Small business owners in regional Queensland
Program update
Migration Queensland has opened the State Nominated Migration Program for FY24-25.
Who is this pathway for?
This pathway is for migrants who are currently living in and operating a small business in regional Queensland.
The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is a points-tested provisional visa that has a pathway to permanent residency. It is a five-year visa that allows holders, and their dependants, to live, work and study in regional Australia, and to apply for permanent residency after three years.
The Small Business Owner (SBO) stream has two separate pathways. Applicants need to meet the criteria for either Pathway 1 or Pathway 2:
Pathway 1 – Business purchase
To be eligible for this pathway, you must purchase an existing registered business outside of South East Queensland for a minimum of $100,000 and employ at least one Australian resident. You must operate the business for a minimum of six months prior to submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI).
Pathway 2 – Start-up business
To be eligible for this pathway, you must have started your own business and have continuously run that business for a minimum of two years. The business must be generating a profit and have a turnover of $200,000 in the twelve months prior to submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI).
Note:
Seek professional legal and financial advice before making an investment or starting a business. Migration Queensland takes no responsibility if your business or investment is not successful.
You must complete an EOI in SkillSelect before submitting a Registration of Interest for 491 Small Business Owners for this visa.
Eligible Postcodes
As part of your visa conditions, you and your dependants must live, work and study in a regional area.
Pathway 1 – Business purchase
Businesses purchased after 1 September 2024 (date of contract) must be located in one of the following eligible postcodes:
4370-4390, 4400-4428, 4454-4498, 4570-4571, 4580-4895.
If you signed your contract of business purchase before 1 September 2024, then the full list of 491 regional postcodes is eligible.
Pathway 2 – Start-up business
Eligible postcodes include:
4019–4022, 4025, 4037, 4074, 4076–4078, 4124–4125, 4133, 4183–4184, 4207–4275, 4280–4287, 4300–4301, 4303–4498, 4500–4512, 4514–4519, 4521, 4550–4575, 4580–4895.
Note
The above postcodes are applicable to those who have been nominated and applied for their 491 visa from 5 March 2022. Further details can be found in LIN 22/022.
If you were nominated or applied for the 491 visa prior to 5 March 2022, the applicable Queensland postcodes can be found in LIN 20/292.
If you were granted a 491 visa prior to 19 November 2019, the Gold Coast is not an eligible region.
New business purchase contracts signed between 1/9/2024 and 13/9/2024 will be accepted for SBO application in the 2024-25 Program year.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for a Queensland nomination, you must meet both the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) criteria and Migration Queensland criteria for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).
The Department of Home Affairs requires you to:
- have a points test result of 65 or higher, inclusive of state nomination points
- have a positive skills assessment in your nominated occupation
- be under 45 years of age
- have at least Competent English.
Migration Queensland requires you to meet the following criteria:
Requirements for Pathway 1 and Pathway 2 applicants: | |
|---|---|
Occupation | Have an occupation on the Legislative Instrument (LIN19/051). |
Living in regional Queensland | Must provide evidence you are living in regional Queensland in an eligible postcode list (Pathway 1 or Pathway 2). |
Location of business | You must own and operate a business in an eligible postcode (Pathway 1 or Pathway 2) in regional Queensland. |
Operating the business full-time | The applicant must be working for the business full-time (minimum of 30 hours per week) for at least six months. |
Ownership interest | Provide evidence you hold 100% ownership of the business. 100% ownership must have been in place since the business was purchased or started. |
| Additional requirements for Pathway 1 (Business purchase) | |
|---|---|
Time since purchase | Settlement of business purchase must have occurred less than 18 months prior to submitting your EOI*. |
Age of purchased business | The business purchased must have been operating for a minimum of two years in its current location, immediately prior to purchase. |
Price of purchased business | Provide evidence you have purchased a business for a minimum of $100,000. |
Operation of business | Provide evidence you have been operating the business for a minimum of six months after settlement. |
Australian employee/s | Provide evidence of employing at least one Australian resident** working a minimum of 20 hours per week, or two employees working 10 hours per week. Employees cannot be a family member or a subcontractor. |
| Additional requirements for Pathway 2 (Start-ups) | |
|---|---|
Operation of business and turnover | Provide evidence you have been operating a profitable start-up for a minimum of two years, with a turnover of $200,000 in the twelve months prior to application. |
* Businesses settled before 1 July 2024 have until 31 December 2025 to apply for the 491 SBO pathway.
**An Australian resident for the purposes of the 491 SBO pathway is an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen residing in Australia on a Special Category visa (subclass 444).
Important notes for the 491 SBO pathway:
- No share transfer (must have a contract of business sale)
- No vendor financing
- Cannot purchase business from a family member or relative
- Cannot relocate or sell a business without first receiving approval from Migration Queensland (prior to visa grant). Migration Queensland reserves the right to withdraw state nomination from applicants who do not follow this requirement.
- Cannot purchase a business previously used as part of a visa application for migration purposes (i.e. 491, 188, 888 or 405 visa application).
- Applicants must operate their business for at least three years in a regional area (may be subject to monitoring) after the grant of the visa.
Businesses not accepted
- Multiple businesses operating under the one ABN with combined financials/BAS. These businesses do not meet the requirements for this pathway.
- Passive investments i.e. Management rights
- Home-based businesses (including those with virtual offices)
- Commission agents or leasing agents of franchises (such as petrol stations)
- Diagou businesses.
Franchises
If you are considering purchasing a franchise business, you must have the approval of the Master Franchise (franchisor) prior to purchasing.
Application process
Step 1
Review your eligibility criteria and visa conditions on the Department of Home Affairs website and the Migration Queensland website.
Ensure you meet both the Home Affairs criteria and Migration Queensland criteria, and that you have all your documents prior to submitting an EOI.
Step 2
Submit an EOI through the Department of Home Affairs SkillSelect website.
Ensure all information, such as work experience, is included in your EOI. Do not declare that operating your business is relevant to your nominated occupation unless they are closely related. Choose Queensland as your nominating state.
Step 3
Submit the Registration of Interest for 491 Small Business Owners.
Step 4
Migration Queensland will review your EOI. If you are invited, you will receive an email “Queensland Nomination – Invitation to lodge an application”.
Documents are to be uploaded electronically through the document portal link provided in your invitation email. If you have multiple documents, save them as one document, to upload one file per criteria.
Step 5
When you have received your invitation from Migration Queensland:
- upload the required documents
- pay the non-refundable application fee to finalise your application.
Do not pay the fee until you have been invited to apply and all your documents have been uploaded.
Migration Queensland will then review your application and may request any further information.
You will have 14 days to finalise your application from the date of invitation. Applications not finalised within the timeframe will be closed, and you will need to wait until the following financial year before lodging a new EOI.
Step 6
If your completed Migration Queensland application is nominated, you will receive an invitation from Home Affairs to lodge your visa application. You will be given 60 days to lodge your visa application with Home Affairs. Applicants who do not lodge their visa application with Home Affairs will not be nominated by Queensland again this program year.
Nomination and approval
Applying for nomination correctly does not guarantee you will receive Queensland nomination or be granted an Australian visa. Nomination is granted at the discretion of the State of Queensland. It is recommended you seek professional legal and financial advice before making an investment. The final decision and timeframe on granting a visa is made by Home Affairs. The State of Queensland takes no responsibility in the event your visa application is not approved by Home Affairs.
Eligibility for Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191)
To be eligible for the subclass 191 visa applicants must:
- provide notices of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for three income years out of five years of your eligible visa
- have complied with the conditions of the regional provisional visa, including that the holder and any dependents must live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia.
Please refer to Home Affairs website for additional eligibility criteria.
It is the duty of the visa holder to understand the criteria they need to meet on a subclass 491 to be eligible to apply for the subclass 191 after the required timeframe.
Migration Queensland takes no responsibility if an applicant does not meet subclass 191 visa requirements.