In the 2022–23 financial year, Australia’s skilled migration programme entered a golden period. Whether through the points-based system or employer-sponsored pathways, both have shifted into high gear. Over recent months, many long-waiting offshore clients have been receiving invitations and having visas granted, which has undoubtedly brought hope to the many Chinese applicants living overseas.
Today Melinda would like to introduce the Global Talent Independent (GTI) visa (Subclass 858), Australia’s newest skilled migration stream. It requires no English test, no points score, and has no age limit, and the invitation rate at the EOI stage is as high as 68%. In the 2021–22 financial year alone, more than 2,000 talented Chinese nationals secured Australian permanent residency through the GTI programme.
Will the reduced GTI quota this financial year significantly affect new invitations?
The GTI programme launched in November 2019, with the quota rising from an initial 5,000 places to a peak of 15,000, before falling back to 5,000 in the 2022–23 financial year. However, this year’s quota has been explicitly earmarked to be used in full, and will be prioritised for offshore applicants, effectively opening a fast-track pathway for talented individuals overseas.
Many clients worry that a reduced quota will make it harder to get in. That is why Melinda has obtained the latest FOI data from the Department of Home Affairs to analyse with you the reasons for the quota reduction and the current EOI invitation situation.
Q:
What are the submission, invitation, and rejection rates?
According to the latest FOI data, over the seven months from 1 February 2022 to 31 August 2022, the GTI team assessed a total of 1,717 EOIs, of which 1,181 were invited and 536 were declined, giving an invitation rate of 68.8%. Based on official figures, this closely matches the success rate achieved by Newstars’ Guangzhou team for applications this financial year. The invitation breakdown by field for this year is shown in the chart below:
Q:
What is the average EOI processing time by country or region?
The GTI team has also published the average EOI processing times for applicants from various countries and regions.
Some observations
Based on the data provided by the GTI team, several points stand out:
-
1. Due to the GTI team’s limited processing capacity, assessment times have already extended from the original 1–2 weeks to an average of over six months. Only applicants holding Hong Kong passports receive faster processing, averaging 34 days.
-
-
2. Over the seven months, the GTI team issued 1,181 invitations, suggesting the annual figure is approximately 2,000,considering that many GTI applications are lodged as family units, the total number of visas granted per year is around 5,000. To avoid wasting quota allocations, the Department of Home Affairs has returned some quota to the points-based skilled migration category, making it reasonable that the GTI quota has been brought back to the original planned 5,000 places.
-
3. With the GTI EOI invitation rate currently as high as 68.8%, this is undoubtedly reassuring for overseas applicants who wish to pursue the GTI pathway. Provided materials and documentation are well prepared, there is a very good chance of receiving a GTI invitation.
-
-
4. With numerous pathways open to onshore skilled migrants this financial year, the GTI programme will focus primarily on attracting offshore talent. The government has repeatedly affirmed it will prioritise the full 5,000 quota for overseas applicants —5,000 places in practice is actually quite significant.
Q:
Which applicants have secured the most GTI visas?
Meanwhile, based on visa grant data released by the Department of Home Affairs for the past two years, in the 2021–22 financial year alone, talented Chinese nationals secured a total of 2,174 GTI visas.
Of these, holders of Mainland Chinese passports secured 662 grants in the 2020–21 financial year, and 1,028 grants in the 2021–22 financial year.Holders of Hong Kong passportssecured 642 grants in the 2020–21 financial year, and 1,146 grants in the 2021–22 financial year.
This clearly shows that the GTI team holds Chinese talented individuals in high regard. As such, eligible applicants may wish to seize the opportunity this financial year — with priority given to offshore applicants — and secure a permanent Australian residency in a single step. This is particularly relevant for talented individuals across various fields in China who face challenges under the points-based system, such as “a low EOI points score, being over 45 years of age, or being unable to achieve a score of 6 in each band of the English test, or being unable to obtain a skills assessment”.
In that case, bring your CV and speak with me to assess your GTI migration pathway.
The GTI programme currently
favours talented individuals in the following categories:
Category 1: Highly Qualified Academics
Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, university professors and lecturers, researchers and experts at research institutions, and technical specialists at companies;
Category 2: Senior Technology Executives and Entrepreneurs
Senior executives, founders, partners, and entrepreneurs with specialist technical expertise and business management experience;
Category 3: Highly Paid Technical Talent
Technical professionals earning at least AUD 158,000, who can rapidly drive innovation in Australia’s technology sector and support the country’s economic recovery — holding a significant number of patents or utility models is an added advantage;
Who is it for? What are the requirements? Why choose GTI?
to choose GTI
The advantages of the GTI visa are:
-
1. One application — the whole family gets Australian PR
-
2. No skills assessment required, no points score competition
-
3. No English language requirement,
-
4. no age limit — applicants over 55 can still receive an invitation and visa grant if they can demonstrate exceptional personal achievement;
The GTI visa is currently open to talented individuals in the following fields:
Category 1: Fields covered under the Subclass 124 framework (now consolidated into the Subclass 858 visa)
-
1. Arts and Culture;
-
2. Sport;
-
3. Research and Science;
Category 2: The ten major fields and 61 sub-categories under the Subclass 858 visa
-
1. Resources
-
2. Agri-food and AgTech
-
3. Energy
-
4. Health industries
-
5. Defense, advanced manufacturing and space
-
6. Circular economy
-
7. Digitech
-
8. Infrastructure and tourism
-
9. Financial services and FinTech
-
10. Education
Newstars’ Guangzhou team has already helped numerous talented individuals from mainland China achieve GTI success. If you are one of the three categories of talented professionals favoured by the GTI programme, get in touch now to have your GTI pathway assessed.
Study abroad and migration video resources
Click the image to view featured articles
Previous recommendations
Is state nomination for Subclass 491 in this state virtually a giveaway? Can Subclass 190 be secured without a top score?
39 years old, purely offshore — state nomination to visa grant completed in just over three months!
A further visa reminder — especially important for parents who are PRs or citizens
A further visa reminder — especially important for parents who are PRs or citizens
A further visa reminder — especially important for parents who are PRs or citizens
A further visa reminder — especially important for parents who are PRs or citizens
Migration and study abroad Q&A group
Step 1: Press and hold to add our customer service contact
Step 2: After adding, please
Attention!Please verify you are speaking with a genuine realNewstars consultant!
Year-end backlog down by 400,000! Is transitioning from temporary to permanent residency the focus of reform?Tapto “Original Article Link” — Migration Weekly — video edition
