Business Visas

Business visas provide an opportunity for people with a business or investment background to apply for one of the Business Skills Visas.


Business Skills Overview
Most business skills involve a two step – process to reach a Permanent Residence visa. This process involves an initial application for a Provisional Business Visa to live in Australia for 4 years. Once in Australia and business requirements met, a Permanent Residence visa can be applied for.

There is only one business subclass that allows business applicants to migrate as permanent residents from the outset, which is called Business Talent, subclass 132. This is designed for businessmen who have an exceptional business background in their home country and statistics demonstrate that only a very few visas are issued in this category annually. The Established Business in Australia is also a permanent residence visa, but has to be applied for within Australia once certain conditions are met.

In all other business visas, where the applicant is under 55 years old, they will need to apply for a State/Territory Sponsored Business plan by presenting a business plan or proposal for approval by the State Government in the State in which they intend to set up or buy into their own business, before they can lodge their business visa application to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

If an applicant is under 45 years old, they have the option of only obtaining the endorsement of the State Government in which they intend to live without a State/Territory Sponsorship. There is no requirement for a business plan or proposal. However, in this option, both the qualifying business in their home country and the business they will need to establish in Australia will have higher threshold requirements to meet, then if they do present a business plan for sponsorship.



I would like to apply to Australia on a Business Visa. What are my options?
There are eight main business visas to select from which to commence a Business visa application. All of them are Provisional Visas, except two, the Business Talent, subclass 132, and Business Skills - Established Business subclass 845 or 846 which are Permanent visas. Applications for the Business Talent Visa may be made in or outside Australia at the time of application. Applications for the Business skills - Established Business must be made in Australia.

The categories of business visas are Business Owner (Provisional), State and Territory Business Owner (Provisional), Senior Executive (Provisional) State and Territory Senior Executive, Investor (Provisional) and State/Territory Investor (Provisional), Business Talent and Business Skills - Established Business.

What are the main entry requirements for the Business Owner (Provisional) visa, Subclass 160?

• You must have an overall successful business career;
  
• For at least two of the four fiscal years immediately before the application is made, you (or you and your spouse together) have net assets in a qualifying business in which you have an ownership interest of 10% if publicly listed) of at least AUD200, 000;
  
• For at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the application is made, your main business, or main businesses together, had an annual turnover of at least AUD500, 000;
  
• Your (or your and your spouse's combined) business and personal assets have a net value of at least AUD500, 000 which are lawfully acquired and available to transfer to Australia within 2 years after the grant of a Business Owner (Provisional) visa plus sufficient assets to settle in Australia;
  
• You are aged less then 45 years old;
  
• You have vocational English;
  
• You have not been engaged in a business where the provision of professional, technical or trade services took up more than 50% of your time;
  
• You have a realistic commitment to establish or participate in a qualifying business in Australia and maintain a substantial ownership and direct and continuous involvement in the management of that business;

What are the main entry requirements for the State /Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) category, Subclass 163?

• You have been sponsored by an appropriate regional authority of a State or Territory Government is located;
  
• For at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the application, you had an ownership interest in a main business or businesses that had an annual turnover of least AUD300, 000; or
  
• You had a sound continuous business employment record in a senior management role on a qualifying business for at least 4 years immediately before the application is made and have demonstrated a high level of management skill;
  
• Your (or your and your spouse combined) business and personal assets has a net value of at least AUD250, 000 which is available for the conduct or establishment of a business in Australia and has been lawfully acquired and available for transfer to Australia within 2 years after the grant of a Subclass 163 visa;
  
• You are less then 55 years old

What are the entry requirements for the Investor (Provisional) category, subclass 162?

• You have had an overall successful record of eligible investment or qualifying business activity;
  
• You have had a total of at least 3 years experience of direct involvement in managing one or more qualifying businesses or eligible investments;
  
• For at least one of the five fiscal years immediately before the application is made:
  1. you have maintained direct involvement in either managing a qualifying business in which you (or you and your spouse together) had an ownership interest of at least 10% of the total value of the business; or
  2. you maintained direct involvement in managing your (or you and your spouse's combined) eligible investments, the total value of which was at least AUD1, 500,000;
  
• For the 2 fiscal years immediately before the application is made, the net value of your (or you and your spouse's combined) assets was at least AUD2, 250,000;
  
• You have demonstrated a high level of management skill in relation to an eligible investment or qualifying business activity;
  
• At the time of decision, you have made a Designated investment of AUD1, 500,000;
  
• You are aged less then 45 years at time of application;
  
• You have vocational English;
  
• You have a realistic commitment to continue to maintain a business or investment activity in Australia after the designated investment has matured.

What are the entry requirements for the State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) category, Subclass 165?

• You have been sponsored by an appropriate regional authority of a State or Territory Government;
  
• You have had a total of at least 3 years experience of direct involvement in managing one or more qualifying businesses or eligible investments;
  
• For at least one of the five fiscal years immediately before the application is made:
  1. you have maintained direct involvement in either managing a qualifying business in which you (or you and your spouse together) had an ownership interest of at least 10% of the total value of the business; or
  2. You maintained direct involvement in managing your (or you and your spouse's combined) eligible investments, the total value of which was at least AUD750,000
  
• For the 2 fiscal years immediately before the application is made, the net value of your (or you and your spouse's combined) assets was at least AUD1, 125,000;
  
• You have demonstrated a high level of management skill in relation to an eligible investment or qualifying business activity;
  
• At the time of decision, you have made a Designated investment of AUD 750, 000;
  
• You are aged less then 55 years at time of application or you are proposing to establish or participate in a business that your sponsoring State or Territory has determined is of exceptional economic benefit to the State or Territory;
  

 

Executive Provisional Subclass 161 and State/Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) Subclass 164

• You have a successful overall business career. You may be interviewed in relation to this. If you have ever experienced bankruptcy, or been actively involved in a business that has been subject to insolvency, receivership or liquidation, then you may have to prove that your own contribution to the management of the business was not a significant factor in these events.
  
• In two of the last four years you occupied a position in the 3 highest levels of management of a major business with a turnover of:
  1. over AUD$50 million for 2 of the last 4 years; or
  2. over AUD$10 million for 2 of the last 4 years if you are sponsored by a State/Territory government.
  
• You have been responsible for strategic policy development affecting a major component or a wide range of operations of that business.
  
• You have not been involved in business or investment activities considered unacceptable in Australia
• You, or you and your spouse together, have net assets of:
  1. at least AUD$500,000; or
  2. at least AUD$250,000 if sponsored by a State/Territory government.
• You have a genuine and realistic commitment after entry into Australia to either establish a new business or to participate in an existing business, and to maintain a substantial ownership interest (ie. at least 10% of shares if the company is listed on the stock exchange or a controlling share if the business is not listed on the stock exchange).
• You have demonstrated a need to be in Australia temporarily to conduct or establish business activities in Australia.
• You have a genuine and realistic commitment after entry into Australia to maintain direct and continuous involvement in the management of that business from day to day and to make decisions that affect the overall direction and performance of the business in a way that will benefit the Australian economy. Please note that the Immigration Department will assess the level of your commitment to these objectives on the basis of all the information provided to them during the course of the application (for example, detailed business plans and financial statements).
• You are:
  1. under 45 years of age; or
  2. under 55 years of age if sponsored by a State/Territory government.
• You have vocational English. There are no English language requirements if sponsored by a State/Territory government.

 

What are the entry requirements for the Business Talent - Permanent Residence Visa Category, subclass 132?

• You have been sponsored by a State or Territory government;
  
• You had had an overall successful business career;
  
• For at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the application is made you (or you and your spouse together) had net assets in a qualifying business, in which you had an ownership interest, of at least AUD400, 000;
  
• For at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the application is made, your main business, or main businesses together, had an annual turnover of at least AUD3, 000,000;
  
• Your (or your and your spouse's combined) business and personal assets have a net value of at least AUD1, 500,000;
  
• You are aged less then 55 years or you are proposing to establish or participate in a business that your sponsoring state or territory has determined is of exceptional economic benefit to the state or territory;
  
• You have a realistic commitment to establish or participate in a qualifying business in Australia and maintain a substantial ownership and direct and continuous involvement in the management of that businesses.

What are the entry requirements for the Established Business In Australia visa, Subclass 845?

• You are the holder of a temporary substantive visa in Australia;
  
• You have been in Australia for a minimum of 9 months cumulatively in the 12 months before the date of application;
  
• You have held an ownership interest of at least 10% in one or more main businesses in Australia for at least 18 months immediately before applying;
  
• Your (or you and your spouses) total net assets in Australia for the 12 months prior to application were greater than AUD$250,000;
  
• Your (or you and your spouse's) net assets in business in Australia in the 12 months prior to application were greater than AUD$100,000;
  
• You have been involved in the day- day management and overall performance of the business;
  
• You need to pass a points test. Points are awarded for age, language ability, and net personal assets. To obtain the majority of points in this category you need to have employed 3 full time permanent residents or citizens and a minimum turnover of AUD200, 000 OR hadexports of at least AUD$100,000 a year.

Business migration can be extremely complex, and even determining whether you have a good chance of qualifying requires careful analyses. In addition, you may be able to qualify in a number of different business migration categories. Feel free to send us an email inquiry or call us on +61-2-9411 6000 if you would like us to assess your likely eligibility for business migration or if you require assistance with your application.