The immigration program designed to attract international talent on the Australian market has been recently modified as, starting with December 2024, the previous visa addressed for international talent, known as the Global Talent visa, has been replaced by the Australia National Innovation Visa.
The new immigration document is granted as a permanent visa to eligible applicants, provided that they have a proven exceptional achievement in their field of expertise, which must coincide with one of the areas included in this program.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Definition | The Australia National Innovation Visa is a type of talent visa that is designed for exceptionally skilled individuals, who excel in specific fields. |
| Areas of expertise | The Australia National Innovation Visa is available for those with remarkable results in academia/research, sports, arts or in certain professions. |
| Expression of Interest | In order to apply, foreigners must first make an Expression of Interest (EOI), by presenting relevant information on the professional results relevant to this visa program. |
| Invitation to Apply | Provided that the EOI is successful, the applicants will receive an Invitation to Apply (from a party known as nominator, who must be an individual/company/organization associated with the field of expertise of the applicant). |
| Who can initiate the invitation? | An Australian citizen/permanent resident, an Australian organization or a New Zealand citizen. |
| Required documentation | The passport, the CV and documents/information concerning the achievements in the field of expertise. |
| Place of application | Overseas/Australia |
| Eligible visas for applicants in Australia | Those who apply for the Australia National Innovation Visa while being on the Australian territory must hold a Bridging visa (A, B or C), the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa. |
| Deadline to submit the application | Once an applicant has received the Invitation to Apply, he/she must submit the visa application in a period of maximum 60 days. |
| Fees | Start from AUD4,985 |
| Age requirements | There aren’t any age requirements, but applicants below 18 years old or over 55 must provide evidence on how they can be of exceptional benefit (ongoing, sustained or immediately after the immigration process is completed) for the Australian society. |
| Rights granted by the National Innovation Visa | – permanent residency; – study/employment in Australia; – access to the public health system; – relocation with close family members. |
| Character requirements | The applicant and his/her close family members above the age of 16 relocating to Australia as well as those remaining at home must make proof that they meet the character requirements stipulated by Section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. |
| Digital/physical visa | Digital visa (the visa is linked to the passport, it is not issued as a label/stamp on the passport) |
| Visa refusal | In the case in which the application is denied, the Australian authorities will inform the applicant on the reasons of the refusal and whether he/she may appeal the decision. |
Our immigration lawyer in Australia can offer in-depth legal information on the new immigration program and can assist foreigners who want to relocate here.
Table of Contents
First of all, a foreigner can be eligible for immigration to Australia only if he/she has exceptional achievements in one of the following 4 areas:
Then, it is necessary to be invited to apply for the Australia National Innovation visa by a person/entity that has one of the following qualities:
The individual or the entity that makes the invitation (also known as a nominator) must have credentials in the same area of expertise of the foreign applicant. Another condition to abide by is to be either outside Australia at the moment of the application, or in Australia, but not in immigration clearance.
For applicants who are already in Australia, they can be eligible for the Australia National Innovation visa only if they hold one of the following visas:
Foreigners who will migrate to Australia under the innovation program will obtain a large set of rights, given that their contribution to the Australian society is considered to be a very important one. One of the basic rights obtained by successful applicant is the right to permanent residency in Australia, along with the rights of working and studying here.
Visa holders can also enjoy the Australian healthcare system, as the visa grants them the possibility to enroll in the public system, known as Medicare. Additionally, the visa program can be used for family reunification purposes, as it allows immigration in Australia for close family members, provided that the holders of the innovation visa act as sponsors for such family members.
Eventually, the visa holders may apply for Australian citizenship, if they wish to and if they qualify for it (this right is not granted automatically as a holder of an Australia National Innovation visa, it can only be acquired after satisfying the conditions imposed by the law).
We mention that a new visa holder, who has just relocated to Australia, will not be eligible from the beginning for all the rights mentioned above, as certain benefits may be accessed after a given time after the arrival. Our Australia migration lawyer can offer more details on this issue.
When applying for this visa type, interested individuals should know the following:
From the previous Global Talent program only the Global Talent Employer Sponsored program has been maintained and was included in the Innovation visas program. We kindly advise you to contact our Australia migration lawyer for assistance.