Business Visa – Australia

Business and investor migrants

There are two main categories:

• Permanent residency visas allow migrants to live and work in Australia
• Provisional visas are pathway to permanent residency in Australia

For new business and investors, there are a number of visa options:

• Business Talent (Permanent) (subclass 132) visa
• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa

To apply for one of the following visas, existing business and investor visa holders may be eligible:

• Investor (Residence) (subclass 893) visa
• Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (subclass 888) visa
• Business Owner (Residence) (subclass 892) visa

Provisional Visas

Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa

Expression of Interest (EOI) has to be submitted through Skill Select and be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government before being invited to apply for this visa.

The visa (Subclass 188) includes four streams:

• Investor stream: This stream includes allows, who want to make a designated investment of at least AUD1.5million in an Australian state or territory and maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government.
• Business Innovation stream: This stream allows people with business skills who want to establish, develop and manage a new or existing business in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government.
• Premium Investor stream: This stream allows people who are willing to invest at least AUD15million into complying premium investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by Austrade on behalf of the Australian government.
• Significant Investor stream: This stream allows people who are willing to invest at least AUD5million into complying significant investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants can be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government.

To qualify for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888), holding this visa is the first stage before becoming eligible.

Business Innovation stream-Subclass 188

• 65 points required for Qualifying.
• State or territory sponsored provisional visa with no minimum English requirement.
• A genuine and realistic commitment to be involved as an owner of a new or existing business in Australia.
• A Business turnover of $500,000.
• An overall successful business career.
• Be less than 55 years of age
• Net business & Personal assets (Net-worth) of $800,000.

Queensland

Applicants seeking Queensland state nomination must meet the following criteria, in addition to the DIBP criteria:

• Be less than 55 years old.
• An investment of AUD$300,000 in the proposed business if intending to establish a business in other regions of Queensland.
• An investment of AUD$500,000 in the proposed business if intending to establish a business in Brisbane or the Gold Coast.
• Preference will be given to investment in businesses in the agribusiness, tourism infrastructure, resources, infrastructure and education and training sectors, particularly in regional Queensland.

NSW Criteria

Applicants seeking NSW state nomination must meet the following criteria, in addition the DIBP criteria:

• You are aged less than 55 years at time of application.
• If you are seeking to migrate to SYDNEY, your business must have an annual turnover (refer point 2 above) of at least $1.0 million.
• You must demonstrate that you meet the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) criteria for the Business Innovation & Investment visa by providing sufficient documentary evidence to prove eligibility.
• 4. You must provide a Business Commitment (see NSW Business Commitment template) for a profitable business in NSW demonstrating sound knowledge of the Australian market, providing details of research activities that you have undertaken and an evaluation on how your proposed business or investment will perform in the NSW context. The ownership share must be at least 51% with turnover of less than A$400,000 per annum, or 30% of a business with turnover of more than A$400,000 per annum, or 10% of a publicly-listed company.
• You must provide evidence of the availability of funds for settling and living expenses for not less than 1 year.
• If you are seeking to migrate to SYDNEY, you must have net personal and business assets (refer point 3 above) of at least $1.3 million.
• You must provide a full resume of your business career and responsibilities demonstrating a successful business career.
• If DIBP have previously refused to grant you a business skills, business employment or Business Innovation & Investment visa, or has cancelled such a visa, NSW may not sponsor you for a provisional visa unless you can show mitigating circumstances.
• Your Business Commitment must include at least $300,000 in business investment if your business will be in REGIONAL NSW. Your Business Commitment must include at least $500,000 in business investment if your business will be in SYDNEY. Your Business Commitment cannot be in one of the excluded industry sectors3 if your business will be in SYDNEY.

• Investment in business must be in either: property, plant & equipment; inventory, or; goodwill (if Purchased).
• Excluded sectors include: Cafes & Restaurants (ANZSIC H4511); Takeaway Food Services (H4512); Supermarket & Grocery Retail Stores (G4110); Fruit & Vegetable Retailing (G4122); Specialized Food Retailing (G412); Newspaper & Book Retailing (G4244); Clothing Retailing (G4251); Footwear Retailing (G4252); Other Personal Accessory Retailing (G4259); House ware Retailing (G4213); Manchester & Other Textile Goods Retailing (G4214); Other Electrical & Electronic Goods Retailing (G4229).
• The ownership share must be at least 51% with turnover of less than A$400,000 per annum, or 30% of a business with turnover of more than A$400,000 per annum, or 10% of a publicly-listed company

Victoria

If applicants seeking Victoria state nomination must meet the following criteria, in addition the DIBP criteria:

You will need to meet the following criteria to be eligible for visa nomination by the state of Victoria:

• A candidate should have a genuine commitment to remain in Victoria and to engage in ongoing eligible business activity within 23 months of visa activation;
• DIBP eligibility requirements for this visa; and
• A candidate should agree to transfer no less than A$600,000 net assets (of which A$400,000 will be available for business) to Victoria within 23 months of visa activation.

Permanent Residency Visa

Business Talent (Permanent) (subclass 132) visa, Under visa subclass 132, there are two streams:

• Venture capital entrepreneur stream
• Significant business history stream:

DIBP Requirements

If you are nominated by a state or territory government agency and are invited to apply by the minister, then you might be able to get this visa. You must also meet the following requirements:

• A candidate should have obtained at least AUD1 million in venture capital funding to start the commercialization and development of a high-value business idea in Australia if you intend to apply for the visa in the Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream.
• A candidate should have net business and personal assets of at least AUD1.5 million and an annual business turnover of at least AUD3 million if you intend to apply for the visa in the Significant Business History stream