HEMISPHERE MIGRATION NEWS

Innovators and entrepreneurs will be encouraged to bring their ideas to Australia with visa reforms to attract talented and highly educated people under the coalition government’s National innovation and Science agenda. The new entrepreneur Visa will be introduced to attract innovative talent and changes will be made to the current system to retain high achieving foreign students in Australia.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Mr. Peter Dutton said ideas, skills and talent were essential to a high performing economy. “The national Innovation and Science agenda will change the way Australians work together to shape the nation”.

The new Visa will ensure that Australia’s overseas networks will be leveraged to actively encourage entrepreneurial and innovative talent to come to Australia. Not only attracting new talent but also endeavour to retain highly educated, talented people whose knowledge base has been developed in Australia and this will contribute to a thriving knowledge economy.

“We will make changes to facilitate a pathway to permanent residency for foreign students who are graduates from Australian Universities with specialized doctorate level and masters by research qualifications”. The changes will assist graduates in STEM subjects such as: science, technology, engineering and mathematics or specified ICT and related fields.

“It will be available for emerging entrepreneurs with innovative ideas and financial backing to develop their ideas in Australia” Mr. Dutton stated when outlining the new Visa.

According to the strategy announced, changes to the Australia migration program will include the following:

POSTGRADUATE BY RESEARCH GRADUATES WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL POINTS FOR GENERAL SKILLED MIGRATION VISA APPLICATIONS

A great number of postgraduates find themselves short of points when applying for General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa as they lack work experience. With the newly announced changes, postgraduate by research graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) will receive extra points which will provide more options for permanent residency in Australia after their studies

NEW ENTREPRENEUR VISA WILL PROVIDE OVERSEAS ENTREPRENEURS WITH A PATHWAY FOR AUSTRALIAN PERMANENT RESIDENCY

This new visa category will allow overseas entrepreneurs with innovative ideas to apply for a temporary visa with a pathway to permanent residency upon fulfilling criteria including business growth and creation of jobs. To qualify for the Entrepreneur visa you will have to:

• Possess an innovative and high-growth potential idea or ideas that can be implemented in Australia
• Gain financial backing from a third party

“These changes remove impediments in the visa system to facilitate entry and retention of highly talented people”.

The visa reforms are expected to be introduced in November 2016