Australia’s Business Skills Program encourages successful business people to settle in Australia and use their proven business attributes to develop business activity in Australia.
Background
Successive governments have always been committed to bringing high quality business migrants to Australia because of the benefits they bring to Australia’s increasingly global economy.
They bring with them knowledge of overseas markets and networks, cultural practices and languages other than English, as well as specific business skills and experience.
Business migrants help Australia by:
= Developing international markets;
= Transferring capital and making investments;
= Creating or maintaining employment;
= Exporting Australian goods and services;
= Introducing new or improved technology;
= Substituting Australian made products for goods that would otherwise be imported; and
= Adding to commercial activity and competitiveness within sectors of the Australian economy.
Structure of the Business Skills Program
Since 1 March 2003, the majority of all Business Skills migrants enter Australia initially on a provisional (temporary) visa for four years. After providing satisfactory evidence of a specified level of business or investment activity they may apply for permanent residence.
These arrangements provide for the entry of business owners, senior executives and investors. The pathway to permanent residence is designed to give clarity and certainty to provisional business migrants and relies upon the establishment and management of genuine business activity in Australia.
High level business migrants may apply for a Business Talent visa to obtain direct permanent residence if they have high level business attributes and are sponsored by a State or Territory government agency.
State Specific Initiatives
Australia is actively encouraging Business Skills entrants to set up businesses in regional, rural or low growth areas of Australia. To help this objective, the shared interests of State and Territory governments have been given greater priority in ongoing development of the two-stage processing arrangements.
Applicants can seek sponsorship from a State or Territory government. Sponsorship provides access to concessional criteria (such as age and English language ability), and enables sponsors to attract the kinds of business people they need to help develop the economy of their specific areas. This linkage also encourages applicants who are more committed to succeeding in business in Australia.
Below is a summary of the basic requirements under each new visa subclass.
For further information prospective applicants should check the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) website at www.immi.gov.au/migration/business/index.htm and Booklet 7 – Business Skills Entry.
The Business Skills Visa categories
(i) Business Talent (Migrant)(subclass 132) is for high calibre business people who are owners or part owners of an overseas business, have a successful business career, significant business assets and a genuine and realistic commitment to participate as a principal in the management of a new or existing business.
This category requires sponsorship by a State/Territory Government.
ii) Business Skills (Provisional) visas
A Business Skills (Provisional) visa is valid for four years.
Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 160/163) is for people with a successful business career (including senior management or ownership), who have significant business assets and a genuine and realistic commitment to participate as a principal in the management of a new or existing business.
Applicants in this category may be sponsored by a State/Territory Government.
Senior Executive (Provisional) (subclass 161/164) is for senior executive employees of major overseas businesses who have been responsible for strategic policy development affecting a major component or a wide range of operations of that business. They must also have significant net assets and a genuine and realistic commitment to participate as a principal in the management of a new or existing business.
Applicants in this category may be sponsored by a State/Territory Government.(Provisional) (subclass 162/165) is for investors/business people who have a successful record of business or investment activities, significant net assets, and are willing to invest funds in a designated investment in Australia for four years. They must also have a genuine commitment to maintain business and investment activity in Australia.
Applicants in this category may be sponsored by a State/Territory Government.
(iii) Business Skills (Residence) Visas
The Business Skills (Residence) category of visa is the second stage of Business Skills entry, providing for permanent stay in Australia with a resident return facility valid for five years from the date of grant.
Business Owner (Residence) (subclass 890/892) is for people who hold a Business Skills (Provisional) visa and have had an ownership interest in a business in Australia for at least 2 years with significant personal and business assets, turnover, as well as a minimum number of employees.
Applicants must have been in Australia for at least one year in the two years immediately before applying.
Applicants in this category can be sponsored by a State/Territory Government.
Investor (Residence) (subclass 891/893) is for people who have held a Investor (Provisional) visa and a Designated Investment for the minimum four years, and who have lived in Australia for at least two years in the four years immediately before the application is made.
Applicants in this category may be sponsored by a State/Territory Government.
Temporary Business (Long Stay) (Independent Executive) (457IE) visa holders are able to apply for permanent residence in the:
Established Business in Australia (EBA) category; or
Regional Established Business in Australia (REBA) category if sponsored by a State/Territory Government; or
Business Owner (Residence) category, if sponsored by a State/Territory Government.
In cases where Independent Executive visa holders are not yet able to meet visa criteria for permanent residence, they are still eligible to apply for an extension of their 457IE visa. If granted, this allows a two year visa extension.
General Skilled Migration.
General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas are designed for people whose education, skills and experience will enable them to enter the Australian labour market quickly, positively contributing to the Australian economy.
= To be eligible for GSM, a person must:
= be aged less than 45;
= have sufficient English language skills for working in Australia;
= nominate an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) which suits
= the person’s qualifications and skills;
= have their skills and qualifications assessed as suitable by an approved
= assessing authority for a Skilled Occupation on the SOL; and
= have recent work experience in a skilled occupation.
Further information about the GSM program and the various GSM visa options can be found on DIMIA’s website at: www.immi.gov.au/migration/skilled/index.htm.
Migration Agents
A migration agent may assist you with a visa application. You are not required to use an agent – the Government of Australia treats everyone equally, whether they use the services of an agent or not.
Migration agents charge a fee for their services. Information on finding and using a migration agent, both in Australia and overseas, is available from the Department’s website: www.immi.gov.au
Generally, anyone in Australia who uses their knowledge of migration law or procedures to provide immigration assistance to a person wishing to obtain a visa to Australia must register with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) as a migration agent. The MARA ensures that agents who give immigration assistance in Australia are registered, have a good knowledge of immigration requirements and abide by a code of conduct.
Information on Australian-registered agents and their responsibilities towards clients, as well as the powers of the MARA, is available from the MARA’s website: www.themara.com.au
You can contact the MARA at:
E-mail: themara@themara.com.au
PO Box Q1551, QVB NSW 1230, AUSTRALIA
Phone: 61 2 9299 5446, Fax: 61 2 9299 8448
Agents operating overseas are not required to be registered, although some Australian-registered migration agents operate overseas. The MARA also monitors the activities of Australian-registered agents practising offshore. You can check if a migration agent working in your country is registered.
Important Customs Information
If you are a migrant coming to Australia to take up permanent residence for the first time, you may bring duty/tax free any personal belongings, furniture and household articles which you have owned and used overseas for 12 months (or more) before your departure for Australia.
For a more detailed description on what you are allowed to bring into Australia, see the article ‘Customs – protecting Australia’s borders’, on page 18 of this book.
