Entrepreneur visa

Submitting an EOI

The first step towards applying for an Entrepreneur visa is lodging an Expression of Interest (EOI) in
SkillSelect.

 

To lodge an EOI, you will need to have a funding agreement in place or in negotiation with an approved funding body to develop an innovative venture in Australia. The agreement must be for a minimum of $200,000. You will also need to have a business plan that explains how you will develop your innovative venture in Australia.

 

If you demonstrate a record of successful entrepreneurial activities while holding a provisional Entrepreneur visa, after four years you may be eligible for a Subclass 888 Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa in the Entrepreneur stream. It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the criteria for success for the permanent Entrepreneur visa.

 

Nomination from a state or territory government

Once you submit an EOI, you can be nominated by a state or territory government to be invited to apply for an Entrepreneur visa. Each state and territory has different nomination criteria.

 

Lodging an application

If you are nominated by a state or territory government, you will receive an invitation from us to apply for a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (Subclass 188).

 

You will need to provide documents about your identity, relationships, children, health, character and

English language ability as part of your application. You will also need to provide evidence of your funding agreement and the business plan for your entrepreneurial venture in Australia.

 

You only have 60 days to lodge your application after receiving an invitation to apply, so it’s a good idea to get your documents ready in advance.

Contact is today if you need advice and assistance.

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SkillSelect - invitiations issued 2015-2016

During 2015-16 the following numbers of invitations have been issued:


Invitations issued during 2015-16:

Visa subclass	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	Total
Skilled - Independent (subclass 189)	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,000	2,300	1,400	4,800	3,200	2,600	2,200	2,435	565	29,560
Skilled – Regional Provisional (subclass 489)	80	80	80	40	40	10	10	10	10	10	10	5	385
Total	2,380	2,380	2,380	2,040	2,340	1,410	4,810	3,210	2,610	2,210	2,910	570	29,945

The above figures do not include invitations issued for State and Territory Government nominated visa subclasses. State and Territory Governments nominate throughout the month for specific points tested skilled migration and business innovation and investment visas. Separate results for these visa subclasses are provided monthly.

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Accountants - pass mark migration

In the last published Skill Select round (September 2015) the Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP) only invited 20 Accountants for the 189 visa (instead of the normal 210 invites).

 

As a result this pushed up the invite pass mark to 70 points.

 

This is most likely due to the fact that so many Accountants have been invited in the State sponsored 190 and 489 visas and also as DIBP may want to keep places for later in the program year so that they guarantee obtaining the highest scoring candidates in their 189 program. We also expect that those at 65 points who have already lodged an EOI will likely get an invite before Jun 2016.

 

Therefore, any new Expressions of Interest (EOI) lodged from now on at 65 points may struggle to be allocated a place in the 2015/2016 program year.

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New South Wales (NSW) - State Nomination (Subclass 190) Visa Update - February 2015

The NSW government has provided more information on how the state nomination process for the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa will work from February 2015.

NSW will be moving away from the online lodgement system they have used for the last two invitation rounds for 190 visas.

 

Instead, applicants will need to lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect. NSW then selects applicants from SkillSelect, and invites selected candidates to make an application for NSW Nomination.

What will the Application Process Be?

It is understood that the process will be as follows:

1. Expression of Interest (EOI): the applicant lodges an EOI through SkillSelect and indicates that they wish to be nominated by NSW for a 190 visa.
2. Invitation by NSW: NSW will then rank applicants and select certain applicants to then lodge a nomination through NSW. We understand that applicants must lodge a nomination within 14 days of receiving an invitation from NSW.
3. NSW Nomination Application: NSW will then take approximately 12 weeks to process the nomination. The applicant will need to be able to provide evidence of the points claimed in the EOI - for instance, skills assessment, English language ability, work experience. Once the NSW nomination is approved, applicants will receive an EOI invitation through SkillSelect to apply for a subclass 190 visa.
4. 190 Visa Application: Once invited through SkillSelect, applicants have 60 days to lodge their application for a 190 visa. This usually takes approximately 4 months to be processed.

Which Occupations are Eligible?

To be eligible for NSW state nomination, you must have a positive skills assessment in an occupation on the NSW Occupations List. The NSW Occupations List is due to be updated in the first week of February 2015. The NSW Occupations List previously included all occupations on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL), but it is understood that there may be some changes to the NSW Occupations list.

Further information will be provided once another update about the NSW Occupation List is provided.   

Will a Quota Apply to Occupations?

At this point, there is no mention of any quota applying to specific occupations for NSW Nomination.

How Will NSW Select Applicants for Nomination?

New South Wales (NSW) will search SkillSelect for applicants who have lodged an EOI and indicated that they wish to be nominated by NSW for a 190 visa. They will then rank applicants and select the highest ranked ones to invite to apply for NSW nomination.

It is understood that NSW will rank applicants based on the following criteria:

1. Nominated Occupation: you must have an occupation on the NSW Occupations List
2. Points Score: applicants will be ranked higher if they have a higher points score. The minimum score for the 190 visa is 60, including the 5 points for NSW state nomination
3. English Language Ability: if two applicants have the same points score, the one with better English will be ranked higher
4. Work Experience: in the case of two applicants having the same points score and English language ability, the one with more skilled work experience will be ranked higher

When Will NSW Invite Applicants for State Nomination?

NSW has indicated that it will be inviting applicants between February 2015 and June 2015.

Whilst we do not have any specific information from NSW on timing, the following is likely based on the information available:

• When NSW will start inviting applicants: most likely, they will start inviting a small number of applicants in February to test the new system
• How often NSW will invite applicants: we expect that NSW would review applications every month or so and invite applicants for state nomination fairly regularly so that they can meet their State Migration Plan numbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Seeking State or Territory Nomination

State and Territory Governments nominate intending migrants using SkillSelect, however each state or territory government has their own process for identifying and selecting migrants. We recommend that you contact the state or territory government you are seeking nomination from to discuss their requirements. 

Links to each of the state and territory governments are below.

Australian Capital Territory
www.canberrayourfuture.com.au/portal/migrating/article/skilled-visas/

New South Wales
http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/live-and-work-in-nsw

Northern Territory
http://www.migration.nt.gov.au/

Queensland
http://migration.qld.gov.au/

South Australia
https://www.migration.sa.gov.au

Tasmania
http://www.migration.tas.gov.au/

Victoria
http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/visas-and-immigrating/state-nomination

Western Australia
Skilled visas
http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/skilledmigration

Business visas
http://www.businessmigration.wa.gov.au

Please contact Nevett Ford Lawyers (Melbourne) to speak to one of our 5 dedicated and experienced immigration lawyers if you require advice and assistance by telephone: 03 9614 7111 or by email at: rcurtisgriffiths@nevettford.com.au. We can assistw ith all of your General Skilled Migration requirements, including Expression of Interest, Skills Assessment & Visa application.

Legal advice and assistance is highly recommended.

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What is an EOI (Expression of Interest)?

An EOI is not a visa application, it is an indication that you would like to be considered for a skilled visa.

You will be asked to provide a range of information in your EOI depending on the visa(s) you want to be considered for, such as:

• basic personal information
• nominated occupation
• work experience
• study and education
• level of English skills
• details of a Skills Assessment, related to your nominated occupation
• business and investment experience.

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