What is a State or Territory Sponsored Business Owner Visa?
The State or Territory Sponsored Business Owner Visa is for overseas business owners who own or intend to own a business in Australia. It allows you to live permanently as a resident in the country.
To apply as a primary applicant, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Basic Eligibility
1. Must hold any of the following visa subclasses:
- Business Owner (Provisional) visa (subclass 160)
- Senior Executive (Provisional) visa (subclass 161)
- Investor (Provisional) visa (subclass 162)
- State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) visa (subclass 163)
- State/Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) visa (subclass 164)
- State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) visa (subclass 165)
2. Applicant as the holder must have been in Australia for a total of at least 1 year in the 2 years immediately.
3. Victorian Sponsorship Eligibility: You must show that you have met the visa sponsorship eligibility conditions you agreed to at the time of accepting provisional sponsorship by the State of Victoria.
4. Current Data: Data provided in the application must be no more than 3 months old. It should be consistent with Business Activity Statements, financial reports, tax lodgements and any data held by an Australian government department, e.g. Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Home Affairs.
5. Payment of Employees: Applicant has to comply with the National Minimum Wage standards in regards to ‘eligible’ employees.
6. Export business activity: If an applicant is in the export business, then they must show that the company has made a direct contribution to the Victorian economy.
The applicant also has to demonstrate that he/she has not engaged in any kind of illegal exporting.
Application Process
Apply for a Victorian visa nomination before making a formal application for a visa and it involves two steps as follows:
Step 1: Apply for Visa Nomination
Step 2: Lodge a Formal Visa Application
Failure to meet the above-mentioned conditions may result in the withdrawal of Victorian Government support for the State-Sponsored Business Owner Visa application.