Australia open for business, new visa enables migration for biz community
Tuesday, 16 December 2014 01:12
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By Marisa Wikramanayake
The latest Australian visa will make it even easier for Sri Lankans in the business community to migrate to the land down under, according to Susantha Katugampala, a migration lawyer based in Melbourne.
Katugampala and his colleague Ian Kinder, from the Melbourne-based firm Fairfield Lawyers, spoke at a session held by Australia Gateway to explain the new visas and their conditions and why investing in Australia was an attractive option.
The Australian Business Innovation and Investment Visa enables successful entrepreneurs and investors who intend to start businesses or invest in Australia to migrate with their family members.
Katugampala explained the business structures and the relevant taxation systems for each and the requirements for each visa, all of which require Australian state and federal approval and sponsorship.
The Business Talent Permanent Visa (subclass 132) allows you to create a new business in Australia but the applicant requires either assets of AUD 1.5 million with an annual turnover of AUD 3 million or venture capital of at least AUD 1 million.
The Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (subclass 188) allows you to start a business but requires you to have AUD 1.5 million to invest in a business or AUD 5 million to become a significant investor. It can then be upgraded to a permanent visa (subclass 888).
“Australia is open for business,” Katugampala stated. “And when you want to do business in Australia, there are programs to help the investor bring their family members over.”
Mr. Kinder stated that Australia was a good investment option as there had been 23 years of uninterrupted growth, an innovative economy, a talented workforce, connections to Asia and because it was an easy place in terms of economic freedom and financial services to do business in.
He also recommended that Sri Lankans invest or start businesses in agribusiness, tourism, advanced technological services and in education within Australia as these were the sectors that proved most viable for small and medium sized enterprises while larger enterprises could target the resources, energy and infrastructure sectors. “Two way trade with Asia made $ 648 billion in 2013 with mining and agriculture, accounting for over 80% of exports,” Kinder said. “40% of our workforce is tertiary qualified and Australia’s GDP growth between 2013 and 2019 is forecast to be 2.8%.”
Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera
