State/Territory Sponsored Investor Provisional Visa

This visa is for people who have a successful career in business or investment management and a significant amount of capital to invest, in Australia.

As an Investor, this visa will let you:

• make a designated investment,
• travel in and out of Australia any number of times as long as the visa is valid,
• have your family accompany you to Australia. Dependent family members will have access to work and study rights,
• establish a pathway to permanent residence.

Duration

The initial four year provisional Australian business visa subclass can lead to Australian permanent residence. You may be eligible for a permanent Business Skills visa after holding this visa for a minimum of two (2) years.

Eligibility Criteria

There are several qualifying criteria for this visa subclass.

Age

The applicant must be under the age of 55 at the time of lodging an Australian state/territory investor visa application.

Sponsorship

The applicant needs to be sponsored by an appropriate regional authority of a State or Territory Government in Australia.

English

The visa applicant are not required to satisfy a vocational level of English, however, any applicant aged 18 years or more at the time of application who is assessed as not having ‘functional English’ must pay the second installment of the Visa Application Charge.

Business Experience

There are several qualifying criteria for this visa subclass.

An applicant:

• Must have had a successful business career or history of eligible investment activity;
• Must have personal and business net assets with a value of AUD$ 1,125,000 for the two fiscal years immediately before the application is made;
• For at least 1 of the 5 fiscal years prior to application must have had direct management in a qualifying business with an ownership interest of at least 10% of the total value of the business, or has maintained direct involvement in managing eligible investments with a value of at least AUD$ 750,000;
• Prior to residence, must have made a designated investment of AUD$ 750,000 before the grant of the visa;

A designated investment is an interest bearing bond issued by certain state and territory Governments in Australia.

• Must have at least 3 years experience of directly managing one or more  businesses or eligible investments;
• Must have sufficient net assets to settle in Australia;
• Must have sponsorship by an Australian state or territory government.

Additional Information

The overall requirements are subject to change and are dependent on decisions made by the DIMIA.

Health & Character

Australia has strict health and character requirements. The same has to be met before grant of visa. People attempting to migrate to Australia on an Australian state/territory investor visa will be required to:

• Undergo a medical examination and chest x-ray undertaken by one of a panel of doctors selected by the Australian authorities, and;
• Obtain police certificates for all countries in which they have lived for more than 12 months in the 10 years leading up to the application.

Processing Times

The current processing time for migration to Australia on a state/territory investor visa is 9-12 months from the start of the process.