Subclass 858 National Innovation Visa: EOI, Invitation and the 60-Day Window

The National Innovation visa (subclass 858) is invitation-only. You cannot lodge an application until the Department of Home Affairs invites you. The order is fixed: expression of interest (EOI), then invitation, then an application lodged within 60 days with a completed Form 1000 attached.

Start with an EOI, not an application

The National Innovation visa overview describes a permanent visa for established and emerging leaders with an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement who can contribute in sectors of national importance. It names global researchers, entrepreneurs, innovative investors, athletes and creatives among the people the visa is aimed at.

The EOI is how you put yourself forward for consideration. Home Affairs issues invitations according to the visa’s priorities, and the EOI is the pool it draws from.

An EOI stays live for two years

From the date you submit, your EOI remains active for two years. An invitation can arrive at any point in that period. If none arrives, the EOI expires and you would need to submit a new one.

The clock starts on submission, not on a later acknowledgement.

What the priority levels mean for where an EOI sits is covered in our guide to NIV EOI priorities and sectors.

Invitations follow priority order

The current invitation round page says the Department considers every submitted EOI against the indicators of achievement claimed and the program priorities, then issues invitations in priority order.

• Priority one: global experts and recipients of international ‘top of field’ awards, from any sector.
• Priority two: candidates nominated on an approved Form 1000 by an expert Australian, State or Territory government agency, from any sector.
• Priority three: exceptional and outstanding achievement in a Tier One sector.
• Priority four: exceptional and outstanding achievement in a Tier Two sector.

A higher priority level does not mean a visa will be granted. The same page states that an invitation is not a pre-assessment of eligibility, and that each application is assessed on its merits and supporting documents.

Invitation rounds run monthly. The page publishes the invitations issued over a three-month reporting period, broken down by priority level and sector.

The 60-day window and Form 1000

Once you are invited, you have 60 days from the date of the invitation to apply. The application is lodged through ImmiAccount.

A nominator must complete the Nomination for National Innovation visa (Form 1000). The completed form has to be submitted with the application, not sent in later.

Use the waiting time to assemble documents. Home Affairs lists the visa eligibility requirements, application charges and supporting document requirements on the subclass 858 page; read them against your own circumstances before the window opens.

Global Talent details are out of date

Guides written for the Global Talent stream still circulate with ten-sector lists, salary floors, allocation figures and fixed processing times. Those details do not describe the current framework.

Sector categories now sit inside the NIV priority levels, and the priority tables on the invitation round page are the current published position. If a source quotes a salary threshold or a set processing time, treat it as superseded until you find it on the Home Affairs pages linked above.