Business Innovation and Investment

The subclass 188 visa is for people who want to own and manage a new or existing business in Australia, or to invest in Australia.

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.

The visa includes four streams:

• Business Innovation stream: for people with business skills who want to establish, develop and manage a new or existing business in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government.
• Investor stream: for people who want to make a designated investment of at least AUD1.5million 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 AUD5million 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.
• Premium Investor stream: for people who are willing to invest at least AUD15million into complying premium investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by Austrade on behalf of the Australian government.
• Holding this visa is the first stage before becoming eligible to qualify for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa.

What you Can Do

This visa will allow you to:

• establish a new or develop an existing business and/or invest in Australia, make a designated investment with an Australian state or territory government or make and maintain complying investments in Australia
• travel in and out of Australia for the life of your visa
• bring family members with you to Australia
• seek permanent residence by applying for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa

Applicant Requirements

You may be eligible for this visa if you:

• you are nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government
• you are invited to apply
• you (and all your family members) meet certain health and character requirements
• you meet the additional requirements for the stream in which you apply

The subclass 888 visa is the second stage of the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa. You can apply for it after you have fulfilled the requirements of your provisional visa.

You do not need to submit a new Expression of Interest or be invited to apply for this visa. You ne​​ed to be nominated by a state or territory government agency or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government if you are seeking to satisfy the primary criteria.

What you Can Do

This is a permanent residence visa. It lets you and any family members who have also been granted this visa:

• 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)

Applicant Requirements

You may be eligible for this visa if you:

• you are the primary visa holder of a provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 188) and have met all the requirements of your Business Innovation and Investment visa in the stream in which you first applied; or
• you are the secondary visa holder who is the spouse or de facto partner of a provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 188) holder in the Investor or Business Innovation stream and can meet all the primary criteria requirements of the permanent Business Innovation and Investment visa in the relevant stream; or
• you hold a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or a Business (Long stay) visa (subclass 457IE) and have met the requirements of the business innovation stream; and
• you and your partner have not been involved in any unacceptable business or investment activities