Section 14 · 11 entries · Updated 11 June 2026
Visa & Immigration
This page lists common Australian visa pathways relevant to founders and tech talent relocating to Sydney. It is general information only and does not constitute migration advice. Australian visa rules change frequently — always verify current requirements with the Department of Home Affairs (immi.homeaffairs.gov.au) or a registered migration agent before taking action.
01 Visa routes
- National Innovation Visa (subclass 858) Permanent visa for internationally recognised talent. Replaced Global Talent Visa from 29 Nov 2024. Invitation-only via EOI. Priority sectors include AI, fintech, critical technologies. Highly selective — 226 invitations issued as of Dec 2025. source ↗
- Skills in Demand visa — Specialist Skills stream (subclass 482) Temporary sponsored visa replacing TSS (Dec 2024). Specialist Skills stream has no occupation list — salary must meet SSIT (AUD 141,210 from 1 Jul 2025). Suited to senior tech hires. Pathway to PR via subclass 186. source ↗
- Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) Permanent employer-sponsored visa. Three streams: Direct Entry, Temporary Residence Transition (for existing 482 holders), and Labour Agreement. Requires employer nomination; occupation must generally be on the skilled list.
- Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) Points-tested permanent visa; no employer or state sponsor required. Requires invitation via SkillSelect EOI. Minimum 65 points. Occupation must be on the skilled occupation list. Highly competitive — tech occupations regularly invited. source ↗
- Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) Points-tested permanent visa requiring nomination by a state or territory (including NSW). Nomination adds 5 points. Lower invitation score than 189 in practice. NSW targets specific tech and digital occupations each intake. source ↗
- Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) — student-to-graduate pathway Post-study work rights for international graduates of Australian institutions. From 1 Jul 2024: age cap 35; duration 2 yrs (bachelor/masters coursework), 3 yrs (masters research), 4 yrs (PhD). IELTS 6.5 overall required. source ↗
- Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) For 18–30 year olds (some countries to 35) from eligible nations. 12-month stay with work rights — used by early-stage founders to test the Sydney ecosystem before committing to a full skilled-migration pathway. source ↗
- Entrepreneur visa stream — CLOSED (subclass 188) The entire Business Innovation and Investment Programme (BIIP), including the Entrepreneur stream, closed to new applications on 31 July 2024. No current dedicated founder-specific visa exists — the NIV (858) is the closest alternative. source ↗
02 Getting help
- Find a Registered Migration Agent (OMARA) The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) maintains the official register. Only registered migration agents, lawyers, and certain exempt persons may legally provide immigration assistance in Australia. source ↗
- Techvisa — specialist tech migration agency Australian migration agency specialising in tech and startup talent. Offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Claims to be first agency to offer services under the Global Talent Scheme. Team backgrounds in recruitment, tech and migration.
- Fragomen — corporate immigration, Sydney office Global immigration law firm with Sydney office (Level 7, 179 Elizabeth St). Team includes registered migration agents and accredited immigration law specialists. Serves startups through to multinationals.
Every entry above is source-linked and reviewed before publish. Spotted something out of date? It will be picked up in the next weekly agent run — each section is re-researched on a rolling cadence.