The Global Talent Employer Sponsored program (GTES) allows employers to sponsor overseas workers who are highly skilled in a target area.
What is the Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) visa?
This visa is granted for 4 years and allows the overseas workers to apply for a permanent residency after 3 years of employment.
The main features of the GTES visa program are:
- Priority processing
- Age and occupation concessions
- Pathway to permanent residence after 3 years
- Salary threshold and position ceilings
- Similar to the standard TSS program, there are requirements for the employer and the overseas worker
There are two streams of the GTES visa:
- Established business stream
- Startups stream
Established business stream
The Established Business stream of the Global Talent Employer Sponsored visa allows employers who are accredited sponsors to employ workers with cutting-edge skills to help innovate in an established business and make Australian businesses and their Australian employees the best at what they do.
The employer requirements are:
- Must demonstrate that access to the GTES visa will support job opportunities and skills transfer for Australians
- Must demonstrate that they cannot fill the position through existing skilled visa programs
- Must prove that there are no Australian citizens/permanent residents who can fill the highly skilled niche position (labour market testing evidence)
- Must be in good standing with relevant regulatory agencies, including compliance with immigration and workplace laws
- Must be publicly listed or have an annual turnover of at least AUD4 million for each of the past 2 years
- Must be endorsed as a TSS accredited sponsor
The main visa applicant requirements are:
- Must meet health, character and security requirements
- Must have no familial relationship with directors/shareholders
- Applicant’s qualifications must be commensurate with the highly skilled role
- Must have at least 3 years work experience directly relevant to position
- Must have capacity to pass on skills/develop Australians
- Position must have minimum annual earnings equivalent to the Fair Work High Income Threshold (AUD153,600 as at 1 July 2020)
Startup stream
The Startup stream of the Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) visa allows employers to sponsor workers with cutting-edge skills to contribute to Australia’s developing startup ecosystem and bring new ideas, new jobs, new skills and new technology into Australia. This stream is for startups operating in a tech-based or science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field.
The employer requirements are:
- Must demonstrate that access to the GTES will support job opportunities and skills transfer for Australians
- Must prove that there are no Australian citizens/permanent residents who can fill the highly skilled niche position (labour market testing evidence)
- Must be in good standing with relevant regulatory agencies, including compliance with immigration and workplace laws
- Must operate in a technology based or STEM-related field
- Must be assessed and endorsed by the independent startup advisory panel as a viable and genuine startup
- Must either have received an investment of at least AUD50,000 from an investment fund registered as an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership OR must have received an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant at any time
The main visa applicant requirements are:
- Must meet health, character and security requirements
- Must have no familial relationship with directors/shareholders
- Applicant’s qualifications must be commensurate with the highly skilled role
- At least 3 years work experience directly relevant to position
- Must have capacity to pass on skills/develop Australians
- Position must have minimum annual earnings at the market salary rate, but not less than AUD80,000. This can include equity but must have a cash component that is no less than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (currently AUD53,900)
