Global Talent Employer Sponsored | GTES Visa| Better Life Migration

Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES)

The Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) program allows employers to sponsor highly-skilled overseas workers with niche skills that cannot be filled by Australian workers, and are not covered by other standard visa programs, such as the Skills in Demand (SID) Visa.

There are two streams available to businesses:

The Established Business Stream allows employers who are accredited sponsors to employ highly-skilled individuals with cutting-edge skills to help innovate in an established business.
The Startup Stream allows employers to sponsor highly-skilled individuals with cutting-edge skills to contribute to Australia’s startup ecosystem. These workers will bring new ideas, new jobs, new skills, and technology into Australia. This stream is for startups operating in technology-based or STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) related fields. In addition, startups must be endorsed by the independent GTES startup advisory panel.

Established Business Stream

What are the requirements under the Established Business Stream?

Sponsorship criteria:

Demonstrate that access to the GTES will support job opportunities and skills transfer for Australians.
Labour market testing evidence for the specific positions as part of the request for a GTES agreement.
Must be publicly listed or have an annual turnover of at least AU$4 million for each of the past 2 years.
Be endorsed as a SID accredited sponsor.
Employer must have a good standing with regulatory bodies, including compliance with immigration and workplace laws.

Applicant and position requirements:

Must meet health, character and security requirements.
No familial relationship with directors/shareholders.
Qualifications must be commensurate with the highly skilled role.
At least 3 years of work experience directly relevant to the position.
Capacity to pass on skills/develop Australians.
The position must have minimum annual earnings equivalent to the Fair Work High Income Threshold. For more information regarding High Income Employees, see the Fair Work Ombudsman website. As of 1 July 2024, the high income threshold is $175,000 annually.

Startup Stream

What are the requirements under the Startup Stream?

Sponsorship criteria:

Demonstrate that access to the GTES will support job opportunities and skills transfer for Australians.
Labour market testing evidence for the specific positions as part of the request for a GTES agreement.
Operate in a technology-based or STEM-related field (e.g. digital, biomedical, agtech).
The independent startup advisory panel will assess and endorse the business as a viable and genuine startup.
Employer must have a good standing with regulatory bodies, including compliance with immigration and workplace laws.

Applicant and position criteria:

Must meet health, character and security requirements.
No familial relationship with directors/shareholders.
Qualifications must be commensurate with the highly skilled role.
At least 3 years of work experience directly relevant to the position.
Capacity to pass on skills/develop Australians.
Minimum annual earnings at the market salary rate, but not less than $80,000. This can include equity, but must have a cash component that is no less than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (currently $73,150 on and between 1 July 2024–30 June 2025).

What are the costs associated with applying for the GTES visa?

Our fixed fee, service packages are designed to give clients choice in terms of fees and the level of service. However, they do not cover the visa application fees and other costs involved in submitting a visa application. We will provide you with a breakdown of all other costs should you decide to use our service.

How long does the GTES visa process take?

For current visa processing times, please refer to the information on the Department of Home Affairs website.

What are the benefits of this visa?

Sponsorship benefits:

Sponsors can access up to 20 positions per year under the Established Business Stream and 5 positions per year under the Startup Stream (applicant and position criteria must be satisfied on each occasion)
Simpler agreement applications and faster processing of agreements.

Visa applicant benefits:
This visa allows you and your accompanying family members to:

Live and work in Australia for the duration of the visa
Flexibility in accessing the 4 year TSS visas
Avail the transitional pathway to permanent residence after 3 years, including age cap concessions.