The Supporting Innovation in South Australia (SISA) program is a new stream for the 408 visa, frequently used by entertainment industry workers.

The SISA is a pilot program that will run from 21 November 2018 to 30 November 2021. The strong focus of this visa is on entrepreneurship migration in South Australia, as the South Australian government strives to stimulate innovation.

Learn more about the SISA program by clicking here.

SISA Application Process

Applicants looking to go through the SISA program need to follow the steps below:

1. Obtain one of the following:
   • Chief Entrepreneur endorsement, or
   • Ecosystem provider support
2. Immigration SA application
3. Apply for a subclass 408 visa under the Australian Government endorsed event stream

Requirements for the SISA program

Requirements for this program include:

• Must be under 45 years old
• Have at least vocational English
• Have sufficient funds to support yourself and any family members
• Have a business concept, idea or proposal that satisfies the following:

• • in-depth knowledge or expertise in the product or service you are targeting
  • business concept demonstrates genuine innovation, novel intellectual property, or high barriers to entry
  • commitment to developing a start-up project in SA
  • secured support of a selected service provider who has reviewed your project proposal
  • the project has strong potential to create local employment and export revenue for SA
  • the project will have at least 50% of its assets and 50% of staff located in SA

The program is open to entrepreneurs in all different industries, but high-tech business will be prioritised for consideration, including the 7 target sectors for the GTI Global Talent Visa, as well as:

• Robotics, generally
• Film and other media
• Space (South Australia has recently been set up as the home for the new Australian Space Agency and space industry entrepreneurs will benefit greatly from this).

Exclusions from the SISA program

Specifically, there are a number of businesses which cannot be pursued, which include exporting/importing businesses, consultancies, hospitality businesses, retail businesses and traditional medicine businesses (including a range of different practices).

Also, any persons who currently hold a student visa of any subclass, a subclass 403 visa or a subclass 771 visa will not be considered.

While able to apply, 485 visa holders will only be considered if they are working with an ecosystem provider.

408 Temporary Activity Visa processing times

According to Immigration SA, it currently takes eco-system service providers an average of 8 weeks to process applications for support. It then takes Immigration SA a further 2 weeks to process applications that have secured service provider support. Once SA government endorsement is secured, the application to the Department of Home Affairs is merely a formality. However, this may still take some further time to be processed.

How can Work Visa Lawyers help?

Work Visa Lawyers is highly experienced in all parts of the SISA visa application process. We are able to assist with all aspects of the application, and can also provide advice in relation to:

• your eligibility for a visa under the SISA program

• application to Immigration SA and visa application to the Department of Home Affairs

• securing support from one of South Australia's innovation eco-system service providers

Work Visa Lawyers will provide an eligibility assessment before advising you to proceed with a visa application.

Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents look forward to assisting you with your Australian visa or appeal.

Based in Adelaide South Australia, we provide Australian Immigration advice to people and businesses from all over the world.

Contact us on (08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Book an appointment with one of our experienced Immigration Lawyers and Registered Migration Agents here.