Business Skills Visa

The Business Skills Visa Options

Are you seeking to permanently migrate to Australia as a business owner or successful investor? or

Are you holding subclass 160 or 163 visa and seeking for a permanent visa? 

You have come to the right place!

A prospective business owner/investor must seek to satisfy subclass 188 visa criteria which consists of three separate streams. 

The Business Innovation Stream

To apply for a 188 visa under this stream one must:

• unless exempt, be under 55 years of age.
• for at least 2 years in the last 4 years, have had an ownership interest of in a business which had an annual gross revenue of at least $500,000. 
• have at least net business/personal assets that value at least $800,000 and can be transferred to Australia with 2 years.
• score at least 65 points under the related points test.

The Investor Stream 

To apply for a 188 visa under this stream one must:

• unless exempt, be under 55 years of age 
• have at least 3 years experience in managing an eligible investment (e.g. cash, real estate). 
• for at least 1 out of last 5 years, have owned an eligible investment of at least $1.5 million.
• during the last 2 years, have legally owned at least $2.25 million in the form of net personal/business interest/investment asset.
• make a designated investment (Government bonds) of $1.5 million in the State/Territory they intend to reside.
• score at least 65 points under the related points test.

The Significant Investor Stream  

To apply for a 188 visa under this stream one must:

• prepare to invest $5 million in the form of complying investments for at least 4 years.
• live in Australia for at least 160 days during the 4 years time. 

Holders Of Subclass 160 Or 163 Visa 

In order to qualify for permanent residency visa, one must:

• have lived in Australia for at least 12 months.
• have directly and continuously managed up to 2 businesses during the past 2 years. 
• have a business turnover greater than $200,000.
• own at least 30% of the interests within the business (or 51% if the business turnover is lower than $400,000).
• in the last 12 months meet at least 2 of the 3 following criteria:
  • have a net business interest value of at least $75,000;
  • have a net personal/business asset value of at least $250,000. 
  • employ at least one Australian or NZ citizen full-time employee. 

Visa processing time

The average visa processing time is 18 months.