Australia offering fast tracked permanent residency for global talent

In November 2019 the Government officially launched 5,000 new fast-track permanent visas for seriously talented people to participate in high-tech initiatives throughout Australia.  Due to the success of the program over the last 12 months, the number of visas allocated to Global Talent in the 2020-21 year increased to 15,000.

The Global Talent Independent Program (GTIP) sees Government officials actively seeking out and recruiting talent from around the world, starting with people who have advanced degrees and/or experience obtained in leading global universities.  But equally, many very bright people without degrees have been successful with a visa under the Global Talent Independent program – particularly those involved with innovative tech start-ups.

Sectors being targeted include financial technology, agricultural technology, space and advanced manufacturing, medical technology, energy and mining technology, cyber security, and quantum computing.  Most importantly, the visa offered through the Global Talent Independent stream are permanent visas, meaning recipients have total flexibility about entering Australia and pursuing their career.  With Covid travel bans making entry to Australia difficult for many non-residents, the Global Talent and Business Visa recipients are automatically provided with an exemption to the travel bans – which is a bonus!

The principle behind the Global Talent initiative is that recipients are multipliers, who have the potential to create large numbers of local jobs for Australians in high growth industries. This is consistent with the Government’s commitment to economic recovery after Covid.

Typically, permanent visas take months to be granted, however the Global Talent Visas attract the highest possible processing priority, under a Ministerial Direction.  Typically, once lodged, these applications are decided in just a few weeks.

The Global Talent Program has already benefited Mazars clients with a number of individuals having been successful in securing visas.

Global Talent Success Story

A recent success story involves a new mining and mineral processing company client which was acquired by a Mazars Germany client.  The German company wanted to send a highly skilled executive to Australia to help run the business.  Mazars in Brisbane worked with a referral partner, Emergico Migration who quickly helped secure a Global Talent Visa for the executive. 

Mazars HR Consulting Division then worked with the Australian and German client to design a salary package to comply with Australia’s extensive industrial relations laws, the migration act and benefiting the company and executive.

For more information on doing business in Australia or expanding abroad please speak with your usual Mazars advisor or alternatively contact our international tax team via phone or the form below. 

Thanks to Emergico Migration for content contribution.

Published: 27/11/2020

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