Writing in The Strategist on 12 February 2026, immigration specialists Cherie Wright and Penny Harris argue that Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom should create a dedicated “AUKUS visa” to move skilled workers seamlessly between the three countries. The commentary lands as defence primes scramble to fill an estimated 110,000-person shortfall in trades needed for Australia’s nuclear-submarine build and wider Pillar One projects.
Existing immigration pathways—including Australia’s Skills-in-Demand visa, the US E-3 and the UK’s Skilled Worker route—are criticised as too slow, academic-degree-oriented and administratively fragmented for large-scale shipbuilding timelines. The authors propose a tri-national visa category with: • 30-day priority processing; • mutual recognition of security clearances; • common eligibility criteria for trades as well as engineers; and • streamlined customs arrangements similar to the APEC Business Travel Card.
For companies wrestling with this maze of current visa options, VisaHQ can help cut through the red tape. Its online platform (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) consolidates application submission, document verification and status tracking for Australian, US and UK work permissions, giving defence primes one secure portal to manage mobility needs—an efficiency boost that will matter whether or not a bespoke AUKUS visa comes to fruition.
![‘AUKUS Visa’ Concept Gains Traction as Think-Tank Calls for Fast-Track Defence Mobility]()
From an Australian corporate-mobility perspective, the paper is significant because it reframes labour shortages as a strategic-security risk rather than a purely economic one. In the wake of last year’s Migration System Review, Canberra has already legislated civil penalties of up to AUD 66,000 (and criminal penalties of AUD 99,000) for employers who breach sponsorship obligations. Defence contractors now fear delays of seven months or more to onboard critical welders and nuclear-qualified electricians unless a bespoke pathway emerges.
While the article is not yet government policy, it echoes calls from the Australian Industry Group and South Australian Premier Zoe Bettison for “AUKUS mobility corridors”. Policy watchers note that Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has commissioned an options paper on defence-sector visas, due April 2026; insiders say an AUKUS-labelled subclass is one of three models under review.
Multinationals with skin in AUKUS should prepare data on projected head-count movements and security-clearance timings to feed into consultations. They should also benchmark total landed-costs under current visas versus the proposed fast-track to demonstrate productivity gains. Even if a formal subclass is a year away, the debate itself may accelerate interim measures such as priority-processing quotas or expanded Global Talent allocations for defence trades.
Existing immigration pathways—including Australia’s Skills-in-Demand visa, the US E-3 and the UK’s Skilled Worker route—are criticised as too slow, academic-degree-oriented and administratively fragmented for large-scale shipbuilding timelines. The authors propose a tri-national visa category with: • 30-day priority processing; • mutual recognition of security clearances; • common eligibility criteria for trades as well as engineers; and • streamlined customs arrangements similar to the APEC Business Travel Card.
For companies wrestling with this maze of current visa options, VisaHQ can help cut through the red tape. Its online platform (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) consolidates application submission, document verification and status tracking for Australian, US and UK work permissions, giving defence primes one secure portal to manage mobility needs—an efficiency boost that will matter whether or not a bespoke AUKUS visa comes to fruition.
From an Australian corporate-mobility perspective, the paper is significant because it reframes labour shortages as a strategic-security risk rather than a purely economic one. In the wake of last year’s Migration System Review, Canberra has already legislated civil penalties of up to AUD 66,000 (and criminal penalties of AUD 99,000) for employers who breach sponsorship obligations. Defence contractors now fear delays of seven months or more to onboard critical welders and nuclear-qualified electricians unless a bespoke pathway emerges.
While the article is not yet government policy, it echoes calls from the Australian Industry Group and South Australian Premier Zoe Bettison for “AUKUS mobility corridors”. Policy watchers note that Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has commissioned an options paper on defence-sector visas, due April 2026; insiders say an AUKUS-labelled subclass is one of three models under review.
Multinationals with skin in AUKUS should prepare data on projected head-count movements and security-clearance timings to feed into consultations. They should also benchmark total landed-costs under current visas versus the proposed fast-track to demonstrate productivity gains. Even if a formal subclass is a year away, the debate itself may accelerate interim measures such as priority-processing quotas or expanded Global Talent allocations for defence trades.
