In practice, an Australian Business Sponsor (ABS) and an Overseas Business Sponsor (OBS) are the two forms of SBS . This is because, depending on whether a company operates inside or outside of Australia, certain criteria must be met in order to become an SBS.
Employers and businesses from other countries can sponsor employees under the TSS 482 visa program if they do not have operations in Australia.
Overseas enterprises must show that they are legally founded under the relevant laws of the nation in which they operate to the satisfaction of the decision maker. This means that if the home country’s laws have a company registration system, the applicant is required to be registered in line with those rules and procedures. Applicants who operate a business in their home country without registering in a scenario where this is permitted will not be regarded to have met the “lawful” component of the “lawfully operating a business” criterion.
- If a foreign business registered in Australia is also operating a business in Australia (see Assessment of ‘lawfulness’ – Australian business in respect to ARBN and ABN), the Australian registered entity of that overseas firm should be the applicant for SBS approval.
- It is appropriate for an overseas business to be the applicant for SBS approval if it is registered in Australia with an ARBN and/or ABN but there is no other evidence that they are actually operating in Australia, that is, all supporting documentation points to the business operation being conducted exclusively outside Australia.
| Type of sponsor | Start date of new sponsorship period | Cease date of new sponsorship period |
| Australian Business Sponsor | Unless the person is already an SBS sponsor, in which case it begins immediately after their previous SBS approval expires, the day the approval is granted. | 5 years after the day on which the approval is granted. |
| Overseas Business Sponsor | The day on which the approval is granted. | 5 years after the approval was obtained, or immediately after a further approval was granted. |
Cons
Instead of working for a “related entity” like Australian business sponsors, the TSS 482 holder must work directly for the sponsor.
Permanent visas such as the ENS and RSMS are not available to Overseas Business Sponsors.
Having a business in a country other than Australia
Typically, the OBS requires proof that the applicant’s goal in obtaining recognition as an SBS is to:
- facilitate the sponsorship of TSS visa holders/applicants who will start, or help in the establishment of, a business activity in Australia with international ties on the applicant’s behalf; or
- perform or help the applicant in satisfying a contractual obligation
The following are some examples of forms of evidence that the decision maker might consider:
- a commercial or corporate expansion strategy;
- a joint venture arrangement between an application for normal business sponsorship and an Australian party
- a contract between an application for standard business sponsorship and an Australian party
