General Eligibility Criteria for the Global Talent Visa
- Be currently prominent and have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in one of Australia’s priority sectors.
- Be nominated by an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, an eligible New Zealand citizen, or an Australian organisation with a national reputation in the applicant’s sector.
- Be an asset to the Australian community.
- Have the ability to establish themselves in Australia in a priority sector.
- Meet health, character and national security requirements.
Currently prominent
The candidate should provide evidence to demonstrate they are prominent in their field/area of expertise. Their achievements must not be dated. Given the processing time of the EOI stretching out over 12 months, it would be necessary to update the Department on your current achievements since the EOI submission, if a significant period of time has lapsed since your initial EOI submission.
Department policy also provides the following:
PhD graduates must have been conferred their PhD degree in the last 3 years to satisfy the requirement to still be prominent in their area of academia and research at the time of application [….] In assessing ‘prominence’ for PhD graduates, decision makers should consider whether the applicant has remained employed or academically engaged in their field (such as through accredited studies or research) if they have graduated 12 months or more before the time of application.
Sustained internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievements
According to the Department’s policy guidelines, in the context of professional achievements, evidence of exceptional and outstanding professional achievements could include, but not limited to:
- Prestigious international or national industry awards
- Reference from employers (usually needs to be from senior executives at large international organisations)
- Support letter from prominent industry/sector leaders
- Newspaper or magazine articles, and other publicly available information which attest to the candidate’s achievements
- Keynote speaker/presenter at international industry conferences
- Registered patents for innovative designs/developments/inventions
Cross over between global talent visa candidates and business skilled visa applicants
It is possible for candidates who are not specially technologically focused, but strategic decision makers and business owners of business within the target sectors to be able to demonstrate exceptional achievements as a senior executive or entrepreneur.
The business should include characteristics such as
- Technology and innovation focused
- Aligns with one of the global talent target sectors
- Exceptionally successful in terms of high growth in revenue and/or ability to attract venture capital or private equity funding
The candidate must be able to demonstrate
- Entrepreneurship
- Executive decision making
- The success of the business is attributable to the candidate’s vision and leadership
Assets to Australia and ability to self-establish
The above two criteria are interwoven.
The Australian government will only look to invite candidates to apply for the global talent visa where they can show that their will be able to contribute to Australia’s future success in the candidate’s claimed area of expertise.
Although there is no timeframe in which the candidates must come to Australia and work in their nominated field of expertise, there is expectation that – because of the candidate’s exceptional achievements – they would be able to demonstrate a significant demand for their expertise through highly remunerated positions in Australia or through their future business enterprise in Australia.
Nomination by a suitably qualified person
It is most beneficial where the nominator has personal knowledge of the candidate’s achievements, albeit, in a professional context. The delegates assessing the candidates’ EOIs may not be experts in the target sector, thus having a credible, highly credentialled nominator attesting to the candidate’s sustained exceptional international achievements, current prominence and ability to contribute to Australia is essential to securing an invitation.
Overall assessment
From our experience, the Department will consider the overall picture of a Global Talent Visa candidate:
- A candidate who is a Chief Technology Officer of an international DigiTech business might not need to have an exceptionally strong nominator.
- A candidate who is a senior technology person of an international business, but not quite at the executive level would benefit from the endorsement of a nominator who holds relatively senior position in the same sector at a large international business.
- A candidate who is already working in Australia at a large business in their nominator target sector would be more readily able to satisfy the criteria that they will be an asset and be able to self-establish.
Ashton Legal ready to assist
Having secured close to 100 global talent visas for our clients, we know that each and every candidate is different and there is no ‘template’ that would fit all candidates. Each Expression of Interest (EOI) should be prepared thoroughly, taking into account the candidate’s professional highlights, as well as being substantiated by strong evidence, in order to arrive a successful outcome: an invitation to apply for the visa.
It is also important to demonstrate that you are an exceptionally strong candidate in order for your EOI to be prioritised, i.e., to avoid the over 12 months waiting period on the EOI assessment.
Given our extensive experience in securing GTI invitations for our clients, and subsequent visa grants, Ashton Legal is confident that we will also be able to help you and your family on your Australian migration journey.
If you think you might be eligible for, or have any questions about the global talent visa, please feel free to reach out to us on + 612 7900 9570 or globaltalent@ashtonlegal.com.au.