A special visa aimed at boosting the economy of South Australia is being made available on Wednesday for a period of three years.
The visa, first announced in March this year during the lead up to the South Australian state election, won’t require any capital outlay as is the case with most business and innovation visas.
The Federal Government endorsed-Subclass 408 (Temporary Activity) visa will allow visa holders to stay in Australia for three years along with their families.
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The applicants need to be under 45 years of age and have an endorsement from the South Australian state government for establishing an innovative business in the state upon submitting a written business plan.
“Endorsement by the government of South Australia will ensure only genuine entrepreneurs with innovative ideas have access to the temporary visa,” the explanatory statement of the Legislative Instrument reads.
Steven Marshall, the state Premier, at the time of the announcement [then the leader of opposition] said the new visa would help create more jobs and attract investment in the state.
“We are confident that this arrangement can lead to participants applying for permanent residence in South Australia as they develop their business plans into successful enterprises creating new companies and jobs in our state,” said Mr Marshall.
“These arrangements will also encourage more investment in those sectors of our economy with the greatest capacity to grow, including advanced manufacturing and defence technology following the Federal Government’s decision to centre the naval shipbuilding program in South Australia.”
The Government of South Australia allocated a sum of $400,000 in the state budget to run the program.
English requirement and investment
This visa will be different from the existing entrepreneurial and Business & Innovation visas as it will not require any mandatory funding outlay. Most of the available business visas require a financial outlay of a minimum $200,000.
The English language requirement for this visa has been kept relatively low at vocational English language proficiency which is band 5 in each of the four components of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
With the new visa, foreign entrepreneurs and investors with an innovative idea and a supporting business plan will be able to apply for a temporary visa to establish their venture in Australia.
The applicants’ business proposals will be examined by the State or Federal Government and those successfully establishing their business venture in Australia will become eligible to apply for permanent residence.
The state government will monitor the business activity of the visa holders and if it is not “sufficiently” associated with the business plan, the visa may be considered for cancellation.
The South Australia pilot of this visa commences on Wednesday, 21st November 2018 and will continue until the end of November 2021. The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that there's no cap on the number of visas that can be granted while the scheme is on.
