A British security researcher has secured Australia's strictest, invite-only visa after discovering a critical vulnerability in a government system.

The Australian government invited Jacob Riggs to apply for its Subclass 858 National Innovation visa (NIV), which is reserved for those "who have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in an eligible area."

Only the most exceptional migrants are invited to apply, including those who demonstrate strong potential to grow the Australian economy in key sectors. The government lists Nobel Prize winners, Olympic gold medallists, recipients of national research grants, and PhD holders as examples of those who could be eligible.

Riggs, a 36-year-old Londoner and aspiring Australian resident for most of his adult life, submitted an expression of interest for the NIV in April and patiently waited for the outcome.

Months later, with his application still sitting in the review queue, he went about looking for holes in the Australian government's networks.

Riggs zeroed in on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) after seeing that it had a responsible vulnerability disclosure framework.

He said that it took him a couple of hours to find a critical-severity vulnerability in DFAT's systems, which was promptly fixed, resulting in his name appearing as one of just four to have successfully reported a bug under the scheme.

According to the timeline of his application process, Riggs was invited to apply for the visa in May, so the DFAT vulnerability, discovered in July, had no role in getting the opportunity to apply, but the researcher suggests it may have contributed to his success in securing the NIV.

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He said: "I can't say how much this tiny additional evidence influenced the outcome of my 858 application, if at all, but I'd like to think it helped demonstrate, in a small and perhaps practical way, that I'm capable and committed to supporting Australia's cybersecurity interests. Whatever part it played, the journey led here."

The government responded to his application on October 20, with an S56 request for more information, and his NIV was granted on December 2.

NIV success rates are famously low. According to quarterly data published by the Australian government, the most recent figures from Q3 2025 showed that 122 invites were issued after 1,841 expressions of interest were filed.

That is a 6.6 percent success rate, far higher than what is typical, with previous data in the 2-3 percent region. Of the invite recipients, the rate of successful applications is not officially revealed but widely believed to be lower still.

With an NIV, Riggs can now apply for permanent residency, and he plans to relocate to Sydney within the next 12 months, he told the SWNS newswire.

"There's a lot to consider when you move your entire life to another country. I also have a cat, and he still needs convincing." ®