“This new visa has been established for entrepreneurs with innovative ideas and financial backing from a third party.”

A new category of visa to attract and retain the best and brightest entrepreneurial talent is now open to new applications.

This new visa has been established for entrepreneurs with innovative ideas and financial backing from a third party and was launched on 10 September 2016.

This new visa allows entrepreneurs with $200,000 in funding from specified third party to develop and commercialise their innovative ideas in Australia.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said the Government was driving economic growth through innovation, including through our Business Innovation and Investment visa programme.

“The new Entrepreneur visa provides a pathway to permanent residence and allows entrepreneurs with $200,000 in funding from a specified third party to develop and commercialise their innovative ideas in Australia,” Mr Dutton said.

These changes are aimed to help Australia attract and retain the best and brightest entrepreneurial talent.

This visa also provides a pathway to permanent residency in Australia.

To be eligible to apply for Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188), Entrepreneur Stream, you must:

• be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed complying entrepreneur activity will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory
• have competent English and be able to provide evidence of this at the time you are invited to apply for the visa
• be undertaking or proposing to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia and have a genuine intention to continue this activity
• nominated by a state or territory government

A Complying Entrepreneur Activity is an activity that relates to an innovative idea that will lead to the commercialisation of a product or service in Australia, or the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.

(Article from SBS)