Published on 23/10/2020 by Any Business.Com.Au

Owning a Business for Visa Requirements

Are you looking at buying a business as your first step towards achieving permanent residency in Australia? Australia's Business Skills Migration Program encourages successful business owners to settle permanently in Australia and further develop their businesses.

Our various governments are also keen to help since your business will create local jobs and stimulate economic development. This is particularly the case in regional and low population growth areas.

Why do people own businesses to get Australian visas?

Owning a business in Australia can provide a pathway for migration with residency visas and ultimately citizenship in Australia for migrants and their immediate family. It also enables business owners to sponsor other relatives for permanent residency.

What Australian visa do you need?

If you own, or part own, a new or existing business in Australia and have held a Business (Provisional) Visa for at least one of the last two years, you can be eligible for the Business Owner Visa – Subclass 890.

You can also include the following people in your visa application:

• your partner (married or de facto)
• your or your partner's dependent children
• other dependent relatives

What specific requirements must you meet?

To be eligible, you need to respond to a clear criteria. You must show that you can not only fulfil these conditions but have an overall successful business career and a desire to continue in the future.

For a Business Owner (Subclass 890) visa you need to prove that:

• You had an ownership interest in a business or businesses in Australia for 2 years
• The businesses were lawfully established and operated
• Throughout the 12 months immediately before lodging the permanent residence application:
  • You had an interest in the Australia business or businesses worth $100,000
  • The Australian business or businesses had a turnover of $300,000
  • You employed the equivalent of two (2) full-time Australian employees in the business or businesses
  • You have assets worth $250,000 in Australia
• You lived in Australia for 12 months throughout the two (2) years immediately before lodging the permanent residence application.

Benefits of the Visa

It allows you and any family members who have also been granted this visa to:

• Stay in Australia indefinitely
• Work and study in Australia
• Enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses
• Apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• Travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted (after that time, you will need a resident return visa or another visa to return to Australia).

What you need to be aware of in your requirements

• Only certain types of businesses can count towards your successful business career
• You must hold least 30% and often more than 51% of the total issued capital
• It is not enough for you to provide bank accounts as evidence of your assets or the turnover of your business
• You must provide legal documents to prove you own your assets / business and audited reports prepared to international standards to prove the turnover of your business and/or value of your assets.
• Business migration is limited to age 55 and under, while some states (currently WA) will look at sponsoring applicants up to age 59.

What kinds of businesses are eligible?

It is not enough that you are self-employed and generating turnover. You have to have employed staff and make a profit by selling goods or services. Payments for professional, trade or technical services that took up more than 50% of your time can't be included.

You'll need to prove that you have participated in the day-to-day management of the business with either a substantial part of or total responsibility.

(Keys to Success in obtaining a Visa)

What is the cost of Applying for A Business Owner Visa?

Whether you're applying in or outside Australia, the visa application charges for a Business Owner (Subclass 890) visa are:

• AUD $2180 - Base Application Charge
• AUD $1090 - Additional Applicant Charge (18 and over)
• AUD $545 - Additional Applicant Charge (under 18)

Additional costs may include:

• A second instalment assessed against a particular criteria for each applicant
• Visa Avenue charges
• Health Assessments - paid directly to the doctor
• Police Certificates - paid to the corresponding authorities in the respective countries they may be required from
• Certification/Translation of documents

Click here for more information on the fees and charges for visas particular to your situation.

Keys to Success in Obtaining a Business Owner Visa

Statistics from the Department of Immigration show that 85% of those on a temporary business visa will not be given permanent residency, because they have not operated their business correctly or they do not have the correct information in their application.

As the Australian immigration laws and regulations are complex and ever-changing, and to protect your application investment, it is highly recommended to obtain advice and assistance from an experienced lawyer or registered migration agent.

Some tips to consider when planning on applying for a permanent visa.

• Think and plan ahead. Get professional advice early. Do not wait until you need to apply for a Permanent Business Owner visa. Then it is often too late.
• Document your management involvement from the beginning of operations.
• When preparing your visa application, anticipate that agencies may find problems with your application. Get advice early to help you identify potential problems to enable you to address them.
• Before you apply you need to notify the business development agency in the state or territory in which you intend to continue your main business. (click here for more information)
• You need a valid passport or other travel documents for this visa. If you plan to get a new passport, you should do so before applying for your visa.

AnyBusiness.com.au

Mary is the founder of AnyBusiness.com.au. She has a degree in Business from Monash University and been helping showcase businesses for sale for over 10 years. In the course of running her own business and working daily with business owners and brokers she has developed a keen sense of the Australian market for businesses for sale and shares her knowledge on this blog and others such as female.com.au

Author profile

Related articles

Australian Cafe Licences and Permits

23/10/2020 by AnyBusiness.com.au

Australian Café Licences and Permits You Can't Go WithoutWhen opening your new café, it can be easy to get distracted by all the glamorous things like taste-testing your menu and redesigning the décor. But to make sure you can legally open your doors to the public, you will need to ensure you have all the right licenses in place to operate your café.Every business in Australia requires a number of licences to operate within...