State/Territory Sponsored Investor Subclass165

This visa is for people who have a successful business or investment career, and have a genuine and realistic commitment to be involved in investing or business in Australia. This visa is also the first step towards being granted a permanent Business Skills visa.

This visa is for investors/business people from overseas who are willing to invest funds in a designated investment in Australia for four (4) years, and are less than 55 years of age.

With this visa you can:

• 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. They will have access to work and study rights
• establish a pathway to permanent residence

This visa is a temporary visa, and the first step towards being granted a permanent Business Skills visa. You must be outside Australia when this visa is granted, unless you held a student visa at the time you applied.

You may be eligible for a permanent Business Skills visa after holding this visa for a minimum of two (2) years. To be eligible for a permanent Business Skills visa you must meet all the obligations of this visa and additional requirements of the permanent Business Skills visa you apply for. Meeting these requirements may take you longer than two (2) years.

After two (2) years you may be eligible to apply for one of the following visas:

• Investor (residence)
• State/Territory Sponsored Investor (residence)
• Business Owner (residence)
• State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (residence)

This visa is valid for four years.
If the visa is granted while you are:

• in Australia (Student visa holders only) it is valid from the date of grant
• outside Australia it is valid from the entry expiry date on your visa label.

The following people may be included in your application:

• your spouse
• your or your spouse’s dependent children
• other dependent relatives living with you.

With this visa you are unable to access Medicare, the Australian Government medical expenses and hospital care scheme.

Private Health Insurance is available to you, but it is not a requirement for the grant of this visa.

With this visa you are unable to access family assistance.

With this visa you are unable to access social security payments.

Main Applicant Eligibility

Below are the requirements you must meet to be eligible for a State/Territory Sponsored Investor (provisional) visa. You must provide evidence of each of the requirements with your application.

Age

You must be less than 55 years old (except where the regional authority considers that the proposed business will be of exceptional economic benefit to the region).

Sponsorship

You must be sponsored by an appropriate regional authority of a State or Territory government.

Designated Investment

At the time of the decision you made a government approved Designated Investment of at least A$750,000 in a state or territory of Australia. This amount must be available for transfer to Australia within a reasonable period when requested.

Business career

For at least one of the five fiscal years immediately before you apply:

• you have maintained direct involvement in either managing a qualifying business in which you (or you and your spouse together) had an ownership interest of at least 10% of the total value of the business;
  or
• you maintained direct involvement in managing your (or you and your spouse’s combined) eligible investments, the total value of which was at least A$750,000.

Business experience

You have a total of at least three years experience of direct involvement in managing one or more qualifying businesses or eligible investments.

You have demonstrated a high level of management skill in relation to an eligible investment or qualifying business activity.

Business record

You (or your spouse) have never been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.

Committed to business in Australia

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

Net assets

The net value of your (or your and your spouse’s combined) assets was at least A$1,125,000 for the two fiscal years immediately before you apply.

Health requirement

You must meet health requirements to enter Australia.

Character requirement

You must be of good character for you to enter Australia.

Application document checklist

The checklist provides all the information and supporting documents that you may be asked to provide with your application.

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.

Family Member Eligibility

Eligible family members

Your family members must meet the following requirements to be eligible for this visa. Evidence of each of the requirements with your application.

You can include the following people in the application for this visa.

• your spouse
• your or your spouse’s dependent children
• other dependent relatives living with you.

Adding family to your application

If your child is born after you lodge your application (but before a decision has been made) the child can be added to your application, once you notify the department of the details of the newborn child.

A spouse can not be added to a visa application after it has been lodged but may submit a separate application.

A child born in Australia is deemed to have the same visa as their natural parents.

Members of the family unit, including a baby born overseas, may submit subsequent applications to join a visa holder in Australia.

Health requirement

All family members must meet health requirements to enter Australia.

Character requirement

All family members must be of good character to enter Australia.

Australian Values Statement

All visa applicants aged 18 years or over, are required to sign an Australian values statement. The statement is included in the visa application form and all applicants aged 18 years and over will need to sign it. Before signing the statement, applicants for this visa are required to have read, or had explained to them, 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.

Obligations

Investor

You must maintain your designated investment for 4 years.

Visa conditions

• You must not marry before you enter Australia
• You must enter Australia before anyone else included in your visa application
  Note: This means your family members cannot enter Australia before you.

Family Member Obligations

Family members must not enter Australia before the Investor.

Change in circumstances

If your circumstances change, you must inform the department (in writing) as soon as possible.

Charge Type	Charge Amount
1st instalment	$2800
2nd instalment For primary applicants with less than functional English.	$5865
2nd instalment For dependents 18 or over with less than functional English.	$2925