Changes to s/c 188 Nomination criteria

Changes to s/c 188 Nomination criteria

The s/c 188 Business Innovation Stream is a provisional visa for applicants, who wish to establish, develop and manage a new or existing business in Australia. State Nomination is required for this visa category.

Today, the Victorian government announced changes to the nomination criteria for applicants who seek to undertake Export activities.

Eligibility criteria are as follows:

  • Applicants must be under 55 years of age.
  • Applicants must score at least 80 on the Department of Home Affairs’ points test in SkillSelect.
  • Applicants must propose to engage in eligible business activity, such as:
    • small scale property development
    • small scale freight forwarding and warehousing
    • commodity and scrap metal export
    • passive investment.
    • Export business activity
  • Applicants must show how their eligible business will make a contribution to the Victorian economy and that they will be responsible for the day-to-day operation and overall strategic direction of the business.
  • Applicants must agree to employ at least 1 full time employee in their main business for a minimum of 12 months.
  • Eligible employees in the business must be Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, or holder of a valid New Zealand passport. They cannot be a member of your family.
  • Applicants and their dependents must have sufficient funds to settle in Victoria.
  • The applicant must have a genuine commitment to establish a residence and reside in the State of Victoria as per the visa and nomination conditions.
  • The applicant must demonstrate that they understand the commercial challenges they may encounter when engaging in their proposed eligible business in Victoria.

Applicants proposing to engage in export activity, must demonstrate how the proposed activity will provide a direct contribution to the Victorian economy, such as through:

  • the export value of Victorian goods and services
  • Victorian jobs created or retained, including flow-on effects to other Victorian suppliers
  • the local economic benefits of the business
  • assistance to Victorian businesses in exporting their products or addressing market gaps
  • expansion of export markets.

You must not engage in ‘grey market’ or ‘parallel exporting’. That is, activities where goods are imported and sold in an export market without the consent of the owner of the goods trademark. You will be required to demonstrate that you have not engaged in this activity at the permanent visa nomination stage.

The changes come into effect starting Saturday, 22nd February 2020.

If you require assistance with your visa application, please feel free to book a consultation with our registered Migration Agent to explore your options.