Update to Victorian Subclass 188A State Nomination Eligibility Criteria
Update to Victorian Subclass 188A State Nomination Eligibility Criteria
The Skilled and Business Migration Programe division of the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions (DJPR) has announced that the criteria for nominations by Victoria for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Business Innovation Stream.
A summary of the new criteria is as follows:
Victorian nomination eligibility
The current criteria apply to new applications submitted from 22 July 2019 onwards.
For current Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) holders, or those nominated before 22 July 2019, please refer to the nomination obligation submitted as part of your provisional application.
Age
Applicants must be under 55 years of age.
Department of Home Affairs’ Points Test
Applicants must score at least 80 on the Department of Home Affairs’ points test in SkillSelect. This score must not include points awarded for State/ Territory nomination. This is a Victorian Government minimum requirement.
Business activity
Applicants must propose to engage in eligible business activity. An eligible business can be almost any commercial endeavour. However, some activities may be excluded unless otherwise agreed to in writing. Exclusions include:
- small scale property development
- small scale freight forwarding and warehousing
- commodity and scrap metal export
- passive investment.
Export business activity
Applicants proposing to engage in export activity, must demonstrate how the proposed activity will provide a direct contribution to the Victorian economy, such as through:
- the export value of Victorian goods and services
- Victorian jobs created or retained, including flow-on effects to other Victorian suppliers
- the local economic benefits of the business
- assistance to Victorian businesses in exporting their products or addressing market gaps
- expansion of export markets.
You must not engage in ‘grey market’ or ‘parallel exporting’. That is, activities where goods are imported and sold in an export market without the consent of the owner of the goods trademark. You will be required to demonstrate that you have not engaged in this activity at the permanent visa nomination stage.
Benefit to Victoria
Applicants must show how their eligible business will make a contribution to the Victorian economy and that they will be responsible for the day-to-day operation and overall strategic direction of the business.
Employees
Applicants must agree to employ at least 1 full time employee in their main business for a minimum of 12 months within the 24 months prior to lodging their nomination application for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888). The eligible employee must work at least 30 hours per week consecutively within the 12 month period.
Eligible employee must:
- be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or holder of a valid New Zealand passport and;
- not be a member of your family.
Sufficient funds to settle in Victoria
Applicants and their dependents must have sufficient funds to settle in Victoria. Applicants are required to declare in their Victorian visa nomination application that they have no less than AUD400,000 available for business activity and AUD 200,000 available for settlement activity. It is the responsibility of the applicant to research and determine the cost of living in Victoria to ensure their own financial resources are adequate for settlement.
Living in Victoria
The applicant must have a genuine commitment to establish a residence and reside in the State of Victoria as per the visa and nomination conditions.
Understanding of commercial challenges
The applicant must demonstrate that they understand the commercial challenges they may encounter when engaging in their proposed eligible business in Victoria.
Agreeing to the nomination obligations
You will be required to read, understand and agree to Victoria’s nomination obligations.
Change of Business Activities
188 Business Innovation visa holders are permitted to change their business activity from that originally outlined in their nomination application. While they are not required to advise the Victorian Skilled and Business Migration Program of changes to their business intentions, it is the migrant’s responsibility to ensure their business activity complies with the Department of Home Affairs’ Business Innovation and Investment (subclass 888) visa criteria and Victoria’s nomination requirements.