In February 2021 the Distinguished Talent Visa changed its name to Global Talent Visa. The Australian government is investing AUD$550 million in the next 4 years to attract highly talented individuals who have achieved international recognition in their careers, to live and work permanently in Australia.
A Global Talent Attraction Taskforce was also created to attract professionals in high-value services and future-focused targeted sectors and to help grow a stronger economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Update 1: In 2023 the Government has announced a cut in places for this visa and priority invitation only for candidates whose income is at least AU$160,000 per year.
Update 2: In 2024 the Australian government announced that by the end of the year they will implement a new National Innovation visa, which will replace the Global Talent visa (subclass 858).
How the Global Talent Visa Australia works:
There are 2 streams under this visa:
The Distinguished Talent Stream
For internationally recognised athletes, artists and academics/researchers, which is pretty much what it used to be and still has around 300 places per year only.
The Global Talent Stream
This stream was introduced in November 2019, but since the pandemic hit Australia, has pretty much been the darling of the migration program, so much so that the government tripled the places available for this financial year from 5,000 in 2019-2020 to 15,000 in 2020-2021. These places have now been reduced to 5,000 a year for the 2022-2023 Financial Year.
The Global Talent Stream is for highly skilled professionals and PhD Graduates with international distinction and recognition in one of the ten future-focused fields targeted by the government:
- Resources;
- Agri-food and Agriculture Technology;
- Energy;
- Health Industries;
- Defense;
- Advanced Manufacturing and Space;
- Circular Economy;
- Digitech (Quantum Information, Advanced IT, Data Science, Data Analysis);
- Infrastructure and Entertainment;
- Financial Service and Fintech;
- Education
Who is eligible to apply for a Global Talent Visa in Australia?
Besides working in one of the target sectors mentioned above, to be able to apply for the Global Talent Visa you will need to show evidence of international recognition in your field – this may include senior roles, international publications and professional awards, memberships and patents, among other forms of distinction.
Candidates would also need to provide evidence of how their role would be beneficial to Australia, along with having an Australian individual in the same field or an organisation to nominate them – this is not as impossible as you may think! – and attract a salary at or above the Fair Work high-income threshold – currently AUD160,000.00 per year.
Benefits of the Global Talent Visa in Australia
Once granted, the Global Talent is a Permanent Visa, which means that even if you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, you can fly into the country as permanent visa holders are not subject to border closures.
This visa allows you to work full-time and have access to government benefits such as Medicare.
What are the processing times for the Global Talent Visa?
Processing times will vary from each stream. According to the Department of Home and Affairs, for the Distinguished Talent Pathway, the estimated processing times are around 24 months, as there are less places for this stream, while the Global Talent Pathway is processed in around 3 months.
If you think you might qualify, please contact us and request a Global Talent Visa consultation/assessment at globaltalent@bravomigration.com.au
At Bravo Migration we have helped several clients obtain this visa since 2020 and you can also count on our overall experience of having worked on over 7,000 visa applications, so we have the experience you are looking for. We make immigration and visa applications easy and cost-effective.
We look forward to being part of your Australian visa journey!
