Main Applicant Eligibility

You must meet the following requirements to be eligible for this visa. You must provide evidence of each of the requirements with your application.

Age

You must be less than 45 years old.

State/Territory notification

You have notified the appropriate regional authority of a state or territory of your intention to develop a business in that State or Territory.
See: Form 927 State/Territory notification: business skills class (71KB PDF file)

English level

You must have a vocational level of English. To show this you must you have one the following:

• have evidence you are a native English speaker
• undertake the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). You need to take the general training test, and must achieve a band score of at least five from a maximum of nine, for all four components of the test; speaking, reading, listening and writing. (Your IELTS test results may not be more than 12 months old when you apply)
  See: www.ielts.org
• hold a NAATI accreditation in English.
  See: www.naati.com.au

Business assets

You (and your partner combined) had net assets in a qualifying business of AUD200,000 for at least two of the four fiscal years immediately before you apply, and If the business was a publicly listed company, you (and your partner combined) must have owned at least 10% of the business for at least two of the four fiscal years immediately before you apply.

The annual turnover of your main business (or two main businesses combined) was at least AUD500,000 in at least two of the four fiscal years immediately before you apply.

Total assets

Your (and your partner's) total assets have a net value of at least AUD500,000, and were legally acquired and are capable of being transferred to Australia within two years of being granted this visa.

You have sufficient assets (additional to those above) of at least AUD100,000 to settle in Australia.

Business career

You have an overall successful business career.

You have not been engaged in a business where the provision of professional, technical, or trade services took up more than half your time.

You and your partner have never been involved in unacceptable business activities.

Your intended involvement in business in Australia

You have a commitment to maintain an ownership interest in a business in Australia and direct and continuous involvement in the management of that business.

There is a need for you to live in Australia on a temporary basis to conduct or establish the proposed business activity.

Health requirement

You must meet health requirements to enter Australia.
See: Health requirements

Character requirement

You must be of good character to enter Australia.
See: Character and Penal Clearance Requirements

Australian Values Statement

If you are aged 18 years or over, you are required to sign an Australian values statement. The statement is included in your visa application form and all applicants aged 18 years and over will need to sign it to confirm that they will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. Before signing this statement you are required to have read, or had explained to you, material made available by the government on life in Australia which is contained in the Life in Australia book.

The Life in Australia book provides more information on the values that Australians share and their way of life.
See:
Australian Values - Overview
Life in Australia Book

Application document checklist

The checklist provides all the information and supporting documents that you may be asked to provide with your application.
See: Application document checklist (73KB PDF file)

 

Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Other eligibility