
The Queensland State Government’sMigration departmentand the Department of Home Affairs today held a joint Webinar this afternoon.
Queensland’sMigration department (referred to below as MQ) is focusing this financial year’s state nomination on three streams: the small business owner stream, the local graduate stream, and the offshore applicant stream.
This Webinar outlined some expected continuations and changes. Queensland state nomination is currently temporarily closed,and they are also waiting for the Commonwealth to release the quota before they can open as soon as possible — they expect this will most likely happen in August (most likely any time in August).
The keypositive updatesandchanges
【Good News】
Relaxed local graduate requirements
Offshore stream reopens
188E investor visa restarts
– Relaxed local graduate stream
–No job offer required
– Local STEM master’s graduates eligible for 190
(STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
– Work stream open to offshore applicants
– Open to offshore applicants — can apply for 190/491; three years of relevant work experience is one of the most important requirements; over 100 occupations are eligible
– No major changes to requirements for onshore applicants
– 188E investor visa restarts
Queensland has consistently been one of the states with the highest business and investor migration nomination quotas,The 188E restarting this financial year is suited to entrepreneurial founders with innovative business ideas,more details below
【Changes to Be Aware Of】
Small business transfers subject to stricter rules
Trades applicants should prepare early
– Small Business Owner (SBO) stream
– Application requirements won’t change significantly,but the state government will implement stricter regulations around business sales and transfers,more details below
– Higher requirements for Trade occupation applicants
Previously, Queensland Subclass 190 only required IELTS 6 overall for Trade occupation applicants. However, this financial year has clarified thatEOI scores must be at least 75 points, and applicants with higher English proficiency are preferred.We therefore recommendaiming for IELTS 7 in each band (or PTE 65 in each component) for a more secure outcome.
Graduate and work stream requirements summary for this financial year
(final policy subject to the official Queensland Government website)
If you are a Queensland local graduate
(all coursework must have been completed in Queensland)
① If you hold aPhD(can apply for 190/491)
– Completed within the past two years
– Nominated occupation on any of the Department of Home Affairs’ occupation lists and eligible for 190/491 (same applies below)
– No mandatory work/work experience requirement
② If you hold amaster’sdegree (can apply for 190/491)
– Completed within the past two years
– Nominated occupation on any of the Department of Home Affairs’ occupation lists
– If the field of study is STEM, eligible for 190; other fields eligible for 491
– Must have full-time work in Queensland in the nominated occupation or a closely related field; if applying for 491, the work must be in a regional area of Queensland
③ If you hold abachelor’sdegree (can apply for 491)
– Completed within the past two years
– Nominated occupation on any of the Department of Home Affairs’ occupation lists
– GPA must be at least 5.5
– Must have full-time work in a regional area of Queensland in the nominated occupation or a closely related field
If you are looking to apply through the Queensland work stream
① If applying for190and you are anonshoreapplicant
for example, graduates from interstate, or local graduates who do not meet the graduate stream requirements
– EOI score of at least 80 points; at least 75 points for Trade occupation nominations
– IELTS at least 7 in each band, or 8 in each band; Trade occupation nominations are exempt — minimum requirement is 6 in each band, but 7 in each band is preferred by the state government
– At least 6 months of full-time relevant work experience in the nominated occupation in Queensland before lodgement (at least 35 hours per week)
– A full-time job offer for the nominated occupation in Queensland of at least 12 months before lodgement(at least 35 hours per week)
② If applying for190and you are anoffshoreapplicant
– Nominated occupation must be on the Offshore Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL); the listincludes 102 occupations eligible for 190,mainly inhealthcare, engineering, ICT, advanced trades, and tourism and hospitality
– EOI of at least 80 points (some occupations may have exceptions)
– 3 years of work experience relevant to the nominated occupation(some occupations may have exceptions)
– IELTS 7 in each band or 8 in each band (some occupations may have exceptions)
③ If applying for491and you are anonshoreapplicant
for example, graduates from interstate, or local graduates who do not meet the graduate stream requirements
– EOI score of at least 65 points
– IELTS at least 7 in each band or 8 in each band
– At least 3 months of full-time relevant work experience in the nominated occupation in a regional area of Queensland before lodgement (at least35 hours per week)
– A full-time job offer for the nominated occupation in a regional area of Queensland of at least 12 months before lodgement(at least 35 hours per week)
④ If applying for491and you are anoffshoreapplicant
– Nominated occupation must be on the Offshore Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL); the listincludes 114 occupations eligible for 491
– 3 years of work experience relevant to the nominated occupation(some occupations may have exceptions)
– IELTS 7 in each band or 8 in each band(some occupations may have exceptions)
If you are looking to apply through the small business stream
– Application requirements are expected to remain broadly unchanged
– Selling the business or changing the business address requires MQ approval
– A small business can only be used for one 491 application — meaning a new applicant cannot purchase a business from a previous applicant who has already obtained a visa through that business and then lodge a new application
– Business cannot be purchased from a relative
– The business must be acquired via a commercial contract, not a share transfer
– No lending relationship is permitted between buyer and seller
For those planning to apply for 491 through the small business stream — if you have any concerns or questions about what to do with the business after the 491 visa is granted, feel free to come and discuss a Plan B with us.
Queensland local graduates
Interstate applicants seeking Queensland work stream nomination
Concerns about Queensland small business 491
Any questions about Queensland skilled migration state nomination
are all welcome to contact our customer service team below
Queensland business and investor migration this financial year
188E restarts — well worth your attention
There is another major positive update: Queensland will restart the 188E investor visa!
188A/B/C are also expected to continue to be open.
Many of you may not yet be familiar with the 188E — let me give a brief introduction~
The Subclass 188E Entrepreneur visais suited to applicants with innovative entrepreneurial experience who have a developed, innovative business concept (or a startup plan already in progress), a business plan with a strong technology component suitable for venture capital investment,and who plan to implement that business plan in Australia after the visa is granted.
The business plan must secure investment from one or more of the following third-party entities:
(1) A Commonwealth Government agency
(3) A publicly funded research institution
(4) A venture capital investor (AVCLP or ESVCLP)
(5) A Queensland higher education institution
Venture capital investors are currently the most common channel. Newstars provides entrepreneurial consulting and management services.
After the visa is granted, the applicant is required to fulfil the business plan and pass the review conducted after visa approval. You may apply for permanent residency 4 years after passing the review. The 188E primary applicant also needs to meet IELTS 6 in each band.
Success story
The first Chinese applicant in Queensland to obtain a Subclass 188E visa (and the first 188E nomination approved by Queensland state nomination) is our Newstars Brisbane clientIn April 2019, with the professional assistance of the Newstars migration team and the client’s full cooperation, the client successfully secured Queensland 188E state nomination. Approved with just one round of additional information requests and no interview!
Business and investor migration — Newstars is the expert!
We have 20+ MARA-registered migration agents and lawyers
here to support you every step of the way!
If you are interested in Queensland business and investor migration
please contact our customer service team below to arrange a one-on-one assessment
Newstars Group MARA-registered migration agents and lawyer team

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Canberra new financial year preliminary invitation — get nominated in the priority batch! Click“original link — Migration Weekly Bulletin — video edition”
