The Australian government has introduced a new National Innovation Visa (NIV) under subclass 858. This new scheme will replace the Global Talent visa, and Business Innovation and Investment visa. This visa program is invitation only and the successful candidates can reside, work, and study in Australia on permanent basis.
NIV subclass is based on Tier One and Tier 2 priority sectors depending on expertise levels. Furthermore this PR stream will help professionals across diverse fields, including entrepreneurs, researchers and creatives to settle in Australia.
Benefits of the NIV subclass 858
Successful candidates when they get the NIV, can;
- stay in Australia permanently;
- work and study in Australia;
- enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare Sponsor your relatives to come to Australia;
- travel to and from Australia for 5 years Apply for Australian citizenship (if eligible);
- Newly arrived residents may need to wait to access certain Australian Government payments and benefits.
Overview of the National Innovation Visa
Visa Details
| Information | Details |
| Stay | Permanently |
| Cost | From AUD 4,840.00 |
| Processing Times | Use the Visa Processing Time Guide Tool for an estimate. Note that it is a general guide and not specific to your application. |
Eligibility Requirements
| Criteria | Details |
| Invitation to Apply | You must be invited to apply for this visa and lodge your application within 60 days of the invitation. |
| Location | You can apply from inside or outside Australia but not while in immigration clearance. |
| Exceptional Achievement | You must have an internationally recognised record of exceptional achievement in one of these areas: |
| – A profession | |
| – A sport | |
| – The arts | |
| – Academia and research | |
| Nominator | Your nominator must have a national reputation in your field and be one of the following: |
| – An Australian citizen | |
| – An Australian permanent resident | |
| – An eligible New Zealand citizen | |
| – An Australian organisation |
Applying for the National Innovation Visa
Application process for the NIV subclass 858 is based on invitation only. This means interested applicants:
- determine if they are eligible to apply;
- gather the documents to apply for the EOI;
- applying for the Expression of Interest using all your documents such as proof of achievements priority sector wise, highest qualification, work experience proofs, and passport;
- once the EOI application is evaluated (criteria and information mentioned below) succefully, you then have 60 days to apply for the National Innovation Visa subclass 858 through the immiaccount online.
Priority Levels of NIV
You submit an expression of interest and after evaluation the immigration department invites them to apply for the NIV. The evaluation of the priority of the candidates is assessed as follows (with priority one as the highest):
| Priority Level | Description |
| Priority One | Exceptional candidates from any sector who are global experts and recipients of international “top of field” level awards. |
| Priority Two | Candidates from any sector nominated on the approved Form 1000 by an expert Australian Commonwealth, State, or Territory Government agency. |
| Priority Three | Candidates with exceptional and outstanding achievements in a Tier One sector: |
| – Critical Technologies | |
| – Health Industries | |
| – Renewables and Low Emission Technologies | |
| Priority Four | Candidates with exceptional and outstanding achievements in a Tier Two sector: |
| – Agri-food and AgTech | |
| – Defence Capabilities and Space | |
| – Education | |
| – Financial Services and FinTech | |
| – Infrastructure and Transport | |
| – Resources |
What is outstanding achievements and talent?
The immigration department defines the extraordinary achievements and special talent as follows:
| Category | Details |
| International ‘Top-of-Field’ Awards | Awards for exceptional achievements available in all fields. Examples include: |
| – Nobel Prizes | |
| – Breakthrough Prizes | |
| – Rousseeuw Prize | |
| – Eni Award | |
| – Institution of Electrical Engineers Medal of Honor | |
| – Fields Medal | |
| – Chern Medal | |
| – Abel Prize | |
| – L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science | |
| – Turing Award | |
| – ACM Prize in Computing | |
| – Pulitzer Prize | |
| – International Booker Prize | |
| – International Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medal | |
| – Olympic Gold Medal | |
| – Laureus World Sportsman or Sportswoman of the Year. | |
| Recipients of National Research Grants | Receipt of grants for the highest quality research in Australia or internationally, such as: |
| – Australian Research Council grants | |
| – Department of Education Accelerator grants | |
| – Equivalent level grants from other countries, including: | |
| – United Kingdom Research and Innovation Grants program | |
| – Funding from the EU Commission | |
| – Funding from the US National Science Foundation | |
| – Other similar level grants. | |
| Holders of PhDs with Academic Influence | PhD holders demonstrating high levels of academic influence or thought leadership. Examples include: |
| – Recent publications in top-ranked journals (e.g., Nature, Lancet, Acta Numerica). | |
| – High h-index for their career stage (e.g., early career researcher with h-index of 14). | |
| – Research-based degree from a top global university (e.g., ranked in the top 100 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education). | |
| Other Measures of High-Calibre Talent | Other indicators of exceptional talent include: |
| – Recent keynote appearances at high-profile international conferences (e.g., Web Summit, International Congress of Mathematicians, AACR Annual Meeting, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium). | |
| – Earning at or above the Fair Work high-income threshold, demonstrated by: | |
| – Written communication from an Australian employer offering employment with an annual salary at or above the threshold, or | |
| – Current earnings meeting or exceeding the threshold. | |
| Government Agency Nomination | Additional indicators of achievement when nominated by an expert Australian Commonwealth, State, or Territory government agency include: |
| – Athletes and creatives who enhance Australia’s international standing. | |
| – Evidence of innovative investment activity with a track record of supporting successful ventures. | |
| – Promising entrepreneurial activities leading to commercialisation of a product or service in Australia, especially linked to Commonwealth, State, or Territory-based innovation hubs. | |
| – Recognised intellectual property, such as holding relevant international patents. |
Tier One Priority Sectors
Following are the priority sector one occupations and sectors for the NIV subclass 858:
| Sector | Description | Specialisations |
| Critical Technologies | Potentially transformative enabling technology, including artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and cyber security technology. | – Advanced information and communication technology |
| – Advanced manufacturing and materials technology | ||
| – Artificial intelligence technology | ||
| – Autonomous systems | ||
| – Biotechnology | ||
| – Clean energy generation and storage technology | ||
| – Cyber security technology | ||
| – Quantum technology | ||
| – Photonics | ||
| – Robotics | ||
| – Positioning, timing, and sensing technology | ||
| Renewables and Low Emission Technologies | Technology supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions. | – Bio-methane production |
| – Circular economy innovations | ||
| – Clean energy technology | ||
| – Emission reduction and carbon storage | ||
| – Green metals | ||
| – Low-carbon liquid fuels | ||
| – Processing and refining of critical minerals | ||
| – Renewable energy generation | ||
| – Transmission, distribution, or storage | ||
| – Renewable hydrogen | ||
| – Waste to Energy (WtE) technology | ||
| Health Industries | Innovations in medical manufacturing and advancements in sovereign capabilities in medical science. | – Antimicrobial resistance |
| – Artificial intelligence in health | ||
| – Biochemistry and cell biology | ||
| – Biotechnology | ||
| – Genomics | ||
| – Emerging health threats and emergencies | ||
| – Health economics | ||
| – Implantable and wearable devices | ||
| – Infectious disease prevention | ||
| – Pharmaceuticals and precision medicine | ||
| – Medical science manufacturing for therapeutic products |
Tier Two Priority Sectors
Followig are the Tier two priority sectors for the NIV subclass 858:
| Sector | Description | Specialisations |
| Agri-food and AgTech | Innovation or value-adding in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors. | – Biotechnology |
| – Biosecurity and disease management | ||
| – Farm management technology | ||
| – Food technology | ||
| – Processing primary industry outputs into higher-value goods | ||
| – Innovation and sustainability in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries | ||
| – Manufacturing of products for use in or connection with primary industries | ||
| Education | Academia, research, or management in universities and higher learning institutions. | – Senior management of universities and higher learning institutions |
| – Senior academics and researchers at Australian academic level D or E (or international equivalent) | ||
| Defence Capabilities and Space | Advancing sovereign defence and space capability. | – Development, manufacturing, and sustainment of products that are inputs to defence capability |
| – Electromagnetic technologies | ||
| – Propulsion systems | ||
| – Space objects | ||
| – Space systems engineering | ||
| – Space sector enabling skills | ||
| Financial Services and FinTech | Advancing innovation in financial services or technology industries. | – Innovations in application programming |
| – Blockchain engineering | ||
| – Cloud technologies | ||
| – FinTech cyber and data security | ||
| – Financial data science and analysis | ||
| – Software engineering | ||
| Infrastructure and Transport | Advancing innovation in the transport sector and infrastructure projects. | – Innovative manufacturing and technologies to support development of the transport sector |
| – Large and complex transport infrastructure projects for roads, bridges, tunnelling, rail, and airports | ||
| Resources | Innovation, product development, or value-adding in resource sectors or critical minerals supply chains. | – Automation and Industry 4.0 skills |
| – Beneficiation technology | ||
| – Critical and battery minerals | ||
| – Exploration services | ||
| – Geology and metallurgy | ||
| – Oil and gas decommissioning | ||
| – Resource waste management | ||
| – Value-add in resource sectors, including manufacturing products and technologies to advance mineral processing |