Steve Elliott

Unfortunately, wait lists for 188bs are still long. Hopefully they process will quicken up but don't hold your breath. The department has however given processing priority to the 188c's because I sense that the applicants are bringer higher investment amounts into Australia with the complying investments being higher risk and return aimed in part at Venture Capital, Private Equities and smaller/emerging companies. I have just had one 188c granted in 11 months and am aware of a few being granted in under 6 months. True, most of us do not have a spare $5million lying under the bed but there are many aspiring migrants who do and the Government know this.

HI Sony If the documents you submitted in November satisfy the department with regards the information they are seeking, the next step would likely be an invitation to make your investment. I assume you have already submiyyed police checks?

HI Netty, Firstly, I would take the published time lines with a piece of salt. Based on several communications from DHA and the Australian Government, a higher priority is being placed on visas. This is reflected in the increased quota for 2020-2021 and travel exemptions being granted to grant recipients. I am certainly seeing an acceleration in business visa grants and invitations in recent weeks. Your comments re circumstances changing is common however Government is unlikely to budge due to this as many applicants are in similar situations. I would strongly suggest you back to your agent to seek their opinion on this. Not knowing what your business it is and why the act Government is desperate for such businesses, perhaps again you could confer with your agent as to possible avenues which may be open to you in this regard. Obviously with a child at University, you also need to be mindful of the definition of a dependent child. I hope you ffind this useful

Queensland is open again and I suspect the trend in increased demand for Queensland business visas will only accelerate from here. Time will tell!

Sure Asif. my email is steve@emergico.com

Thanks Paul. It is fair to say that most States and Territories do set the bar very high when it comes to age exemptions. For some States and Territories it is simply a higher level of investment, for others, it really boils down to assessing merits on a case by case basis. Good luck.

Just make sure that the documents regarding the points test, totally support the number of points you claimed. This is extremely important. Good luck with it. It sounds as though you are on the home stretch !!

I believe there was a very short window where invitations that were issued by Queensland where applications required literally a 24/48 hour turnaround where applications had to be received by 5th October, the day before the federal budget was handed down. If your application had not been submitted by then, it will probably still be in the system.

It is still generally 28 days although extensions are generally granted where there is a valid reason.

HI FMH You will find some States are reluctant to publish figures. I know what most of them are and lets just say the 2.25m for WA is at the lower end of the scale. The other states will not thank me for discussing their figures in a public forum. As I mentioned in another thread, some of the states are closed to new applications. One of the larger states re-opened for applications in late September and closed a week later having received thousands of EOI's competing for several hundred places so competition is very high. I believe also the 188b will not exist in it's current form in a few months from now when new rules are scheduled to come into effect on 1 July 2021. If the 188b does remain as a visa stream, I suspect the minimum DI amount will be increased significantly. The other thing to consider in addition to obtaining the minimum required business skills points, is to have a serious think about what additional economic benefits your migration will bring to your chosen state such as buying a house, putting kids through school, getting a job and paying taxes, starting a business etc. All these factors can play a part in strengthening your business case in a competitive market. Also, it would be useful to know a bit more about yourself personally, career, business history just so we can explore other possible migration pathways which may exist. I hope you find these comments useful. Kind regards

Typically you get 28 days to make the DI and then lodge the required paperwork with DHA. You can request an extension if you have a valid reason such as unforseen delays in liquidating the investments on the SALP you submit.

A few points here. 3 together is totally correct. Rates do fluctuate but with yields at historic lows and the state Governments with credit ratings of AA+, just one notch down from the Commonwealth, the best you could hope for is 0.5% maximum (and that's optimistic). Also based on the recent review of business visas, with the Government wanting funds to go to more productive investments, I suspect the 188b will not be around in it's current form beyond June 30 2021. if you are aged over 55, it is possible with some states to obtain an exemption however usually this means your application needs to be of "exceptional benefit to the State". In other words, in order to gain a nomination when over 55, the State will likely require the size of the DI to be significantly higher than that required by the Department. You also need to bear in mind several states are closed to new applications at the moment as they are dealing with a big backlog. I would suggest you thoroughly investigate your options, determine whether you can meet the "exceptional economic benefit criteria" then make a decision and get your paperwork in order. Good luck

This wasn't a 188b but a 188c. The 188c's have a smaller number of applications relative to 188. The applicant was not from China/HK.

I think you will find they process will speed up. I have just had one client whose application was processed in 10 months. There is a huge emphasis on integrity checks in order to satisfy the anti money laundering and counter terrorism requirements. Proving source of funds and evidence funds were acquired legitimately is an ongoing challenge for many applicants.

Applications from China and Hong Kong get processed in Hong Kong whereas the rest are processed at the Adelaide business centre. I have certainly noticed the number of grants of business visas has increased lately so I sense they are slowly getting through the backlog. Sadly, you will just have to be patient and hope the wheels in the DHA processing centre start to quicken up. I have my fingers crossed for you both!

I think you will find that they will simply re-allocate case officers or delegates as we call them in the industry. The fact that they have established a Global Talent and Business Visa taskforce to identify and attract high calibre candidates suggests the BIIP program is being given greater priority thus processing should speed up (thoretically)!

HI Netty. I'm only guessing but given the business program was effectively doubled in size last night's budget along with a statement that business visas are being treated as a priority, it is conceivable that additional resources may be deployed to address the huge numbers of applications already in the pipeline. We can only hope! It will also be very interesting to learn how the whole program will be tweaked moving forward!

Hi Netty Did you actually lodge a visa application? I know that sounds like a dumb question but the invitation would come from the ACT as they are your nominator. When you say "halted", what do you mean exactly? Assuming you made a valid visa application, I doubt there would be any grounds your case could be expediated unless (I'm guessing here) you could demonstrate a clear benefit to Australia which is directly related to the Covid recovery. Even then, it would need to be exceptional. Unfortunately, pretty much everyone is in the same boat and there are many hundreds, even thousands of business visas which have been in the system for well over 18 months.

Hi All There were widespread fears the business and investment migration program might be heavily cut back in response to Covid. These fears are unfounded and thankfully the Government has seen sense and realised that a key driver to recovery is investment, including successful offshore business owners and investors. So, tonight's news in the budget will come as a relief to many. Just announced in the budget is an effective doubling of the program to 13,500 places from 7,260. Comments from the minister are below. As ever, the devil will be in the detail and I suspect the 188a may well have a limited life expectancy as funds in a State Government bond really do not do anything for the economy. I suspect there will be a greater focus on business ownership and investment in businesses as opposed to debt. I'm sure details will be out shortly. For those who have already lodged an a visa application the proposed changes will almost certainly not apply to you! "The program will have a strong focus on attracting the best and brightest migrants from around the world, with a tripling of the Global Talent Independent program allocation to 15,000 places and an increase in the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) to 13,500 places. The BIIP will also be streamlined and reformed to ensure that investments are targeted at Australian venture capitals and emerging small and medium size businesses to support the economic recovery." I will post more details as they emerge.

Thanks Paul.

Just a heads up that Queensland has reopened its business and skilled migration program. As many of you will know the Business Visa program pretty much went into hibernation at the time Covid hit. All States and Territories have been allocated a small number of places for nominations prior to the budget on Tuesday 6th October. Queensland reopened yesterday for applicants and will close again on Monday. Potential applicants must lodge a NEW EOI via Skillselect in order to receive a nomination. The process during this short window is different to the normal procedure insofar that your application needs to be decision ready. By that. I mean you have to have all your documents ready to upload immediately. In the past you had 14 days to upload your required documents to the BSMQ portal, however in this instance you have to do this within 24 hours of receiving a nomination which will be very different for many. Also priority processing is being applied to all the 188 streams except the investor stream. Only applicants which address the following criteria will be considered. high-quality applications related to the COVID-19 economic recovery, or businesses that focus on productive investment and job creation, or businesses that have a regional investment focus within the business program This will be tough for many potential applicants especially with tight timelines. After the budget, I'm sure the way forward will be a lot clearer but I suspect there will be an ongoing focus on businesses which can assist with the Covid19 recovery.. Hope this helps anyone considering Queensland.

We are fortunate we live in a great suburb with two excellent primary schools so were happy for her to start her education in the state system. That worked very well for us as our family business was just a two minute drive away. It really depends on where you are intending to live as to whether a State school could be an option. It might be a bot easier on the hip pocket too!

Hi Kazza I don't know either schools that well however I do have several clients and friends who have sent their girls to St Margarets and they all speak very highly of the school. Personally one thing i do like about St Margs is that they take boarders and I think that great for for the city girls as that brings a great balance as the country girls tend to be very down to earth and bring a different perspective. Our daughter o about to finish her first year at BGGS which is just 3kms from Clayfield and St Margs and she loves it. I'll see if I can find some useful info for you as a work with a few guys whose daughters went to those schools. All the best

HI Enes I thought perhaps make a comment as I see no one else has, and you may be wondering why? You are asking some technical questions and seeking responses from experts only. Registered Migration Agents get asked questions such as this daily and most will have the answers you seek however they probably would not answer in a public forum as it maybe construed as migration advice. They simply won't answer questions such as this in a public forum and risk their comments being taken by the writer or other observers as advice and expose themselves to the risks of their comments being misinterpreted. I would strongly recommend you seek a paid private consultation with someone qualified who can answer the specific questions you have. Many agents not keen to provide advice when a visa has already been lodged. I'm sure you will find someone though. I can't help but perhaps your best shot would be to go to the MIA website and search on Registered Agents who are Turkish or Syrian or speak the language. You certainly can filter your search in this way. Good luck.

Hi All I thought now is timely to post a general update on business skills visas, in particular, the 188. Some States and Territories have started to re-open their respective programs and have indicated they have been given a limited number of spaces as part of their 2020-2021 allocation. The eligibility criteria at the DHA level remains unchanged (for now). You are probably aware that the application is a two/three stage process initially requiring you check your eligibility against both DHA criteria and also criteria of each State and Territory. Everyone must be aware of the requirements for each state in terms of meeting their criteria.If you have already submitted an EOI you need to ensure that your nominated state is accepting valid EOI's currently in the system or requires a new EOI to be submitted. You should also refer to the respective websites to see if your preferred State or Territory has changed their process or has introduced additional requirements as a result of the Covid 19 crisis. For example Victoria has introduced an "Economic Recovery Support form" where applicants are required to address how their business or investment will contribute to Victoria's economic recovery. I suspect that demand for thee visas will continue to exceed supply so good responses which can demonstrate research and thought may well assist your application stand out from the crowd. https://liveinmelbourne.vic.gov.au/migrate/business-investor-visas/supporting-documentation-and-forms-for-business-visas Given high demand, and limited spaces valid EOI's will not guarantee a nomination. Typically you will have to be invited. Thus it is my opinion that you should put in a great deal of thought in composing your EOI so as to present the best case possible to improve your chances of receiving an application. You should also ensure that your have all the required documents ready to submit within the 14 days of application and also be mindful of the support documents and evidence you will need to submit a valid application within 60 days of nomination. I believe the number of places available will be outstripped by demand so be prepared. The last thing you want to do is to lose your nomination through lack of preparation. States and Territories will not look favourably on applicants who waste nominations through lack of preparation. Also, as I have previously mentioned in another post, a review of business visas was conducted in February this year. There has been much speculation as to what may result from this review, however we need to simply meet the criteria which applies at the time of application. The rest is pure speculation. If anyone has any questions, please let me know and I will try my best to assist. Have a great weekend