Turning 55 is an opportunity to transform your circumstances – taking the next step. Australia does value you and recognizes your contacts, skills and experience by providing a number of visa options. Immigration policy is however skewed towards attracting younger persons because of their capacity to make a longer period of contribution to government revenue before reaching retirement age. There are still a range of visa options, and in some ways there are more options. It is more important to focus on what you want to do in Australia and then choose an option suited to our circumstances.

If you want to go into business on a day to day basis : There are business skills categories available however you will need to prove that your proposed business activities represent exceptional economic benefit to Australia, and you will need sponsorship from a State or Territory Government.

If you want to go into business but only on a part-time basis :

If you are financially secure but still wish to be involved in business then on a retirement visa you are entitled to work part time. Changes to the migration regulations now allow retirement visa holders to work up to 20 hours per week.

If you want the flexibility to travel to and from Australia and stay from 4 weeks to 4 years:

Provided you are financially secure you could also apply for a retirement visa. This visa requires you to meet certain financial thresholds, which can either be a lump sum that you need to transfer to Australia or a mixture of a smaller capital transfer combined with a guaranteed income stream. This 2nd option is designed for retirees who have their capital tied up in income generating assets and who do not want to disturb that structure but are able to rely in this income for meeting day to day expenses while living in Australia.

If you are a parent of an Australian permanent resident:

There are a number of parent visa options. For those who are prepared to wait because of financial circumstances, there are parent visa categories that are presently taking as long as 10 years to process. There are other parent categories where you are required to make a contribution to the expected medical costs you may incur later in life. Presently this is a figure of $25,000 per person. If you don’t meet the criteria, such as the balance of family test, then you could consider the retirement visa mentioned above.

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