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Sponsored Business Visa to Australia

The Sponsored Business Visitor Visa is designed to enable members of local, state and federal government and government agencies, as well as specified organisations in Australia, to offer formal sponsorship to short stay business visitors.

The visa is designed for applicants who wish to enter Australia for a period of no more than 3 months for business purposes. This can include activities such as attending conferences and training, but must not include the undertaking of business employment (this could have an adverse effect on the employment and training opportunities of Australian citizens or permanent residents).

An Australian sponsor can vouch for an applicant's purpose of visit and provide an undertaking that their business visitor will abide by visa conditions, including that they depart Australia before their visa expires.

The requirements for a Sponsored Business Visitor Visa (subclass 459) are similar to those for the Business Visitor Visa (subclass 456). However, a Sponsored Business Visitor Visa applicant must be formally sponsored at the time of application.

The aim of the Sponsored Business Visitor Visa is to offer Australian sponsors an onshore alternative to the standard Short Stay Business Visitor Visa. By enabling sponsors to lodge the applications and sponsorship directly at their local Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) Business Centre, the Department will be able to better accommodate requests from sponsors.

Key features of the visa are:

• Mandatory sponsorship;
• Faster processing times for most standard Business Visitor Visa applications;
• A graduated warning regime that will apply to the sponsor if the business visitor breaches visa conditions; and
• A discretionary security bond.

Government Sponsored Visa Eligibility

To be eligible for a Sponsored Business Visitor (Short Stay) Visa, applicants must:

• Be outside Australia at the time of application;
• Have a background that is relevant to the applicant's activity in Australia;
• Have a demonstrated need to be in Australia to carry out that business;
• Have adequate funds to support the applicant's stay in Australia; and
• Demonstrate that the applicant will not be undertaking any business-related activities which would disadvantage an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident.

>To be eligible to sponsor a Business Visitor, a sponsor must be:

• A Federal, State or Territory Member of Parliament;
• An authorised person representing a Commonwealth, State or Territory agency;
• A local government mayor; or
• An organisation specified by Gazette Notice.

More that one business visitor can be sponsored at any one time for a visa to Australia.