Indian migrant woman who broke barriers gets fast-tracked Australian permanent residency

Navjot Kaur is a highly skilled professional in the digi-tech sector whom the Australian government handpicked for permanent residency under its Global Talent Independent visa program (GTI) in December 2022.

Navjot Kaur with her family. Credit: Navjot Kaur

Key Points

• GTI is the fastest pathway to permanent residency in Australia.
• Indian woman gives up on American dream to settle in Australia.
• Expert says GTI intake should be cut down further due to its 'subjective criteria.'

Ms Kaur is 'well-settled' in Texas City, US, with her young family, yet she chose to give up on her American dream in exchange for the Australian reality.

The mum of two says she has 'everything' in the US, except emotional and social support that one gets from their extended family.

"My parents and my brother live in Melbourne. My husband's brother also lives in Victoria, so I have chosen to leave my life and a flourishing career in the US and shift to Australia with my husband and two sons," she says.

Navjot Kaur received her fast-track permanent residency through Australia’s Global Talent visa. Credit: Navjot Kaur

Ms Kaur recently received her Global Talent Independent visa (GTI), a fast-tracked permanent residency pathway for highly skilled applicants working in one of the ten future-focused sectors: resources, agri-food and ag-tech, energy, health industries, defence, circular economy, digi-tech, infrastructure and tourism, fintech and education.

The applicants are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) and receive an invitation to apply under this pathway, besides fulfilling other criteria.

The 37-year-old, who has won multiple awards for her outstanding contribution and research in data management and business analytics, says she chanced upon the pathway while searching for a 'quick' way to migrate to Australia.

"I was searching for skilled visas to migrate to Australia when I first read about GTI. And since I have won international awards in the digi-tech sector and have my research published in many global journals, I decided to apply.

"I received an invitation to apply in May 2022 and got my grant in December 2022. It was a dream come true," she adds.

My journey was fraught with challenges

Navjot Kaur currently lives in Texas City, US, with her husband and two sons. Credit: Navjot Kaur

Having been brought up in a nondescript village in Punjab, in north India, Ms Kaur says she has battled many challenges initially to study in a private school and later to carve a niche in the IT industry while juggling her roles as a daughter, wife and mother.

"When I was a child, my parents fought hard to ensure I got good education despite pressure from the extended family who believed money should be saved for a daughter's marriage and not her education.

"But I lucked out as my parents, especially my mother, took a stand to ensure I had a good academic foundation which eventually led to a career in IT. But once I got married in 2010 and soon gave birth to my son, I had to let go of many opportunities to settle abroad reluctantly," she says.

'Family always comes first, even though a career defines who I am'

But challenges didn't stop Ms Kaur from dreaming and making incredible achievements.

"We eventually shifted to the US in 2014 after my husband got a project. By that time, I was a mother of two and had to take a sabbatical to take care of them because family always comes first, even though a career defines who I am.

"After three years of break, I decided to pursue a master's degree in business analytics to advance my career, and there has been no looking back since then.

"I have had many job opportunities and won many awards for my research work, all while juggling my responsibilities at home and work," she adds.

Navjot Kaur was recognised at the 2019 Teradata Analytics Challenge. Credit: Navjot Kaur

The struggle to juggle over the years has turned Ms Kaur into a women's rights champion. She now wants to focus on supporting other women in similar situations while furthering her career.

"The impending move to Australia has given my life a renewed boost. Once settled, I want to work for women-oriented initiatives that support their dreams and passions," she says.

Global talent cuts despite the increase in migration cap

Global Talent Independent visa (subclass 858) aims to attract the best and brightest tech talent from around the world. Source: Getty / Getty Images

Since its launch in November 2019, the GTI program has given opportunities to many highly skilled professionals like Ms Kaur to live and work in Australia permanently.

But of late, the program has come under criticism for its 'subjective criteria', resulting in significant intake cuts that have dropped by 40 per cent to 5,000 places in the ongoing financial year – the lowest level since the scheme was introduced.

Abul Rizvi, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration, says GTI is an "appalling program" that should be subject to even deeper cuts in the future.

"I think the government is probably nervous about the risk of cronyism and corruption with a visa that has huge amounts of subjectivity and because of its highly subjective criteria that is hard to judge, it can be processed either very-very quickly or for as long as you like," he tells SBS Punjabi.

Chris Vein, CEO, Australian Computer Society (ACS) Credit: ACS

The cuts to the program have come at a time when the country is dealing with critical skills and labour shortages, particularly in ICT-related professions that account for nearly a third of most in-demand occupations facing shortages, according to the annual Skills Priority List.

But Chris Vein, CEO of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which provides nominations for GTI applicants in the ICT sector, says the winding back of the GTI program will not have a significant impact on Australia's IT skills shortage, as these numbers will be taken up under other skilled categories.

"In 2020-21, the total GTI intake of 9,584 was only 12 per cent of the overall 79,620 skilled migration visas granted, so the program was never going to wholly address the nation's skills shortage," Mr Vein tells SBS Punjabi.

He says a 'well-planned and targeted' skilled migration program is needed to plug the country's short-term skills needs.

"However, Australia also has to look at educating and training local students along with offering opportunities for workers in other fields to gain the skills needed by the technology sector," he adds.

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