Business Migration Visa – It’s More Than “Buying” a Visa
Are you an entrepreneur, business owner or investor looking for a visa to Australia? Australia provides a wide range of business migration visas with different criteria to be met. Some of these includes investment amount, age and education requirement.
Choosing a visa that suits you may be tricky! Let Ascent Lawyers break it down for you.
1. What are the different types of business visas?
- 132 Business Talent (Permanent) visa
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- Significant Business History stream
- Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream
- 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa
- 888 Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa
2. How do these business visas differ?
132 Business Talent (Permanent) visa
You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency before being invited to apply for this visa. To find out more about Queensland’s nomination and application process for 132 visa, click here.
This visa is suitable for experienced business owners who run a successful business overseas and have genuine desire to establish a new or develop an existing business in Australia. A successful grant of this visa will allow you and your family to live in Australia permanently.
Functional English language level is not mandatory for applicants or dependants over the age of 18. Further, there is no point test requirement.
If you are looking to apply for 132 Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream visa, you must have secured at least AUD 1 million for a high-value business idea and have entered into an enforceable agreement with an Australian venture capital firm for the funding.
188A Business Innovation stream visa
You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency before being invited to apply for this visa.
This visa is suitable for you if you can prove that you have a successful business career and a genuine desire to continuously own and manage a business in Australia.
There is a requirement to score at least 65 on the points test. Points can be obtained based on the following:
- age
- English language ability
- qualifications
- business experience
- net personal and business assets
- business turnover
- innovation
- special endorsement
After obtaining this visa, you must meet your business obligations.
As this is a provisional visa, you can only stay in Australia for a limited period of time. You must apply for a new visa if you wish to stay longer. Once you have this visa, you can apply for PR through the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) 888 visa Business Innovation stream if certain requirements are met.
188B Investor stream visa
You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency before being invited to apply for this visa.
To be eligible for this visa, you must own and manage a qualifying business or manage an eligible investment. You will also need to have the required assets.
You must prove that you have a successful record of eligible investment or qualifying business activity and demonstrated a high level of management skill in relation to the eligible investment or qualifying business activity.
Similar to the 188A visa, there is a requirement to score at least 65 on the points test.
188C Significant Investor stream visa
You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or Austrade before being invited to apply for this visa.
This visa is suitable for you if you can invest at least AUD 5 million in Australian investments that meet certain requirements and maintain investment activity in Australia.
There is no requirement for you to have previous business management skills or business ownership.
Once you have this visa, you can apply for permanent residence through the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) Significant Investor stream, if requirements are met.
188D Premium Investor visa
You must be nominated by Austrade before being invited to apply for this visa.
This visa is suitable for you if you invest at least AUD 15 million in Australian investments and/or philanthropic contributions. Ways in which you can make your complying premium investment can be found here.
After 12 months of obtaining this visa, you may apply for permanent residence through the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) Premium Investor stream if certain requirements are met.
188E Entrepreneur stream visa
You must be nominated by a State or Territory government agency before being invited to apply for this visa.
This visa is suitable for you if you are undertaking, or proposing to undertake, a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia and must have a genuine intention to continue this activity. Your innovative idea must lead to:
- the commercialisation of a product or service in Australia, or
- the development of an enterprise or business in Australia
You must have competent English language skills to apply for this visa.
Once you have this visa, you can apply for permanent residence through the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) Entrepreneur stream if certain requirements are met.
3. I hold a 188 visa, how do I move on to Permanent Residency?
After obtaining a 188 visa, you can apply for an 888 visa after specific requirements are met. Please refer to above links for specific 888 visa for your situation.
4. What should I do if my business visa is refused?
Usually, the Department will contact the applicant to obtain additional documentation or to explain materials provided prior to making the decision to refuse the visa.
Your visa might be refused for the following reasons:
- If you or your migration agent delayed in responding to request by the Department
- Incorrectly provided information to the Department
If your application has been rejected, please contact our experienced immigration lawyer as soon as you have received the refusal notice.
Please note that not all refused applications have the opportunity for appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Our experienced immigration lawyers at Ascent Lawyers will be able to review your refusal letter to advise you of the next best step.
5. What you need to be wary of when applying for a business visa?
Please note that different State or Territory may have different requirements for applicants of business visas.
If your visa stream requires an Expression of Interest (EOI)
When submitting your EOI, you must provide details as to your skills, qualifications, and business experience. You must also provide documents that prove all the claims you made in your EOI and to support other eligibility criteria for the visa you are applying for.
If your Visa stream requires certain points to be met
You should check this points calculator to ensure that you have met with the requirement. The points test assists the Department to select those who have the relevant skills and attributes Australia needs.
Proving business and assets
You will require an independent accountant to prepare the financial statements to International Accounting Standards.
Applying for a business visa can be extremely complexed. Even when you have the funds to invest, you still have to ensure that all other requirements for the visa you are applying for can be met. We strongly suggest that you should talk to migration lawyers to seek professional advice on which visa to apply for and how to apply properly.
