Business Visa Programs

The Business Talent visa is a permanent visa is for high caliber business people who are owners or part owners of an overseas company and have a genuine and realistic commitment to participate in the management of a new or existing business in Australia.

This visa allows you to establish a new or develop an existing business in Australia. It has two streams:

for high-caliber business owners or part owners who want to do business in Australia.

Eligibility

You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have all of the following:

• Total net assets of at least AUSD$400, 000 as the ownership interest in one or more qualifying business for least two of the four fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply and if the qualifying business (es) was a publicly listed company, a shareholding of at least 10 per cent of the total issued capital.
• Net business and personal assets of at least AUD$1.5 million that are legally acquired and can be transferred to Australia within two years after the visa is granted
• A total annual turnover of at least AUD3 million in one or more of your main business in at least two of the four fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply
• Ownership of at least:
• 51 per cent of a business with turnover of less than AUD$400, 000 per year
• 30 per cent of a business with turnover of more than AUD$400, 000 per year, or
• 10 per cent of a publicly listed company
• An overall successful business career
• No involvement in unacceptable business activities
• A genuine desire to own and maintain a management role in a business in Australia.

Please note that you must also be younger than 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed business will be of exceptional economic benefit to the region where it will operate.

for people who have sourced venture capital funding from a member of the Australian Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL).

You must have received at least AUD$1 million in funding from an Australia venture capital firm. The funding must be for the start-up, product commercialization or business development of a promising high-value business idea.

The venture capital firm must be a member of the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL). AVCAL has information about the venture capital category of membership in its Venture Capital entrepreneur visa factsheet. You must have entered into a formal agreement with the venture capital firm for the funding.

This Business Talent visa (subclass 132) is for business people who are nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency.  To be able to get this visa you need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through Skill Select and then be invited to apply.

You might be able to get this visa if:

• You are nominated by a state or territory government
• Are invited to apply
• You and your family members (whether or not they are included in your application meet health and character requirements
• You meet the additional requirements for the stream in which you apply

Significant Business History Stream

• You and your family must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws.
• You must fulfill your business obligations
• If you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, you must enter Australia by a specified date.
• Your family members might not be allowed to marry or enter into a de facto relationship before they enter Australia.

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Stream:

If you fall under this visa stream, after entering Australia, you must:

• Establish a qualifying business in Australia, or
• Participate in an existing qualifying business in Australia

In the business, you must:

• Maintain substantial ownership
• Maintain direct and continuous involvement in the day-to-day management of the business
• Make decisions that affect the overall direction and performance of the business in a way that benefits the Australian economy.

Entitlements of the Business Talent visa

The Business Talent visa will grant you permanent residence in Australia. It will allow you and your eligible family members:

• The right to stay in Australia indefinitely
• Work and study rights in Australia
• The opportunity to enroll in Medicare-Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
• Apply for Australian Citizenship once you become eligible.
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• Travel to and from Australia for up to five years

Possible qualification for a Special Benefit from Centrelink if you suffer a major change of circumstances beyond your control.

Your Obligations – all streams

You and your family must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws. You must fulfill your business obligations.

If you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, you must enter Australia by a specified date.

Your family members might not be allowed to marry or enter into a de facto relationship before they enter Australia.

You must tell the Department your residential address within six months of arriving in Australia.

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

The Business Innovation and Investment visas are temporary Skilled visas which are aimed to allow successful business owners from overseas to invest in either a new or existing business in Australia.

There are five streams under the subclass 188-visa program. They are as listed below:

1. Business Innovation Stream;
2. Investor Stream;
3. Significant Investor Stream;
4. Premium Investor Stream; and
5. Entrepreneur Stream

These visas are points test based visa and they are only available to applicants who are nominated by a state or territory government, or Australia on behalf of the Australian Government. For the applicant to apply, they must receive an invitation by the Department once the Expression of Interest has been lodged.

Eligibility criteria for the different streams

Business Innovation Stream

To be qualified for this visa subclass you must:

• Be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed business will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory
• Score at least 65 on the points test.
• for two out of the four fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have had an ownership interest in an established business or businesses that had at least AUD$500 000 turnover in each of those years
• own at least one of the following percentage of your nominated main business:
• 51 per cent, if the business has a turnover of less than AUD$400 000 per year
• 30 per cent, if the business has a turnover of AUD$400 000 or more per year
• 10 per cent, if the business is a publicly listed company
• have an overall successful business career
• have a genuine desire to continuously own and maintain a management role in a business in Australia.

If your nominated main business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent no more than half your time providing those services, as opposed to general management of the business.

At the time of invitation, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net business and personal assets of at least AUD$800,000 that are lawfully acquired and available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted. Note that you and your partner must have had no involvement in unacceptable business or investment activities.

Investor Stream

The Investor Stream is designed for people who want to make a designated investment of at least AUD$1.5 million in an Australia state or territory and maintain business and investment activity in Australia. A government or territory government must nominate applicants.

Eligibility for Investor Stream

To qualify for the Investor Stream under visa subclass 188, you must:

• Be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed investment will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory.
• Score at least 65 on the points test.
• Have a high level of management skill in relation to the eligible investment or qualifying business activity
• Have at least three years’ experience of direct involvement in managing one or more qualifying business or eligible investments
• Have an overall successful record of eligible investment or qualifying business activity
• Have a genuine and realistic commitment to continuing your business and investment activity in Australia after the original investment has matured
• Have a genuine intention to live for least two years in the state or territory in which you have made a designated investment

You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must:

For at least one of the five fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have directly managed one of the following:

• A qualifying business in which you, your partner or you and your partner combined had at least 10 per cent ownership interest, or
• Eligible investments owned by you, your partner or you and your partner combined of at least AUD$1.5 million.
• During the two fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have legally acquired net business, investment and personal assets of at least AUD$2.25 million that are available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted.
• Make a designated investment of at least AUD$1.5 million in a state or territory government security using unencumbered funds accumulated from qualifying business or eligible investments and be prepared to hold that investment for at least four years from date of issues in your nominating state or territory
• Have had no involvement in unacceptable activities.

Please note that the income that you earn from your designated investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australia taxation law.

Significant Investor stream

The Significant Investor stream is designed for people who are willing to invest at least AUD$5 million into complying significant investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. A state or territory government or Austrade can nominate applicants.

Please note that you the rules that were in force at the time that you applied for your Significant Investor will continue to apply for the duration of our provisional visa, including any Extension stream visas you apply for that relate to that provisional visa.

Eligibility for Significant Investor Stream

To qualify for this stream, you must demonstrate a genuine and realistic commitment to:

• Reside in the state or territory whose government agency nominated you,
• Continue your business and investment activity in Australia after the conclusion of your provisional visa,
• Live in Australia for at least 40 days per year (calculated cumulatively) for the duration of your provisional visa, or your spouse to live for at least 180 days per years (calculated cumulatively) for the duration of your provisional visa.

You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have net assets of at least AUD$5 million that are legally acquired, unencumbered, and available to be used to make the complying investment in Australia.

You and your partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.

You, members of your family unit aged at least 18 must agree not to bring any action against the Commonwealth for any loss relating to your complying investment.

Income that you earn from your complying investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.

You must also make a complying investment or a complying significant investment of at least AUD$5 million over four years.

Premium Investor Stream

The Premium Investor stream is by nomination of Austrade on behalf of the Australian government only. You must make a complying investment of at least AUD$15 million in nay of the following options:

• Australia securities exchange listed assets
• Australian government or semi-government bonds or notes
• Corporate bonds or notes issued by an Australian exchange listed entity (or wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian listed entity) or investment grade rated Australian corporate bonds or notes rated by an AFS licence debt rating agency.
• Australian proprietary limited companies
• Real property in Australia excluding residential property
• Deferred annuities issued by Australian registered life companies
• State or territory government approved philanthropic contribution

Income that you earn from your complying investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.

You must also have a genuine and realistic commitment to continue your business and investment activity in Australia after the conclusion of your provisional visa.

You, you partner (spouse or de facto), or you and your partner combined must have net assets of at least AUD$15 million that are legally acquired, unencumbered, and available to be used to make the complying investment in Australia.

You and your partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.

You, your and other family members aged at least 18 must agree not to bring any action against the Commonwealth for any loss relating to your complying investment.

Entrepreneur Stream

This stream is for people who have a funding agreement from a third party for at least AUD$200,000 to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity that is proposed to lead to either the commercialization of a product or service in Australia or the development of a business in Australia. A state or territory government must nominate applicants.

To qualify for this stream there is additional requirements that applicant must satisfy. All the applicants applying for this visa stream must:

• Be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed complying entrepreneur activity will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory.
• Have completed English and be able to provide evidence of this at the time you are invited to apply for the visa
• Be undertaking or proposing to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia and have a genuine intention to continue this activity

A Complying Entrepreneur Activity is an activity that relates to an innovative idea that will lead to the commercialization of a product or service in Australia, or the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.

This activity must not relate to any of the following excluded categories:

• Residential real estate
• Labour hire
• Purchase of an existing enterprise or a franchise in Australia.

An activity is a complying entrepreneur activity if all of the following requirements are met:

• You have one or more legally enforceable agreements to receive funding with a total of at least AUD$200,000 from one of the following entities:
• Commonwealth Government agency
• State or Territory Government
• Publicly Funded Research Organisation

Investor registered as an Australia Venture Capital Limited Partnership or Early State Venture Capital Partnership.

Specified Higher Education Provider

• Under the agreement at least 10 per cent of the funding must be payable to the entrepreneurial entity within 12 months of the day the activity  starts to be undertaken in Australia;
• You held at least 30 per cent interest in your entrepreneurial entity when you entered into the agreement
• You have a business plan for the entrepreneurial entity noting how your innovative idea will lead to the commercialization of a product or service in Australia, or the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.

The Points test

You must score at least 65 points (the pass mark) in the points test to be eligible to apply for a Business Innovative and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Business Innovation stream or the Investor stream.

The points test does not apply to you if you are applying in the Significant Investor stream, the Premium Investor stream, the Entrepreneur stream, the Business Innovation Extension stream, or Significant Investor Extension stream.

The test gives points for various elements of human capital and business innovation and includes objective measure of business performance.

Points are awarded for:

• Age
• English language ability
• Qualification
• Experience in business or investment
• Net personal and business assets
• Business turnover
• Innovation
• Special endorsement

All factors are assessed as at the time you are invited to apply for this visa, unless otherwise noted.