When the Global Talent Visa subclass 858 was first introduced it was touted as the fast-track, streamlined pathway to permanent residency for highly skilled, highly paid professionals to move to Australia. And indeed, it was, qualified applicants got their visas within a short time.

EOIs with the support of the Global Talent Taskforce officers are being actioned quickly and the visa processing was prioritised, and applications were finalised within a few weeks or in less than a month. At its peak in early 2020, the GTV whole process was taking 2- 5 months.

However, since late last year, the Federal Government has put the brakes on the Global Talent Visa. The whole GTV process could now be expected to take 18 to 29 months.

Re-prioritisation or de-prioritisation?

The priority of the Australian Government has shifted to other skilled visas such as the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) wherein 35,000 invitations were issued in December 2022.  

The Department’s resources were also reallocated to reduce the visa processing times of other skilled visas and priority were given to critical sectors like healthcare and education.

While the allocations for the Global Talent Visa have been kept to 5,000 places for the 2023-2024 financial year which is the same allocation for 2022-2023, this is significantly lower than the previous allocation of 15,000 places for the 2021-2022 financial year.

Longer processing times for the Global Talent Visa

EOIs now take about 3-6 months if prioritised and 12-18 months if not. Applicants who lodged their applications from late November 2022 onwards are expected to wait 6-11 months for their applications to be finalised.

Source: Department of Home Affairs, https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/global-talent-visa-858  extracted 21 July 2023

Government Applies GTV Criteria More Strictly:

With the popularity of the program, it has become more competitive, and the Department is more stringent with their requirements.

For a successful EOI, it is very important to provide evidence of the EOI candidate’s international record of exceptional and outstanding achievement applying for the Global Talent visa seeking priority on the basis that they:

• work in one of the future-focused sectors: and
• have written communication from an Australian employer offering employment with an annual salary equal to or higher or evidence that they are likely to attract a salary equal to or higher than the High income threshold amounts in Australia.

Rise in the GTV Income - Fair Work High Income Threshold

The High Income threshold amounts referred to above is the amount set by the Australian Fair Work Commission. It is currently set at AUD167,500 and is adjusted every year on 1 July.

Those who lodged their EOI before 1 July 2023 and who have not received any response from the Department yet would have to meet this new High Income Threshold.  If the EOI candidate’s salary just met last year’s threshold of $162,000, they must prove that their salary had been increased and meets the current threshold or provide evidence that they have an offer of employment in Australia with a salary equal to or over the High-Income Threshold otherwise, their EOIs will not be successful.

Future of the Global Talent Visa?

The Global Talent visa has been a program of the former Morrison government where the government allocated significant resources. It is reported that the program would cost Australia $13 million to establish.

It however had been severely criticised. The criticisms included, the program falling short of its targets; the subjectivity of the criteria for the grant of the visa and the granting of visas to applicants who are already in Australia and who were going to migrated to Australia anyway and therefore was not in line with the program’s objective of attracting the “best and brightest” and the “high-value businesses and exceptionally talented individuals to Australia along with their ideas, networks and capital.”

There had even been fears about the possibility of the Global Talent Visa being scrapped altogether. However, the Review of the Migration System released in May 2023 did not recommend for the abolition of the program and instead recommended reforms such as improving the clarity of the criteria and removing the need for a nomination. This indicates that the Global Talent Visa will be continued, albeit changed.

Our Experience: Rare Exceptional Talent from Universities and Tech Giants

While it is understandable that the Global Talent Visa program needs to be improved, we believe that the government’s approach to it is not understandable considering the current global war on talent and Australia’s aim to attract and retain highly educated and highly skilled workers vis-à-vis the skilled shortage.

We have assisted hundreds of global talent visa applicants in the last four years. From our experience the applicant’s often work for global tech giants and leading universities.

Prior to the Global Talent Visa, we were not seeing any applicants through the GSM process from leadership positions in tech giants.

The average income of GTV of applicants would be at least $70,000 higher and often $200,000 to $300,000 higher than GSM applicants.

Warning – Australia Will Stop Attracting the Top Talents:

The present blowout of processing times will make the Global Talent Visa unattractive to most global talents.  Waiting over two years for a visa is not attractive to Global Talents and these applicants will just go to the UK or Canada instead.

We encourage the Government to re-priorities Global Talent Visas through an updated Directive or Instrument.

We believe that eligible global talents have a place in Australia’s future and the process of getting them to choose and come to Australia should be made easier or risk the chance of losing these talents to other countries who are more accommodating and receptive.

***

Click here to learn more about the Global Talent Visa. 

How can Work Visa Lawyers help?

If you are interested in the Global Talent Visa or needs help with this visa, Work Visa Lawyers can assist you.

Work Visa Lawyers is highly experienced in all parts of the Global Talent visa application process. We are able to assist with all aspects of the application, and can also provide advice in relation to:

• your eligibilityfor a Global Talent Visa
• documents to demonstrate your skills and ability to attract the FWHIT salary

Work Visa Lawyers will provide an eligibility assessment before advising you to proceed with a visa application.

Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents look forward to assisting you with your Global Talent EOI, visa application or appeal.

Based in Adelaide South Australia, we provide Australian Immigration advice to people and businesses from all over the world.

You can book an appointment online  or call us at (+61) 8 8351 9956.

This article is not intended to be or taken as migration legal advice. The author of this article disclaims any liability for any action or omission on the information provided or not provided in this article. You should always consult an immigration lawyer or a registered migration agent (like Work Visa Lawyers) to form an informed opinion on your immigration matter.