How to arrive and

Applying for this visa

There are two steps in the application process for this visa. You need to complete each step before progressing to the next.

Step 1 - Notify the state/territory authority

Before you apply for this visa, you must notify the regional authority in the State/Territory in which you intend to go into business. The table below shows the process which you need to complete to notify the appropriate regional authority.

Step	Person or organisation	Action
1	Main Applicant	Complete the notification form: Form 927 State/Territory notification: Business Skills class http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/927.pdf Send the completed notification form to the appropriate State/Territory authority. See: Business Development Sponsorship for State bodies to approach http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/business/business-development-sponsorship.htm
2	State/territory authority	A representative will sign, stamp and send the form back to the main applicant.
3	Main Applicant	Include the signed, stamped notification form with your visa application.

Step 2 - Complete and lodge your application
You can access a booklet called Business Skills Entry that provides information to help you understand and apply for this visa which can be downloaded from: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1132.pdf
Complete the forms below and attach all necessary documentation:

Form 47BU: Application for a Business Skills (permanent) visa http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/47bu.pdf

Form 1217: Business Skills profile: Business Owner (residence) http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1217.pdf

You can lodge your application:

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  by mail
  
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  by courier
  
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  in person
  
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  by fax
  

You need to lodge your application at a business centre of the department in Australia in the relevant state whose contact details can be found here: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/australia/business-centres/index.htm

The costs associated with this visa are as follows:

Charge Type	Charge Amount
1^st instalment	A$1,650
1^st instalment In the case of an applicant who holds a Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 495).	A$270
2^nd instalment For dependants 18 or over with less than functional English. Exception: Not applicable if you hold a Skilled – Independent Regional visa (subclass 495) or any of the Business Skills (provisional) visas (subclasses 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165)	A$4,110

Visa processing times and final decision

The processing times below apply to applications lodged with complete documentation.

Processing times vary depending on 'high risk' or 'low risk' country requirements. Low risk countries are Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) eligible. High risk countries are those not on the ETA list. www.eta.immi.gov.au
75% of Business Skills applications should be finalised within:

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  9 months, if the applicant is from a low risk country; or
  
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  15 months, if the applicant is from a high risk country.
  

Note: The service standards are a target only, that is, individual cases may take longer than the service standard depending on the caseload of the office concerned, the complexity of the case etc.
If the visa is approved
The department will advise you (or your authorised recipient). A Business Owner (Residence) visa (subclass 890) will be granted.
If the visa is not approved (refused/declined)
The department will advise you (or your authorised recipient) in writing of the reasons for that decision and if the decision is eligible for review by the Migration Review Tribunal.

3) The partner visa

Australia encourages the reunion of couples in genuine relationships. The Partner Migration Program enables Australian citizens (and permanent residents) as well as eligible New Zealand citizens to sponsor their partner (whether spouse, fiancé or de facto partner) to migrate to Australia. You must either be married, engaged to, or in a de facto (common law) relationship with a person in Australia. If your application for an interdependent partner or spouse visa is successful, you will be granted a provisional visa which is valid for two years. After this period you can apply for permanent residency in Australia.

To qualify for a visa under this class you must:

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  be over 18 years of age and your relationship with your partner must be genuine and continuing.
  
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  Married and defacto couples must live together and show a mutual commitment to a shared life together.
  
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  Couples who are engaged must have a genuine intention to marry and live together as spouses.
  

You will be expected to demonstrate and prove the nature of your relationship by providing a range of documentation. You are also likely to be asked to attend an interview. Your Australian partner must agree to sponsor you and provide a legal undertaking to support you during your first two years in Australia.

INSIDER INFO: There was a time in the 1980’s and 90’s when ‘marriages of convenience’ were rife. DIBP is very alert to this - some would say to the point of paranoia.
There are two subclasses to the partner visa: 1) Spouse 2) Fiancé (prospective marriage)
1) Spouse – subclass 820 & 801 ( http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/801-820.aspx ) if you already IN Australia; subclass 309 & 100 if OUTSIDE Australia ( http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/309-100.aspx )
Applicants for a spouse visa must be married or in a de facto relationship with their sponsor. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
Australia immigration law mirrors the Australia Marriage Act of 1961 in determining the recognition of marriages. Whether a foreign marriage is recognised under Australian law depends on whether it is recognised as valid in the country in which it was performed. De facto relationships are recognised as being where the partners are not legally married to each other, but live in a spouse-like relationship (known as ‘common law’ spouses). If applying on the basis of a de facto relationship, the partners should have been in the relationship for at least 12 months at the time of application.
Relationships that are NOT recognised are: polygamous marriages, marriages between close relatives and marriages where one party is under the Australian marriageable age of 18 years old.
The visa requirements

Genuine relationship requirement involves being able to prove that:

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  you and your spouse have a commitment to a shared life as spouses, whether or not you are legally married, to the exclusion of all others;
  
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  your relationship is genuine and continuing; and
  
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  you and your spouse live together, or don't live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
  

De facto relationship requirement involves being able to prove that:
You and your de facto spousal partner must have been in a spouse-like relationship for 12 months immediately prior to applying for your spouse visa, unless:

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  your partner was granted a permanent humanitarian visa and was in the relationship with you before that visa was granted and this was declared to DIBP at the time, or
  
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  you can establish compassionate and compelling circumstances - these include having dependent children from the relationship.
  

The application process

People applying for this Spouse sub-class category visa go through a two-stage process. At the first stage a temporary visa is granted. In the second stage, two years after making the application, involves the consideration of your permanent visa application.

Stage 1 - spouse temporary visa
This stage involves assessment of your eligibility for a temporary visa based on your application. You are likely to be asked to attend an interview to enable DIBP to further assess your application. You will also be asked to undergo a medical examination and provide character clearances. Once you successfully complete the first stage of processing, you are granted a temporary visa. This visa will be valid until a decision is made on your application for the permanent visa or until that second application is withdrawn. Whilst on this visa, if your partner dies or you suffer domestic violence from this partner, you may be able to stay in Australia. However, if you separate and you do not have any children under the age of 18 years, then you will not be able to stay in Australia.
Stage 2 - spouse permanent visa
This stage of processing will begin approximately two years after you lodged your visa application and involves assessment of your eligibility for a permanent visa.

There are provisions to waive the two-year wait period. These include:

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  you have been in the relationship with your spouse for five years or more at the time of application, or
  
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  you have been in the relationship with your spouse for two years at the time of application and where there are dependent children of the relationship, or
  
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  your spouse was granted a permanent visa under the humanitarian program or was granted a protection visa and was in the relationship with you before the visa was granted and this relationship was declared to DIBP at the time.
  

At both processing stages, you will be required to provide evidence that the relationship between you and your spouse is genuine and continuing. Proof may be given in the form of joint ownership papers on a home, sharing of a lease, sharing of utility bills, a joint bank account, photographs of you two on holiday or joint ownership of a vehicle, among a long list of other things. If you have lived in Australia for more than one year you will be required to provide an Australian police clearance. You may also be required to provide clearances from other countries you have visited since your spousal temporary visa was granted. You and your spouse are once again likely to be asked to attend an interview. If you meet all the requirements you will be granted a permanent visa.

2) Prospective Marriage (Fiancé(e)) visa – subclass 300

( http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/300.aspx )

Applicants for a prospective marriage [fiancé(e)] visa must be engaged to marry their sponsor. The marriage must take place after the applicant's first entry to Australia and before the expiration of the visa. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

The visa requirements

Genuine relationship requirement involves your being able to prove:

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  you genuinely intend to marry your fiancé(e) within nine months from the date you are granted a visa and then intend to live with your partner as their spouse, and
  
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  you and your fiancé(e) have met and are personally known to each other.
  

Age requirement means that both you and your fiancé(e) must be aged 18 years or over unless one of the following circumstances applies:

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  DIBP is satisfied that you and/or your fiancé(e) are due to turn 18 before the end of the period within which the intended marriage is to take place, or
  
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  an Australian judge or magistrate has made an order under section 12 of the Australian Marriage Act of 1961authorising you to marry your fiancé(e) or vice versa as required, and that order is in force and DIBP is satisfied that the marriage will take place.
  

The application process

Your application for a prospective marriage [fiancé(e)] visa must be lodged outside Australia and you must be outside Australia when you apply. People applying under the prospective marriage [fiancé(e)] category go through a three-stage process. The process firstly involves applying for a prospective marriage temporary visa as the first stage, followed by a spouse temporary visa at the second and finally a spouse permanent visa at the third stage.

Stage 1 - Prospective Marriage temporary visa
This stage involves the assessment of your eligibility for a temporary visa based on your application. You and your spouse may be asked to attend an interview to enable DIBP to further assess your application. You will also be asked to undergo a medical examination and provide character clearances. If you successfully complete the first stage of processing, you will be granted a temporary visa which will be valid for nine months from when it is granted. Within those nine months you must travel to Australia, marry your fiancé(e) and apply for the spouse temporary and permanent visas in Australia.
Stage 2 - Spouse temporary visa
This stage of processing will begin when you apply in Australia for the spouse temporary and permanent visas after your marriage. You will be required to complete the relevant forms, pay the required charge and provide evidence again that your marriage has taken place and is genuine and continuing. You and your spouse may be asked to once again attend an interview. If you successfully complete this stage of processing, you will be granted a temporary visa which will be in effect until a decision is made on your application for a permanent visa.
Stage 3 - Spouse permanent visa
This stage of processing will begin approximately two years after you lodged your application for spouse temporary and permanent visas and involves an assessment of your eligibility for a permanent visa. You will be required to provide evidence that the relationship between you and your spouse is genuine and continuing – again. If you have lived in Australia for more than one year, you will be required to provide an Australian police clearance certificate. You may also be required to provide clearances from other countries you have visited since your spouse temporary visa was granted. You and your spouse may be asked to attend another interview. Once you meet all the requirements, you will be granted a permanent visa.
If a relationship ends before the third stage of processing

If the relationship ends while you have a temporary visa, you must inform DIBP immediately. You may still be eligible for a permanent visa without having to fulfil the normal two-year waiting period if:

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  after entering Australia and marrying your fiancé(e), the relationship breaks down and you or a member of your family are the victim of domestic violence committed by your spouse, or
  
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  after entering Australia and marrying your fiancé(e), the relationship breaks down and you and your Australian spouse have children under 18 years of age, or
  
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  after entering Australia, your spouse dies.