• A trade or professional background
• An occupation that is on the Australian Immigration Department's Skilled Occupations List
• An occupation that is accepted by the relevant Australian assessing body
• Recent experience in the nominated occupation
• Good English
• Be less than 45 years of age
• Pass a points test (having relatives in Australia can help)

Generally business migrants will be existing business owners, investors or people with senior executive backgrounds. Classes are varied and the criteria is complex but usually a successful applicant will have:

• A successful business background going back at least the last 4 years
• At least AUD$250,000 in net personal assets (other classes will require more) plus sufficient personal assets to settle in Australia (around AUD$50,000 per family of four per annum)
• A business proposal or plan of your business intentions in Australia
• State sponsorship granted on the basis of acceptable business proposal (business proposals for regional areas are given favourable treatment)
• Be less than 55 years of age unless there are special circumstances
• Initial visa will be temporary with the provision for granting permanent residency within 2 to 4 years if conditions are met

These visas can be permanent or temporary and usually involves:

• Sponsorship by an Australian company that is able to prove that they have a skilled vacancy that cannot be filled by an Australian

The most common categories are :

• Spouse: Either married or de facto, with an onus in both cases of proving that the relationship is genuine. Spouse visas are subject to the grant of an initial provisional visa followed 2 years later, if conditions are met, of a permanent visa.
• Parent: To qualify, applicants must have most of their children living in Australia
• Self-Funded Retirees: This is a temporary visa, often used by those who have no children living in Australia. These visas are often granted to those with no dependents and those who are able to bring AUD$650,000 (10% less if they do have children here) to Australia.

The student visa market has grown to a massive AUD$3.5 billion industry. These visas are often attainable under the following circumstances:

• Students participating in courses ranging from English language tuition to post-graduate studies
• Generally requires funds of AUD$12,000 per annum for living costs plus the cost of tuition
• Graduates can apply within 6 months of passing their course for permanent residency