Case Study – 188 Investor Visa Application by changing State
This column will look at a visa application case made possible by changing the State for State Government Sponsorship.
Our Client, Mr R, applied for the State Sponsorship before the new 188 Business and Investment visa conditions were announced on July 1, 2021. However, because of the new requirements from July 1, 2021, he had to change the State for State Government Sponsorship to apply for the 188 Investor Visa.
Mr R, wanted to apply for an investment visa through the New South Wales sponsorship and signed the first contract in December 2020. After preparing for about 2 to 3 months, he applied for the State sponsorship. However, they did not receive State sponsorship until June 30, the end of the fiscal year 2021, and had to submit a new letter of intent under the terms and conditions changed after July 1, 2021.
The Australian 188 Business Investment visa eligibility requirements generally described in our column are conditions that 188 visa applications must meet under the requirements of the Australian Federal Government. However, a State Sponsorship must be obtained to apply for the visa. Each State often has additional requirements to select the most suitable applicants. For example, immigrants who wish to do business or live in urban areas such as Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne, require a higher application score and higher investment requirements and assets than immigrants who settle and plan to do business or investment in rural areas.
Even under the conditions raised after July 1, 2021, Mr R could obtain enough points to submit a letter of intent. However, because NSW changed its age qualifications to under 50, Mr R, who was 54, could not receive a state sponsorship because of age restrictions.
While preparing for the visa together, we suggested changing the State government to Queensland, considering his plans, business tendencies and lifestyle. Mr R positively accepted our suggestion, received the letter of intent within 1 week, and successfully applied for the 188 Investor visa.
After receiving the Queensland Government Sponsorship successfully, he was able to lodge his 188-visa application. Mr R, who was 54 at the time of application, may not have been able to apply for the 188 Investor Visa if he had not fully understood the different requirements of each State’s visa and had not trusted us and accepted the offer positively. Moreover, because of the age limit, he may not have expected to apply for the 188-investment visa.
Compared to the past, each State government has more stringent and specific requirements when selecting suitable immigrants for the development direction of the State Government. It is essential to take the advice of a migration agent who clearly understands the basic business investment visa requirements and the State requirements to which you wish to immigrate before making your immigration plan.
In the next column, we will examine the correlation between the number of immigrants allocated by the federal government to the State and the timing of application through the case of Mr L, who obtained state sponsorship in May 2022.
