Business Owner (subclass 890) Visa

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1. What is the Business Owner Visa (subclass 890)?
2. What can you do on the 890 Visa?
3. Am I eligible for the 890 Visa?
4. What are the eligible visas you can hold when you apply for the 890 Visa?
5. What does owning and managing a business under the 890 Visa mean?
6. What are the assets and employee requirements under the 890 Visa?
7. How much does the 890 Visa cost?
8. How long can you stay on the 890 Visa?
9. What is the processing time for the 890 Visa?
10. What are my obligations on the 890 Visa?
11. Health insurance on the 890 Visa

Overview

The Business Owner (subclass 890) Visa is designed for applicants who own and manage a business in Australia, it allows you to work and continue operations onshore, living in Australia indefinitely.

The 890 Visa allows you to

• Live in Australia permanently
• Find employment
• Study in Australia
• Enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme (Medicare)
• Sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia
• If eligible you can apply for Australian citizenship
• Travel to and from Australia as many times as you’d like within the first 5 years of the visa being granted. After this you may need to apply for a resident return visa to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.

Note: When working, you are protected by Australian workplace law. See your workplace rights and entitlements.

890 Visa Eligibility Criteria

• Currently be the holder of an eligible visa (see below)
• Meet the residence requirements
• Own and manage a business
• Meet the assets and employees’ requirements (see below)
• Meet health and character requirements
• Not have had any previous visa application refused or cancelled
• Have signed the Australian values statement
• Have paid back any outstanding debt to the Australian government
• Be in Australia at the time of application (secondary applicants you are including in your application can be in or outside Australia at the time of application but cannot be in immigration clearance)

Eligible visas

You must currently hold one of the following eligible visas

• Business Owner (Provisional) visa (subclass 160)
• Senior Executive (Provisional) visa (subclass 161)
• Investor (Provisional) visa (subclass 162)
• State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) visa (subclass 163)
• State/Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) visa (subclass 164)
• State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) visa (subclass 165)

Owning and managing a business

In the duration of 2 years immediately before you lodge your application, you must have had, and continue to have, ownership in one or multiple currently operating businesses in Australia.

For each nominated business, you must provide evidence of:

• ownership interest in the business
• the value of your continuous ownership; the value of your ownership interest or the total value of the ownership interest of you and your partner hold must be a minimum of:
  • 51% of a business with a turnover of less than AUD400,000 per year
  • 30% of a business with a turnover of AUD400,000 or more per year
  • 10% of a publicly listed company
• that you had and continue to hold a direct management role in that business daily (including when you are not in Australia)
• that each main business in your application meets the criteria of a qualifying business
• that you have obtained an Australian Business Number (ABN) for each of your main business’s (you can only have a maximum of two ABNs)
• provide evidence of portal process Business Activity Statements issued by the Australian Taxation Office

If you spent more than 6 weeks in total outside Australia during the 2 years, you must explain your role in managing the business while you were offshore.

Meet the assets and employee’s requirement

Business Assets

At the time you apply and throughout the 12 months immediately before you apply, you must show that you and/or your partner had:

• net business assets in the main businesses of at least AUD100,000

Note: you must show evidence that those assets were lawfully acquired

Business Turnover

• for the 12 months immediately before you apply, you must evidence annual turnover in your main business/s’ of at least AUD300,000

Employees

• In the 12 months immediately before you lodge an application you must be able to show the department that the nominated main business employed at least 2 full-time employees
• Note: Employees must be Australian citizens, permanent residents or New Zealand passport holders and you cannot include yourself or members of the family unit

Business and personal assets

At the time you apply and for the 12 months immediately before you apply, you must provide the department with evidence that the net value of your/your partners business and personal assets in Australia were at least AUD250,000.

Business Practices

You must not have engaged in any business activities that are at all unacceptable in Australia or against Australian law.

890 Visa Cost

Secondary applicants: This amount does not include cost of your partner, any family members or children applying with you

Additional costs: You might also have to pay other costs for each applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics

890 Visa Stay

This is a permanent visa; it allows indefinite stay in Australia.

890 Visa Processing Time

890 Visa Obligations

• You must obey all Australian laws and meet all visa conditions attached to your 890 visa
• You are expected to continue the business activity evidenced in your application
• Inform the department if anything changes. This includes changes to your relationship status, the birth of a child (or stepchild) and any changes to personal details such as phone number, address or passport.

Health insurance

Holders of a Subclass 890 Visa are eligible to enrol in Australia’s public-health cover (Medicare).