Business and Investment Visas
The Business Innovation and Investment Programme was designed for business owners and investors who have a successful overseas track record and are willing to invest into new or existing businesses in Australia or want to invest in an Australian state or territory government bonds. The two main categories in this programme are the Provisional Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 188) Visa and the Permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 888) Visa.
It is important to note that Business and Investment Visas are quite complex thus it is advisable that you contact us for further information on these visas.
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The Provisional Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 188) Visa will allow you to remain in Australia for up to four years and three months and allows you to either own and manage a business in Australia, conduct business and investment activity in Australia or undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia.
To obtain this visa, you:
Must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect and be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government before being invited to apply for this visa;
Must be invited to apply for the visa;
Must have experience in owning and operating a business (Business Innovation stream); or
Must have at least AUD 1.5 million to invest (Investor stream); or
Must have at least AUD 5 million to invest (Significant Investor stream); or
Must have at least AUD 15 million to invest (Premium Investor stream);
And all members of your family unit must meet health and character requirements;
Must meet additional requirements of the relevant stream.
The three most common streams applicants apply for are the:
Business Innovation stream: for people with business skills who want to continue to establish, develop and manage a new or existing business in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government. They must also have been in Australia and held either A Provisional Business Innovation and Investment Visa (Subclass 188) in the same stream or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa, for at least one of the two years immediately before applying.
Investor stream: for people who want to make a designated investment of at least AUD $1.5 million in an Australian state or territory and maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government.
Significant Investor stream: for people who are willing to invest at least AUD $5 million into complying significant investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants can be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government.
If you are applying under the Business Innovation Stream or the Investor Stream you are required to meet a pass mark of at least 65 points in the points test. Points can be awarded for the following:
The points table highlights the basis on which points are awarded. These factors are assessed at the time you are invited to apply for this visa in most cases.
If you are successful in obtaining the Provisional Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 188) Visa, it will allow you to:
Establish a new or develop an existing business in Australia; or
Invest in Australia, make a designated investment with an Australian state or territory government, make and maintain complying investments in Australia or participate in a complying entrepreneurial activity in Australia; and
Travel in and out of Australia for the life of your visa (four years and three months from the visa grant date if after 1 July 2015);
Bring members of your family unit with you to Australia;
Seek permanent residence by applying for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (Subclass 888) Visa.
The Permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 888) Visa is the second stage of the Provisional Business Innovation and Investment Visa (Subclass 188). As this is a second stage visa, it is required that you have fulfilled the requirements of your provisional visa prior to applying for this.
This permanent visa will allow you to remain in Australia permanently and allows you to either continue to own and manage a business in Australia, continue to conduct business and investment activity in Australia or continue to undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia.
You may be eligible to apply for this visa if:
You hold a relevant stream of the subclass 188 visa or 444 visa (and met all the requirements of your Business Innovation and Investment visa in the stream in which you first applied);
You are nominated by a state or territory government agency or Austrade;
You have owned and operated a business in Australia for at least 2 years (Business Innovation stream); or
You have held a designated investment of AUD 1.5 million for 4 years (Investor stream); or
You have held a complying investment of AUD 5 million for 4 years (Significant Investor stream); or
You have held a complying investment of AUD 15 million for 1 year (Premium Investor stream);
You and your family have met the health and character requirements;
Are a secondary visa holder who is the spouse or de facto partner of a Subclass 188 Visa holder in the Investor or Business Innovation stream and can meet all the primary criteria of the Subclass 888 Visa in the relevant stream;
You hold a Special Category visa (subclass 444) and have met the requirements of the Business Innovation Stream;
You and your partner have not been involved in any unacceptable business or investment activities;
You have met additional financial and other requirements of the same stream of this visa.
The three most common streams applicants apply for are the:
Business Innovation stream: for people with business skills who want to continue to establish, develop and manage a new or existing business in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government. They must also have been in Australia and held either A Provisional Business Innovation and Investment Visa (Subclass 188) in the same stream or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa, for at least one of the two years immediately before applying.
Investor stream: for people who want to continue to make a designated investment of at least AUD $1.5 million in an Australian state or territory and maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government. They must also have been in Australia and held their Provisional Business Innovation and Investment Visa (Subclass 188) in the Investor stream for at least two of the four years immediately before they apply. Additionally, you and your partner must have held a designated investment with an Australian state or territory for at least four years.
Significant Investor stream: for people who are willing to continue their investment of at least AUD $5 million into complying significant investments in Australia and want to continue to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants can be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government. They must also have held a Provisional Business Innovation and Investment Visa (Subclass 188) in the Significant Investor Stream at the time of application. Please contact us for further details on eligibility for this visa.
If you are successful in obtaining the Permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 888) Visa, it will allow you and eligible members of your family unit to:
Stay in Australia indefinitely;
Work and study in Australia;
Enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses;
Apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible);
Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence;
Travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted (after that time, you will need a resident return visa or another visa to return to Australia).