AUSTRALIA NEED TO MAKE EASY ENTREPRENEUR VISA OR FACE LEAVING BEHIND CANADA IRELAND FRANCE AND SPAIN WHICH ARE ACTIVELY TARGETING FOREIGN TALENTS
As it happens, talent is exactly what Australia’s burgeoning high-growth tech sector needs right now. Our research tells us a shortage of skills in key areas is the single most critical factor limiting our growth.
Our current system needs work. We’ve made some moves to try to address this shortage. Australia recently introduced an entrepreneur visa, as part of the Turnbull government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda. But, as it stands, the visa needs serious improvement if it is to be effective. Standard processing times are way too long, applying for the visa is too expensive and the eligibility requirements are far too restrictive. As far as we are aware not a single application has been approved under this visa in the nine months since it went live.
This is a highly competitive area. Countries like Ireland, France, Canada and Spain are all seeking to attract entrepreneurial talent with this sort of visa. In Spain, the equivalent visa application fee is just $88 and takes 10 days to process. Ours costs $3600 and takes more than a year. The government knows the entrepreneur visa needs work, and has said it wants to make it more competitive.
We have a golden opportunity right now. With Trump’s announcement, there’s no time to lose. A confluence of events has given us an opportunity that could be a game-changer for the structure of the Australian economy for decades. . If we don’t have the right visa settings in place we’ll miss out on a once-in-a-generation talent boom.
Upgrading the entrepreneur visa should be right at the top of the to-do list.
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