The Global Talent Independent Program (GTIP)
Australia offers a variety of immigration paths for potential immigrants. One of the possible paths to obtain Australian permanent residence is through the Global Talent Independent Program (GTIP), which offers to candidates the opportunity to obtain the Global Talent visa and come to Australia despite the closed borders! This is because the Global Talent visa is a Distinguished Talent visa, which is permanent, and permanent residents can always come to Australia whenever they want (subject to flights availability and quarantine arrangements)
The program is a rather simple way of obtaining a permanent residence visa for highly qualified professionals. Holders of the visa have the right to live, study and work in Australia, enroll in the medical care program, obtain Australian citizenship, as well as to sponsor the immigration of a spouse, children and, if the applicant is under 18 years, to sponsor the immigration of parents and other siblings.
Among the main advantages of the Global Talent Visa are the following:
- no strict requirements as to having an employer
- the higher age threshold of 55 years, which differs from the usual immigration programs with the age threshold of 45 years
- reduced requirements for English (average IELTS score 4.5); if it is not possible to confirm the required English, you can “bypass” the requirement by paying an additional installment.
For the period of 2020-2021 the quota for this program is fifteen thousand places.
Australia is interested in attracting the best and brightest professionals, as according to the belief of the Australian government it can help to strengthen the country’s economy through skills transfer, innovation and creation of job opportunities.
An applicant for a Global Talent visa can be a specialist with superior ability in one of the following 10 target areas:
- digital technologies
- financial service & financial technologies
- circular economy
- energy
- defense, advanced manufacturing & space technologies
- infrastructure and tourism
- agricultural food & agricultural technologies
- resources
- medical industry
- education
The immigration requirements for the visa
To be an eligible candidate for the visa, the applicant must prove their international recognition and provide evidence of their outstanding achievements. Such evidence can include professional awards, patents, international publications, membership, etc. Another confirmation of one’s outstanding place in the field of knowledge can be in the form of an exceptional track record of professional achievements, managing positions, etc. The applicant may need to demonstrate compliance with high standards and convince the immigration authorities that he will be useful to Australia in his field of expertise.
Also, in order to meet the immigration requirements for the visa, the applicant must demonstrate that they will not have any difficulties with finding a job in Australia and that they would potentially be able to attract the salary level be not less than AUD 153 600 per year.
Finally, the applicant should be nominated for this visa by an Australian citizen or permanent resident who is a recognized expert in the same field of knowledge. The advantage of this is the fact that the nomination does not involve any financial obligations for the nominator, they only have to provide a written statement describing their own outstanding achievements and the achievements of the applicant. Also, the applicant can be nominated by the Australian organization with a national reputation in the same field of knowledge as they are. Sometimes, if the applicant’s field of expertise is IT and they do not have their own nominator the Australian Computer Society can become such a nominator.
Another good news is that the possibility of obtaining the Global Talent Visa is also open to PhD graduates and some PhD students who are already close to completing their dissertation and who may demonstrate exceptional talent and international recognition in their target sector.