Small Business Owners (SBO) pathway (Subclass 491)

491 SBO Migration Queensland

This page provides preliminary detail on the subclass 491 SBO – Small Business Owner pathway available in Queensland, through ‘Migration Queensland’ If you are a business owner with a business for sale and looking to expose your business to potential migrant business purchases, please see our business for sale enquiry page.

For migrants who are currently living and operating a small business in designated regional Queensland have the 491 SBO Nomination pathway.

To be eligible for 491 SBO Migration Queensland State nomination, applicants must meet both the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) and ‘Migration Queensland’ (previously BSMQ) criteria.

Like some other skilled migration visa options, the 491 SBO operates under an Expression of Interest (EOI) process where applicants submit an EOI through SkillSelect to apply for the relevant visa. Following which, an 491 SBO assessment form is also lodged with Migration Queensland.

Migration Queensland will only assess an EOI that meets the DoHA and 491 SBO criteria. If successful, an invitation to lodge an application for Queensland State nomination will be received. Applicants will need to provide Migration Queensland with certain documents together with the applicable fee within a specified time from the date of invitation.

Once the completed Migration Queensland application is received and approved, an invitation from the DoHA to lodge your visa application will be received. Applicants will have 60 days to lodge their visa application.

The 491 SBO visa does not grant immediate permanent residency, however a 491 visa holder may be eligible to apply for the new Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191) (open to applications from 16 November 2022), when the following is met:

The visa holder has worked in the designated regional area for at least 3 years, whilst holding a 491 visa;
Have earned the minimum taxable income for at least 3 years as the holder of a regional provisional visa; and
Both primary and secondary applicants have complied with the conditions of the eligible visa.

If you believe you qualify for the above visa and want some further information and assistance, please complete the details below.

491 SBO Queensland

This form is for current temporary visa holders in Australia who are looking to purchase a business to pursue nomination from 'Migration Queensland' under the subclass 491 visa program, as a small business operator in regional Queensland. Our office has both registered migration agents and Queensland licensed business broker and is best placed to assist with identifying and securing a suitable business for the 491 SBO Queensland program.

Name*
First Last
Phone*
Email*
Current circumstances*
This could include your current visa held and expiry and the type of business you are looking for that may suit the SBO 491 QLD nomination requirements

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457 to Permanent Residence

The subclass 457 visa program was closed to new applications from 18 March 2018. To transition from a subclass 457 to permanent residence can be complicated.

Current 457 visa holders

If you currently hold a subclass 457 visa and are seeking to transition to permanent residence we can assist. Whether 457 to permanent residence transition is possible will depend on a number of factors including:

nominated occupation your 457 was approved under;
support from your 457 approved sponsor; and
the date of 457 visa approval and/or application.

Previous 457 visa holders

If you held a 457 visa but now hold a subclass 482 TSS visa, there may still be concessions for you to transition to permanent residence.

To ensure you do not miss out on an opportunity, please contact us via our online enquiry form and we can look to arrange a consultation and discuss you your options.