The purpose of this visa is to allow people with distinguished talent who are outside Australia to apply to migrate to Australia.
Who is this visa for?
This visa is designed for people who are internationally recognised for exceptional and outstanding achievement in:
- a profession
- the arts
- sport
- research or academia.
You must still be active in your field of expertise and you will need an eligible person or organisation to nominate you for this visa.
What does the visa let me do?
This visa allows you and your dependent family members to live as permanent residents in Australia.
Australian permanent residents can:
- live and work in Australia on a permanent basis
- study in Australia at school or university
- receive subsidised healthcare through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- access certain social security payments (subject to waiting periods)
- be eligible for Australian citizenship (subject to the residency eligibility criteria)
- sponsor people for permanent residence.
Nomination
You must be nominated for this visa by one of the following:
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen
- an Australian organisation.
The nominator must have a national reputation in your field of expertise. The nominator must be able to verify that you have international standing in your field of expertise.
Record of achievement
You must have a record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in a profession, the arts, sport, or research and academia. You must still be active in your field of expertise. Your achievements must be internationally recognised.
You will need to include the following documentation with your application:
- information provided by your nominator
- relevant qualifications and/or awards including those received from internationally recognised institutions
- advice from government, professional, scientific, cultural, sporting or other relevant bodies in Australia.
Prominence
You must provide evidence that you are still prominent in your profession, the arts, sport or research and academia.
You will need to include the following documents with your application:
- references from people qualified to assess your claims to 'distinguished talent'
- items about yourself from the media.
Employment
You must be able to obtain employment or become established independently in Australia in your area of expertise. You must be able to show either of the following:
- you have a job
- you can establish a viable business in Australia.
Age
If you are below 18 or above 55 years of age, you must provide evidence that you would be of exceptional benefit to the Australian community.
Finance
You must be able to support yourself and all accompanying family members. You must not be financially dependent on the Australian community.
Health
You and your family members must meet certain health requirements and may need to undergo a health examination.
Character
You and your family members must be of good character to enter Australia.
Location
You may be in or outside Australia when you apply for this visa. You must be outside Australia at the time a decision is made on your visa application.
English language ability
You are expected to have functional English. Functional English is sufficient English to cope with everyday situations and even some work situations.
If you have been assessed as not having a functional level of English will be required to pay a second instalment visa application charge. This charge entitles you to English language tuition in Australia so that you can achieve functional English language ability. You should not pay this charge until requested to do so by the department.
Australian Values Statement
If you are aged 18 years or over, you are required to sign an Australian values statement. The statement is included in your visa application form and all applicants aged 18 years and over will need to sign it to confirm that they will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. Before signing this statement you are required to have read, or had explained to you, material made available by the government on life in Australia which is contained in the Life in Australia book.
