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This visa number 164 is for Senior Executives who wish to become business owners. General Managers may be better suited to the Business Owner category as the business turnover minimum is lower.

It is worth the effort to make a professional presentation to speed up the process and encourage a favourable outcome. With plenty of applications for Business Owners with wider ranging skills, State Governments and DIAC can afford to be a little fussy when deciding which executives should be approved.

DIAC says that a Senior Executive is someone who:

• can show evidence of a successful business career, either working in the three highest levels of an organisation - or separate subsidiary business division - for two of the last 4 years,
• worked at that level for a company or trading division where there is a certain minimum financial turnover,
• has sufficient net assets,
• has sufficient funds for transfer to and living in Australia,
• is aged below 55 (unless many more jobs or significantly more funds can be invested, in some States only).

Depending on which visa is pursued and whether applicants can speak English well enough, there may be a requirement to show vocational English or each adult has to pay DIAC for English tuition after arrival (and the business plan has to reflect how this communication issue will be dealt with).

Other regular requirements include that the historic and proposed business activity are both of acceptable types, that the State Government is aware of or supports your application, that you can show the need to be resident in Australia to make the business plan work.

There are two types of Senior Executives for Provisional sponsorship - these are Sponsored and Unsponsored.

Here are the resources from DIAC.

• About the programme
• All different types of State Sponsorship
• General Senior Executive business skills profile
• About business sponsorship
• Application forms, guidelines and document checklists
• Here is DIAC costs for business skills visa and English levy.
• And here is our own compilation of links to document checklists, application forms.

Here is a typical business plan, as an example of a format consistent with what we would provide to support Victoria and Queensland sponsorship applications. It is not a document that could be used “as is”. Please note that to deter copying of this work it has been depersonalised, has had key strategies deleted, and is also missing support documents and research information. Certain information has also been added that can prove any complaint of “borrowing” our intellectual property.

Email info-AT-statesponsorship.com.au to request contact for a Business Plan

TIP: Take the time to build a picture of the client doing their job and applying business management skills - look for mention in company newsletters, company awards, media reports, signatures on larger contracts and internal reports. Often the external reports can convey more insight into a manager’s responsibilities than clinical job appointment letters and regular CVs.

Also ensure that a professional business plan has been submitted. 

A good business proposal helps secure sponsorship with lower thresholds; sponsorship helps secure the visa; lower thresholds allow for more flexibility and reduced financial pressure on the business and this can help the business meet requirements for later permanent residence.

A good plan not only provides reassurance to the State but it can lead to a faster grant of their sponsorship. A good plan can also be submitted to DIAC even though it is not compulsory to do so. A good proposal will help the reader of the plan visualise the business and its operator, this will personalise the application to them and encourage them to think of the person, not just the paperwork.

Remembering that a case officer’s day is full of pressure and paper-based promises, then presenting a written picture will allow the reader to quickly understand the merits of the whole application.

Human nature says that where anyone is faced with a deadline, they are generally more likely to clear the files that are easier to finish - so why can’t your clients’ cases be at the top of the pile?

(C) State Sponsorship Services Pty Ltd 2007. This web site does not contain Australian immigration advice. Viewers who need this advice should consult a registered migration agent, refer to Migration Agents Registration Authority. Entry to and use of this web site means that the viewer acknowledges that State Sponsorship Services Pty Ltd does not provide immigration advice and cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any immigration application that is lodged as a result of the viewer accessing this web site.