The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has released a proposal paper into the review of skilled migration and temporary activity visa programs. The proposal would see the creation of short-term mobility visas of up to 12 months for specialist overseas, skilled workers, which may include intra-company transfers and foreign correspondents. This visa subclass will apply to personnel required for specialised work that is in Australia's interests, such as executives coming to Australia to set up divisions and subsidiaries of their businesses, or software developers creating specialised programs for Australian companies.

The short-term, mobility visa departs from the common assumption that migration necessarily involves longer-term country relocation. This assumption is becoming less relevant as short-term temporary migration, including a number of interlinked mobilities, is being used by international companies to address a number of roles including: career development, project planning and implementation and corporate knowledge transfer.

Eligibility requirements

Genuine Temporary Entry (GTE) requirement is a key integrity tool to ensure the importance of Australian workers. Visa holders are required to meet health, character and security arrangements. Visa holders applying for this visa subclass for less than three months need to have work arrangements or activities classified as highly specialised work. Visa holders applying for this visa subclass for up to 12 months need to have work arrangements or activities classified as highly specialised and intermittent work. Family members cannot be included on the same visa application and would have to apply for their own visa if they intended to work or study in Australia.

Where the work is considered ongoing, visa holders would need to apply for a subsequent visa such as the temporary skilled, permanent sponsored, or permanent independent tested visa.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.