Eligibility criteria for the Subclass 491 Small Business Owners pathway has been updated by BSMQ. Updated BSMQ criteria requires you to:
· have an occupation on HAs Legislative instrument (LIN 19/051)
· have prior business experience (operating the business successfully for at least 6 months meets this criteria), qualifications to successfully run the business, or previous family-run business experience.
· be on a visa that allows full-time work and operation of the business for a minimum of 35 hours per week
· have purchased an existing business in regional Queensland (Note: not available for start-ups or home-based businesses, franchise businesses must have been operating for at least a year prior to purchase)
· invested a minimum of $100,000 in the business prior to submitting an EOI
· have 100% ownership of the business (partnerships or joint ventures not eligible)
· be trading in the business for 6 months prior to application
· employ one (1) employee who is an Australian resident working a minimum of 20 hours per week. Please note: an Australian resident for 491-SBO purposes is an Australian permanent resident, Australian citizen or New Zealand citizen on a subclass 444 Special Category visa.
· provide evidence of sufficient settlement funds.
Source: https://migration.qld.gov.au/skilled-visa-options/im-operating-a-small-business-in-regional-queensland/