Dear clients,

We wish to inform you of the legislative requirements if you are 188a Business Innovation visa holder and planning to seek 2 years of extension.

These criteria are for applicants seeking to satisfy the primary criteria for a Subclass 188 visa in the Business Innovation Extension stream.

Clause 188.231

The applicant demonstrates that there is a need for the applicant to be a resident in Australia to operate the main business.

Certain provisional Business visas require an applicant to demonstrate that there is a need to reside in Australia to conduct or establish the proposed business activity. It is intended that the proposed business activities be of a nature that will require a substantial presence in Australia to manage day-to-day affairs.

However, this does not require the applicant to be in Australia all the time. This criterion also recognizes that the provisional visas are designed as a step towards achieving permanent residence in Australia and that under the 2-stage arrangements, a period of physical residence in Australia is one of the requirements that an applicant must meet.

Subclause 188.232 (1)

For at least 2 years immediately before the application was made, the applicant had an ownership interest in one or more main businesses that were actively operating in Australia.

Subclause 188.232 (2)

The applicant continues to have the ownership interest mentioned in subclause (1).

Under 188.232, the applicant must have had and continue to have, an ownership interest in one or more actively operating main businesses in Australia for at least 2 years immediately before the application is made.

This requires the applicant to demonstrate their ownership interest in one or more main businesses throughout the 24 month period prior to application. Under the definition of main business (regulation1.11) applicants may nominate up to two main businesses for consideration in meeting the visa criteria. The policy intention is that the 24 month period of ownership can be satisfied through consecutive ownership of businesses if the main business has not been owned for the full 24 month period.

For example, the applicant may have owned “Business A” for 15 months and “Business B” for 9 months. Officers may use their judgment if there is a very short break between Business A winding up and Business B being established.

Clause 188.233

The applicant genuinely has a realistic commitment to:
(a) maintain the ownership interest mentioned in subclause 188.232(1); and
(b) maintain direct and continuous involvement in the management of the main business from day to day and in the making of decisions that affect the overall direction and performance of the main business, in a manner that benefits the Australian economy.

In Summary,

• The primary applicant must be nominated by a State/Territory government
• The primary applicant must have held the EB-188 Business Innovation stream visa for at least 3 years before applying
• The applicant to demonstrate their ownership interest in one or more main businesses throughout the 24 month period prior to application.

If you have not yet set up a company in Australia and planning to seek an extension, please register a company latest within 24 hours after the grant of your subclass 188 visa and make sure 188.231, 188.232 & 188.233 are fulfilled.

 

For any further inquiries or clarification, please feel free to contact +6010 229 2114 or drop an email at enquiry@prforaustralia.com. We’ll be glad to assist!