
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies;
  • Beneficiation technologies (improving the economic value of a resource such as ore.);
  • Expertise in energy saving technologies for extracting and processing ores, such as ore body mapping,geophysical tools and drilling, mineral refinement, automated trucks and robotic equipment or grinding and processing technologies; and
  • Resource waste management.

Agri-food and AgTech

  • Agricultural big data analytics;
  • Commercialisation experience within the industry;
  • Future proteins for human and animal consumption;
  • Food and beverage technology;
  • Individual technologies or a combination of technologies related to farm equipment, weather, seed optimisation, fertiliser and crop inputs, and irrigation;
  • Precision measurement and/or application of farm inputs such as nitrogen and pesticides, gene editing, nanomaterials and synthetic biology;
  • Predictive technologies around planting times, climatic forecasting and crop cycles; and
  • Wearable technology, including ear-tag trackers for animal management.

Energy

  • Advanced visualisation technology (e.g. sensors);
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies;
  • Automation and robotics (e.g. smart sorting technologies for recycling);
  • Beneficiation technologies (i.e. improving the economic value of ore);
  • Recycling technology (e.g. feedstock recycling or E-waste processing);
  • Traceability technologies, e.g. experience with sophisticated material trading systems that make material sources more transparent to consumers; and
  • Expertise with the following fields in the sector
    * Hydrogen technology;
    * Clean technologies, renewables & hybrids (including solar and wind power);
    * Battery/energy storage design (specialised, grid-scale and precursors for batteries);
    * Bioenergy and biofuels;
    * Micro-grid design; and
    * Supporting the transition to net-zero carbon emissions.

 

Health industries

  • Antimicrobial resistance;
  • Biochemistry and cell biology;
  • Biostatistician;
  • Biotechnology;
  • Biomedicine and Bioengineering;
  • Cell and gene therapies – genomics;
  • Clinical trials;
  • Digital health;
  • Health economists;
  • Implantable and wearable devices (e.g. 3D printed custom devices, bionics & prosthetics);
  • Infectious disease;
  • Medical devices;
  • Medical physicist;
  • Microbiology and immunology;
  • Nanotechnology and genomics;
  • Neuroscience and neurology;
  • Pharmaceuticals;
  • Precision medicine;
  • Point of care diagnostics; and
  • Regenerative medicine.

Defence, Advanced Manufacturing and Space Defence

  • Augmented and virtual reality;
  • Cyber Security;
  • Expertise in military equipment acquisition, sustainment & evaluation;
  • Robotics and automation; and
  • Sensors and analytics.

Advanced manufacturing

  • Advanced materials;
  • Additive manufacturing (3D printing), materials resilience and repair;
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning;
  • Automation & Robotics;
  • Bio-manufacturing and biological integration;
  • Biotechnologies;
  • Digital design and rapid prototyping;
  • Digitisation and automation;
  • Nano-manufacturing and micro-manufacturing;
  • Precision manufacturing; and
  • Sustainable manufacturing and life cycle engineering.

Space

  • Aviation in space
  • Experience that would be of benefit to the National Civil Space Priority Areas:
    * Position, navigation and timing (PNT) infrastructure (global navigation satellite systems);
    * Earth observation technology and services;
    * Systems integration; and
  • 3D printing.

Infrastructure

Potential or ability to:

  • drive economic development in regional communities;
  • develop gateways to support Australia’s international competitiveness;
  • improve and expand Australia’s energy infrastructure; and
  • improve water security across Australia.

Tourism

Potential or ability to:

  • increase the economic benefits to Australia from tourism;
  • target high value travellers in the markets and tourism segments that deliver the greatest returns; and
  • foster a sustainable and innovative tourism industry.

Financial services and FinTech

  • Automated and predictive financial advice;
  • Blockchain technology;
  • Commercialisation experience within the industry;
  • Digital wallets;
  • Financial advice (e.g. automated and digital);
  • Financial data analytics, compliance and ‘RegTech’;
  • Micro-savings;
  • Next generation lending, investment and wealth management;
  • Online banking; and
  • Platform banking and payments (e.g. contactless).

Education

  • Cutting edge innovation within the Education sector
  • Research and education infrastructure planning;
  • Characterisation (Technologies in advanced microscopy and microanalysis that underpin modern science, medicine, engineering and industrial innovation);
  • Digital Data and eResearch Platforms; and
  • Platforms for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Is there a limit on how many Global Talent visas that can be granted?

Since its inception, the program has now expanded. The current quota is 5,000 per year. With the next immigration program year being opened on 1 July, we expect to see many more grants in this category and understand the quota has not yet been reached.

What does an international record of achievement mean in this context?

Under Australia’s Immigration’s policy, ‘internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement’ means that a person’s achievements have been, or would be, acclaimed as exceptional and outstanding in any country.

An achievement that may attract national acclaim would be considered ‘internationally recognised’ if that achievement is in an area practised in other countries and has attracted, or would attract, similar acclaim in those countries.

Ajuria Lawyers assists our clients in presenting this argument.

What do I need to apply for the Global Talent Visa Program?

To be eligible you will need to show that you:

  • are distinguished in one of the identified Global Talent Visa industries or a related sector: Resources, Agri-food and AgTech; Energy, Health industries, Defence, advanced manufacturing and space; Circular economy; Digitech; Infrastructure and tourism; Financial services and FinTech; and Education.
  • have an Australian nominator;
  • are able to earn above the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT) (currently AU$167,000 per annum) in Australia which can be demonstrated with evidence of current earnings, future job offers or recent PhD graduates in the target sectors.

Australian Nominator for the Global Talent Visa Program

You will need an Australian citizen or Australian organisation to nominate (endorse) you for the Global Talent visa. There is no fee payable with the nomination, and there are no ongoing obligations for your nominator.

The nominator should be in a position of expertise in Australia in your field so as to be able to verify that you have the international reputation and that you should be granted a Global Talent visa.

As part of the process, our Ajuria GTI team assists nominators with the completion of the paperwork. Often clients have more than one nominator and we assist in discussing and choosing the strongest one.

Ajuria Case Study

Anna is working in San Francisco as a Software Developer. Whilst she met all requirements for the GTIP visa, she did not have an Australian nominator. This was arranged through the IT professional body whom after assessing her skills, were able to nominate her for the role.

Your Ajuria GTIP lawyer can assist you in working out who should be your nominator.

What is the process of applying for a Global Talent visa?

Our office is helping lots of amazing applicants with this program. We have developed a 3 step process with fees being incurred per stage and not all up front:

Ability to earn more than AU$158,500

You do not need to show that you are currently earning more than this amount to be granted a Global Talent visa, although if you do earn more than this it will certainly help the application. The requirement is only that you demonstrate that you have the potential to earn that amount of money.

Ajuria Case Study

Laksh is a medical researcher working in Australia for a State government. His current annual salary is $98,000 which is less than the required $158,500 for the Global Talent Visa. By doing market research and collecting evidence of salaries in the private sector for similar type occupations we were able to argue that Laksh has the capacity to earn above the $158,500 threshold based on his projected career advancement.

We can help you work out the best way to prove your ability to earn enough money for the Global Talent visa especially if you are a recent PhD graduate.

1

GTIP stage - Ajuria Lawyers

Eligibility Assessment by a GTIP experienced lawyer in the firm
2

GTIP stage - Ajuria Lawyers

EOI for the GTIP prepared and lodged with Home Affairs
3

GTIP stage - Ajuria Lawyers

Preparation and lodgement of the Global Talent visa with Home Affairs

How can Ajuria help you obtain a Global Talent visa?

Our GTIP lawyers have a lot of experience with the Global Talent Visas and can help you make a successful application.

We will help:

  1. Prepare and lodge your expression of interest making sure we focus on all the factors that the Australian government is looking for.
  2. Work with your nominator and referees to build the strongest supporting evidence possible for your case.
  3. Gather evidence of your earning capacity in Australia.
  4. Prepare, lodge and then navigate your visa application through the process to approval.
  5. Help you understand how you can obtain Australian citizenship if that is your goal.

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  • Immigration experts
  • High quality client support
  • Impeccable success rate
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How much does it cost to lodge a Global Talent visa?

The costs of the Global Talent visa varies greatly depending on the individual and their personal circumstances. Ajuria Lawyers’ process is simple and fees are in line with the 3 stages as set out above. If you engage our services, fees are paid in instalments as the matter progresses and are all disclosed upfront through a formal fee agreement compliant with the rules as regulated by the Law Society of NSW. This fee agreement states your Ajuria GTIP lawyer that will work on the application and will itemise out all disbursements expected to be incurred. Our fees are transparent and clear with no surprises.

What are Ajuria Lawyers’ success rates with the Global Talent visa?

Our team has been extremely successful with the GTI program which is largely to do with the calibre of our applicants, but also because our GTIP lawyers carefully assess the eligibility before processing to prepare the EOI. We will only lodge the GTI EOI once we are confident the chances of success are strong.

Common mistakes with the visa applications

We often see failed EOIs not prepared by our team. The theme that they all have in common is the lack of information and lack of supporting arguments. The EOI is an extremely important step and we work strategically with our clients to ensure the paperwork meets the Government guidelines which invariable are subject to constant change.

Are recent graduates eligible for the Global Talent Independent program?

A GTI applicant must show they will earn above $158,500 in Australia and this might be challenging for some recent graduates, however recent PhD graduates may be able to navigate this requirement. Since its launch, the GTI attracted many recent graduates, but from 20 January 2021, students nearing completion date and graduates of Masters by Coursework, Masters by Research and Bachelor with Honours are no longer eligible for invitation to the GTI program solely on the basis of their qualifications. This includes candidates who submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) prior to this date.  Those who received an invitation before the cut-off date are still eligible to apply. PhD graduates and certain PhD students may still be eligible to apply for the GTI Program if they can demonstrate exceptional talent and international recognition in a target sector. In addition, PhD students who are nearing completion of their degree must be able to demonstrate they had a record of achievement prior to commencing their PhD studies. Ajuria Lawyers is experienced in assisting PhD graduates in the various GTI target sectors.

For more details regarding students, recent graduates and the GTI initiative, contact one of our lawyers in our GTI team or please see our post on the topic.

Health waivers under the Global Talent visa

Global Talent visa applicants and their families are now be able to seek a waiver of the usual health requirements if they suffer from a disease or condition that would otherwise have resulted in a visa refusal.  This is due to recent welcome changes to the GTI Regulations by the Federal government. Although the Department will still need to assess the likely costs of any health condition and decide whether to grant the visa despite these costs, it means that many families who would otherwise have been ineligible for Global Talent visa can now apply.

Ajuria Lawyers lobbied strongly for this change and celebrated when it was recently introduced. Our experienced lawyers have extensive expertise in dealing with visa health waivers. This ranges from working with medical specialist to argue a reduction on assesses costs to successfully arguing why a waiver should apply – specially  if applying under the GTI program where we can clearly demonstrate the attractiveness of the candidate because of their skills.

Current visa holders in Australia?

If you have questions or want to learn more about how the Global Talent visa could help you, please contact us.

If you are an employer and are interested in offering this pathway for your staff, we would love to help!

Global Talent Team

Learn more about our Global Talent Team and discover how we can help you in your visa application process.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of date of publication and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Author Lillian Ajuria

More posts by Lillian Ajuria

Join the discussion 5 Comments

  • M. Nazmul Islam says:

    Hi, I have recently completed my Ph.D. from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. I have more than 3 years of work experience as a Research and Development Officer at the Independent University, Bangladesh. Also, I have many scholarly publications in reputed academic journals. I would like to apply for GTI visa. It will be appreciated if you kindly assist me in this regard.
    Looking forward to your reply.’
    Thank you.
    Regards,
    M. Nazmul Islam

  • Sudip says:

    Hello, I found about your services and other information on website. I would like to talk about the visa procedure and other required documents.
    I have left my email here.
    I hope you will kindly get back to me.

    Thank you.

    Regards
    sudip

  • Suma says:

    Ron Kessels handled my case. He was so responsive, diligent, well-informed and professional from the very beginning. The quality of service was beyond my expectation. I would surely come back to Ajuria Lawyers if anything arises in future. I have worked with many immigration lawyers. Ron is by far the best. I am very grateful and highly appreciate his help in the process.
    I highly recommend Ron & the Ajuria Lawyers team.