South Australia Business Visa Sponsorship

If you are seeking to own and manage a business, conduct business and investment activity, or to undertake an entrepreneurial activity in South Australia, the Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa may be an option for you to consider as a potential pathway to permanent residence in Australia.

Under the South Australia business visa sponsorship program, you may be eligible to apply under one of four streams within the subclass 188 visa subclass, depending on your proposed business activity. If your application is successful, you will be granted a provisional business visa South Australia for a period of five years. You may then be eligible for permanent residence via the Subclass 888 Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa after three years, provided that you meet specified requirements. Note that for certain streams in this South Australia business visa class, you may also have the option to extend the provisional visa 188 South Australia.

Nomination Required In South Australia

Note that the subclass 188 visa requires that you be nominated by a State or Territory Government. If you are seeking nomination in South Australia, you will need to apply for nomination approval to Skilled and Business Migration South Australia (SA). Before doing so, it is important to check the eligibility criteria as set by Skilled and Business Migration SA which must be satisfied for nomination approval for a business visa South Australia (note that these requirements vary for each State and Territory). You will also be subject to additional obligations as set by Skilled and Business Migration SA, as a condition of the nomination approval, should your visa application be successful.

In this article, we provide a general overview of the requirements that you will need to satisfy for nomination approval in South Australia under the business visa program. Note that this is an introduction only designed to help guide you in this process. State nomination approval is just one step in the visa application process. We therefore recommend before you apply, that you make the proper further enquires to ensure that you are fully informed about the South Australia business visa program, including the process you need to follow, the requirements for nomination approval and visa grant and how they apply to you based on your individual circumstances.

This will give your application the best chance of a successful outcome and avoid the disappointment of a potential nomination and/or visa refusal. Note also that if you are seeking to be nominated by a State or Territory other than South Australia, the nomination requirements that you will need to satisfy will be different to those discussed in this article. If this applies to you, make sure that you seek further information that is relevant to your situation.

We also take a look at some other visa options that you may like to consider if a business visa South Australia is not a suitable option for you, or if you do not meet the requirements to qualify. One such option is a Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa, which also has a state nomination option (or alternatively, you can be sponsored by an ‘eligible family member’ who is usually resident in a designated regional area of Australia, which includes South Australia).

Check Requirements Before Lodgement

Also be mindful that all legislative and regulatory provisions that relate to migration matters (such as requirements for nomination approval and visa grant, etc.) are subject to change at any time. Any given State or Territory authority may also periodically close its nomination program to new applications for any number of reasons, including for example, once all available nomination places have been filled for the year. It is therefore strongly recommended that you seek further up-to-date information and advice about your migration matter before you submit your application. This will ensure that you address all nomination and visa requirements as they apply at the time you lodge your application. Otherwise, you risk missing important conditions that may affect your application and which too, can result in delays and/or a refusal.

Note that our discussion focuses on the migration provisions effective from 1 July 2022. If you hold a subclass 188 visa that was granted before this date, you will be subject to different requirements when it comes time to apply for the permanent residence subclass 888 visa. We recommend that you make the proper further enquires if you are in this situation.

Business Innovation and Investment Visa

If you are seeking to apply for nomination for a visa 188 South Australia, you will need to qualify under one of the following streams:

• Business Innovation
• Investor
• Significant Investor
• Entrepreneur

The visa application process involves first submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) which, if successful, will result in receipt of an invitation to apply for the visa. You must also receive nomination approval from Skilled and Business Migration SA, which confirms its agreement to nominate you for the subclass 188 business visa South Australia (note the nomination application is made at the same time as you submit your EOI). The final step in the application process will then be to apply for the visa.

For a successful application for a subclass visa 188 South Australia, you will need to meet three sets of requirements, as follows:

• Requirements for nomination approval, which will differ for each State and Territory (application is made to the relevant nominating authority, in this case, Skilled and Business Migration SA);
• Requirements for lodging a valid EOI (application is made to Immigration); and
• Requirements for visa grant (application is made to Immigration).

In this article, we focus on the first step in the process, being the nomination requirements as set by Skilled and Business Migration SA. For a general overview of the entire process, including steps two and three as noted above, we refer you to our Guide To Business Investment Visas article.

Business Innovation Stream

This visa stream is designed for successful business owners who seek to undertake business in South Australia.

You will need to satisfy the following South Australian nomination requirements under the Business Innovation stream.

• Meet subclass 188 visa grant requirements in the Business Innovation stream
• Have an intention to reside in South Australia
• Propose an investment and/or business activity in South Australia that will meet the South Australian state nomination ‘benefit to state requirements’ for the subclass 888 Business Innovation stream
• if you are aged 55 years or older at the time of invitation, you must demonstrate that the proposal will be of exceptional economic benefit to South Australia by meeting a higher investment threshold
• Provide detailed information on the viability and economic impact of the proposal to South Australia
• Agree to register with Skilled and Business Migration SA upon your arrival in South Australia and keep the agency updated with your contact details for the period that you hold the visa 188 South Australia

Note that one of the immigration requirements for visa grant is that you must achieve a score of at least 65 points in the points test. Applicants who have between 55 and 65 points can apply for exceptional circumstances for the additional 10 points from the South Australian Government. Priority will be given to investment proposals to be undertaken in South Australia. Applications are assessed on a case by case basis

Investor Stream

This stream is aimed at successful investors or business owners who are seeking to invest a minimum of $1,500,000 in South Australia for a period of four years.

You will need to satisfy the following South Australian nomination requirements under the Investor stream to qualify for a South Australia business visa.

• Meet subclass 188 visa grant requirements in the Investor stream
• Have an intention to reside in South Australia
• Agree to make and maintain an investment of $2.5 million ($3.75 million if you are over 55 years of age) for the duration of the provisional visa in a complying investment fund. The complying investment fund must materially benefit South Australia
• Agree to register with Skilled and Business Migration SA upon your arrival in South Australia and keep the agency updated with your contact details for the period that you hold the subclass 188 visa

As with the Business Innovation stream, you must achieve a score of at least 65 points in the points test as part of immigration requirements for visa grant, Applicants in the investor stream who have between 55 and 65 points can apply for exceptional circumstances for the additional 10 points from the South Australian Government. These applications are assessed on a case by case basis.

Significant Investor Stream

This stream is designed for applicants who are seeking to invest $5,000,000 into a complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional subclass visa 188 South Australia.

You will need to satisfy the following South Australian nomination requirements under the Significant Investor stream.

• Satisfy subclass 188 visa grant requirements in the Significant Investor stream, which includes investing $5,000,000 for the period of the provisional visa in a complying investment fund. The complying investment fund must materially benefit South Australia
• Agree to register with Skilled and Business Migration SA upon your arrival in South Australia and keep the agency updated with your contact details for the period that you hold the subclass 188 visa

Entrepreneur Stream

This stream is designed for startup and early stage entrepreneurs who have been endorsed to develop their concepts and been nominated by a State or Territory government agency.

You will need to satisfy the following South Australian nomination requirements under the Entrepreneur stream

• Satisfy subclass 188 visa grant requirements under the Entrepreneur stream
• Have competent English or be a passport holder or citizen of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand
• Have an intention to live in South Australia
• Propose a business to be based South Australia that has a strong potential to achieve the Subclass 888 Entrepreneur stream Immigration visa criteria within 5 years
• Propose a business that has the potential to become a sustainable high-growth start-up, with the future potential to employ South Australians
• Secure the support of a selected Service Provider that has reviewed and approves of your proposed entrepreneurial activity
• Provide detailed information on the viability and economic impact of the proposal to South Australia
• Applicants aged 55 years or over at the time of invitation must demonstrate that the proposed entrepreneurial activity will be of exceptional economic benefit to South Australia
• Agree to register with Skilled and Business Migration SA upon your arrival in South Australia and keep the agency updated with your contact details for the period that you hold the visa 188 visa South Australia
• Agree to meet all other obligations to ensure that your state nomination remains current at the time you apply directly to Immigration for the Subclass 888 Entrepreneur visa

Priority will be given to proposals that support the Government of South Australia’s nine priority growth sectors.

Service Providers in South Australia are listed below.

• The Innovation & Collaboration Centre (ICC) – is part of the University of South Australia, in partnership with the State Government of South Australia. It provides accelerator and incubation services, with a focus on space, hi-tech and social enterprise, access to prototyping labs, marketing, legal and financial services
• Stone & Chalk – has hubs in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. In South Australia, Stone & Chalk is co-located with world leading organisations and startups including Myriota, the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Google and the Australian Space Agency
• New Venture Institute (NVI) – provides a range of programs and services in six focus sectors: Advanced Manufacturing; Creative Industries; Education; Energy, Water, and Sustainability; Health; Wine, Tourism, and AgTech
• Moonshots – focuses on Creative, Space, BioTech, AI/Hi-Tech, AgTech, Education and Defence Industries
• ThincLab – has a global footprint with five locations, and has been supporting early stage and scaling entrepreneurs across all industry sectors for the last 28 years. ThincLab also has a specialist incubator for AgTech, Food and Wine innovations

Business Visa South Australia Documentary Requirements

To apply for state nomination in South Australia, you need to deomstrate the following:

All Streams

• confirm that you have sufficient financial resources to support yourself and dependents to settle in South Australia and understand it is your responsibility to determine the cost of living in South Australia. Although financial capacity is not required, Skilled & Business Migration SA may seek additional information or evidence at a later stage if necessary
• provide scanned copies of your passport ID page as well as for your partner (if applicable)

Business Innovation Stream

You must provide detailed information about the proposed investment and/or business activity in South Australia which demonstrates:

• that you have in-depth knowledge, expertise or a track record in the product or service
• SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of the proposed business and competitors, and evidence that the proposal is feasible and viable
• detail about key suppliers/industry contacts, and any relevant meetings held with South Australian businesses
• details of the proposed location of the business. For export proposals, details of where the businesses producing the goods/services are based
• the proposal has strong potential to create or retain local employment and positive economic impact. Detail FTE (full-time equivalent) and/or relevant cashflow information is required
• you will maintain a substantial ownership interest in the business or investment and evidence is provided of how many hours per week you will be involved in the business
• evidence of an identified market opportunity that will enable high growth (including evidence specific to South Australia beyond general research)
• defined next steps for the business to grow
• you will maintain a direct and continuous involvement in the day to day management of the eligible business
• evidence of the market, distribution network and ongoing demand for the proposed exported product/s and how any impacts of tariffs will be addressed (where applicable)
• how the proposal supports current State Government priorities including Growth State
• an outline of local businesses/industries/contacts/competitors/etc. that you will meet with prior to starting business and/or as part of their local research
• a short outline of an alternative proposal if the primary proposal should not prove to be feasible after visa grant

Investor And Significant Investor Streams

In addition to the above, applicants for the investor and significant investor streams must also provide the following:

• the name of and information about the proposed complying investment/s and its fund manager
• information on how the investment will materially benefit South Australia

Entrepreneur

In addition to the above, applicants for the entrepreneur stream must also provide the following:

• detailed information about the proposed  entrepreneurial business activity, demonstrating that:

1. you have in-depth knowledge, expertise or track record in the target product or service
2. your proposed business has the potential to become a sustainable high-growth start-up, with the future potential to employ South Australians
3. your project will have the majority of its assets and staff located in South Australia

• a letter of support from a selected Service Provider that has reviewed and approves of your proposed entrepreneurial business activity
• an English language test result demonstrating you have at least competent English (if you are a passport holder or citizen of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand, an English test result is not required).

Pathway To Permanent Residency With A South Australia Business Visa

After you have held the provisional subclass 188 visa for at least three years, you may then be able to apply for permanent residency via the subclass 888 visa, provided that you meet specified requirements at that time.

Note that before submitting your permanent residence business visa South Australia application with the Department, you are required to re-apply for State nomination to Skilled and Business Migration SA. This will require ensuring that you meet Skilled and Business Migration SA requirements as they apply at that date.

Are You Eligible For The Subclass 888 Permanent Residency Business Visa South Australia?

To be eligible for a permanent residence business visa South Australia, you must meet the requirements for one of the following streams:

Business Innovation stream

This stream is for business owners who have undertaken a complying investment and/or business activity in South Australia that meets a ‘benefit to state’ requirement

Investor Stream

You must have invested $2.5 million ($3.75 million if over 55 years of age) into a complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional subclass 188 visa.

Significant Investor Stream

You must have invested $5 million into a complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional subclass 188 visa.

Entrepreneur Stream

You must have continued to operate your business in South Australia and meet the obligations to maintain your nomination status.

Nomination Requirements For Permanent Residence South Australia Business Visa

South Australian nomination requirements to qualify for the subclass 888 visa South Australia are outlined below for each stream.

Business Innovation stream

• hold a provisional subclass 188 visa in the business Innovation stream as nominated by South Australia (or a completed release from the original nominating State or Territory Government)
• meet Immigration visa grant criteria for the subclass 888 visa under the business investor stream
• had your primary residence and business location in South Australia for a minimum of two years prior to your subclass 888 nomination application
• provide evidence that a ‘benefit to state requirement’ has been met according to your investment and/or business activity, age, and business location
• have registered your arrival in South Australia with Skilled & Business Migration SA and maintained current contact details for the duration of your provisional subclass 188 business visa South Australia

Investor Stream

• hold a provisional subclass 188 visa in the investor stream nominated by South Australia (or a completed release form from the original nominating State or Territory Government)
• meet Immigration visa grant requirements for the subclass 888 under the investor stream
• have resided in South Australia for at least two years
• provide evidence that you invested at least $2.5 million in a complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional subclass 188 visa ($3.75 million for applicants who were over 55 years old when they applied for their provisional visa). The complying investment fund must have materially benefited South Australia.
• have registered your arrival in South Australia with Skilled & Business Migration SA and maintained current contact details for the duration of your provisional subclass 188 visa

Significant Investor Stream

• hold a provisional subclass 188 visa in the significant investor stream and be nominated by South Australia (or a completed release form from the original nominating State or Territory Government)
• meet Immigration visa grant requirements for the subclass 188 visa under the significant investor stream
• provide evidence that you invested at least $5 million in a complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional subclass 188 visa. The complying investment fund must have materially benefitted South Australia.
• have registered your arrival in South Australia with Skilled & Business Migration SA and maintained current contact details for the duration of your provisional subclass 188 South Australia business visa.

Entrepreneur Stream

• have registered your arrival in South Australia with Skilled & Business Migration SA and maintained current contact details for the duration of your provisional Subclass 188 South Australia business visa
• assist in building the capacity and capability of the South Australian business community through engagement with the local entrepreneurial and innovation community
• observe and participate in the schedule planned for you by the service provider (all participation arrangements are between the visa holder and the service provider)
• maintain your primary residence in South Australia and contribute to the South Australian economy and community throughout the period of the provisional Subclass 188 visa in the entrepreneur stream
• Provide any other details about your entrepreneurial activity in South Australia as requested

Other Potential Visa Options

There are alternative visa options in South Australia that you may like to consider in the event that the visa 188 South Australia is not suitable for you or if you do not meet the requirements to qualify for this visa.

The subclass 491 visa is a points-based visa with a term of five years. To qualify for the subclass 491 South Australia visa, you must either be sponsored by an ‘eligible family member’ who resides in a designated regional area, or be nominated by Skilled and Business Migration SA.

The subclass 491 South Australia visa provides a pathway to permanent residence in Australia after three years with the Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (to be introduced from 16 November 2022). Among the requirements to qualify for the permanent residence visa, Subclass 491 South Australia visa holders will need to have earned at or above the minimum taxable income threshold for three years (currently set at $53,900), and complied substantially with their Subclass 491 South Australia visa conditions.

The Subclass 190 Skilled (Nominated) visa is another state nominated visa which you may be eligible for. This visa subclass does not apply the designated regional area criterion but, like for the Subclass 491 visa discussed above, you will still require a nomination by the South Australian government to qualify. The subclass 190 visa is points based and offers immediate permanent residency in Australia.

Get More Information

Skilled Regional State Sponsorship Visa

For further information on the subclass 491 South Australia visa and subclass 190 visa, please see the following articles:

Subclass 491 Regional Visa

491 Visa Adelaide

Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa

Skilled Regional Visa Australia

Regional Sponsor Migration Scheme

Adelaide 190 Visa

Australian Skilled Migration Visa List

General Skilled Migration Visa Options

Subclass 190 State Sponsorship Visa

State Sponsorship Visas In Australia

General Skilled Migration Visa Points

Business Visa

To learn more about the subclass 188 business innovation and investment visa, we recommend that you refer to the below articles.

188c Visa Eligibility

Guide To Business Investment Visas

Australian Business Visa Requirements And Documents

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Contact us to book a no-obligation consultation to find out more about the business innovation and investment visa, including you eligibility for a business visa South Australia.

In conclusion, we note that the above provides an overview of the South Australian nomination requirements for a visa 188 South Australia under the business visa program.  Given the highly complex nature of the migration laws, and the fact that every individual case is different, we recommend that you engage a registered migration agent who will be able to provide you with detailed advice about the business visa program overall, including the South Australia nomination requirements and your eligibility to apply for a South Australia business visa.

Note also that the above discussion refers to a number of defined terms in the migration provisions and nomination requirements. Detailed advice about these is beyond the scope of this article and we would therefore recommend that you seek further information in this regard. Being fully informed about the application process, eligibility requirements and the documentary evidence which needs to be provided with your application will help you to avoid unnecessary processing delays or potentially your application being refused.