Wouter(44)

I had a construction company in Rotterdam for fifteen years. Doing well, but margins were shrinking, regulations increasing and competition fierce. When I met an Australian business partner at a trade fair in Dubai who told me about the building boom in Perth, the idea started to grow.

The Business Innovation and Investment visa (Subclass 188A) was my pathway. You need a turnover of at least AUD 750,000 over the past two years, net assets of AUD 1,250,000 and a business plan for Australia. I also needed a state nomination — Western Australia had construction on its priority list, which helped enormously.

Once in Perth, my first step was applying for an ABN (Australian Business Number) and registering my Pty Ltd (similar to a BV/LLC). The bureaucracy is less than in the Netherlands — within a week I had my ABN and could send invoices. The ASIC registration for the Pty Ltd cost AUD 538 and was done in three days.

Australian business culture is different from Dutch culture. Less hierarchical, more informal. My first client meeting was at a barbecue — in board shorts. But make no mistake: Australians are tough negotiators. They value directness (which helps as a Dutchman) but also expect reliability. "A deal is a deal" is taken seriously here.

After two years on the 188A visa, I could transition to the Subclass 888 visa — the permanent variant. For that you need to demonstrate your business has at least AUD 300,000 in turnover and that you employ Australian workers. At that point I had eight staff members and AUD 2.1 million in revenue. The application was approved within six weeks.

Perth is an underrated city for entrepreneurs. The mining and construction sectors are booming, there's less competition than in Sydney or Melbourne and the quality of life is exceptional. I live in Fremantle, ten minutes from the beach. My kids surf after school. And I run a company that could never have grown this fast in the Netherlands.