Business Visa Streams
Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)
The Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) allows business people to own and manage a business, invest or undertake entrepreneurial acitivities in Australia.
Basic Eligibility
- Submit expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect
- Nominated by a State or Territory government agency or the CEO of Austrade
- Invited to apply for the visa
What is it about:
This visa allows you to own and manage a business in Australia, conduct business and investment activity in Australia or undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia. This provisional visa is for people with business skills. It lets you operate a new or existing business in Australia. It is only available to applicants who are nominated by an Australian State or Territory government and meet the points test for this visa. To be nominated, the applicant must lodge an EOI through the Skill Select system.
Who can get Business innovation and Investment 188 Visa?
The innovation points test gives points for various elements of human capital and business innovation. The test also includes objective measures of business performance. It aims to select innovative entrepreneurs who will transfer their skills to Australia and diversify our existing pool of business expertise.
The innovation points test does not apply to Significant investor, Premium investor and Entrepreneur stream.
Points are awarded for: ( see below the points table)
- age
- English language ability
- qualifications
- experience in business or investment
- net personal and business assets
- business turn over state government endorsement
Eligibility requirements:
- have points tested pass mark of minimum 65
- submit an EOI in SkillSelect
- Net personal and business assets of at least AUD 800,000
- Ownership of a business with turnover of at least AUD 500,000 for at least 2 of the last 4 fiscal years; and
- be less than 55 years of age or the nominating jurisdiction must provide their support to waive the age requirement.
- meet health and character requirement
- meet additional criteria of the stream in which you are applying for
- Meet the pass mark in the Business innovation and investment Points test (currently 65 points)
- Have an overall successful career in business
Stay period:
This is a 4-year temporary visa, to own and manage a new or existing business in Australia.
A 2-year extension is possible once the applicant has held the subclass 188 visa for 3 years, making it 6-year maximum stay period from the date of grant of original 188 Visa.
Where can it be Lodge
The applicants can either be in Australia or overseas to lodge this visa. If the applicant is in Australia when 188 visa is lodged then they must hold a Substantive Visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa.
Note that business migration can be extremely complex, and even determining whether you have a good chance of qualifying can be difficult. In addition, you may be able to qualify in a number of different business migration categories. Most investor and business migrant visas require a state nomination before applying. Please make a booking to go through your eligibility.
Below is a comparison of the primary 6 categories under the Business Innovation & Investment scheme.
Streams under Business innovation and Investment 188 visa
| Business Innovation stream 188 visa | Business Innovation Investor stream 188 | Significant Investor stream 188 | Premium Investor stream 188 |
|---|---|---|---|
| This visa stream requires state or territory Nomination | This visa stream requires state or territory Nomination | Visa applicants do not need to satisfy the innovation points test and there are no upper age limits. The visa stream features a residence requirement of 160 days spent in Australia over four years while holding the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (Subclass 188) visa. | Premium Investor stream 188 visa – Applicant must be nominated by Austrade and invest AUD15 million in Australia. |
| Applicant must lodge a designated investment with the treasury corporation of the state or territory that is nominating you. | The investor, or the primary visa applicant, can make the complying investment personally or together with the investor’s spouse or de facto partner. | Funds used to finance your designated investment of AUD 15 million must be personally owned and unencumbered and must have been legally accumulated as a result of your business and/or investment activities. Need to provide a signed declaration listing the sources of funds for your asset portfolio, and that these funds were lawfully acquired. | |
| Be less than 55 years old | The actual rate of return on the investment will be set when you deposit funds in the designated investment. Interest rates change regularly and may differ between state and territory treasury corporations. | If the complying investment is made through a company, the company must be an ASIC registered company; and the primary visa applicant or together with the investor’s spouse or de facto partner must own all of the issued shares of the company | The applicant must |
| You have at least 65 points on the Department points test for the Business Innovation & Investment visa. | Designated investments must only be made when you are advised in writing by the department. | If the complying investment is made through a trust, the trust must be a lawfully established and valid trust; and the primary visa applicant or together with the investor’s spouse or de facto partner, are the sole trustees and beneficiaries of the trust. | receive an invitation from Austrade to apply for this visa and the make the appropriate investment |
| For at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the application is made, you had a qualifying ownership interest1 in up to 2 main businesses that had an annual turnover of at least $A500,000. | Funds used to finance your designated investment must be personally owned and unencumbered and must have been legally accumulated as a result of your business and/or investment activities. | Through these investment structures, the investor may hold complying investments in any proportion. | required to make investments of AUD15 million in Australia and hold them for at least 12 months |
| Your (or your and your spouse’s combined) business and personal assets have a net value of at least $A800,000 which are available for the conduct or establishment of a business in Australia and are lawfully acquired and available for transfer to Australia within 2 years of the grant of a State/Territory Sponsored Business Innovation & Investment (Provisional) visa. | Applicant must: | “Eligible investments” for the purposes of the Investor Stream include: | provide a signed declaration on your proposed method of fund transfer to make the complying significant investments. |
| Provide an overview of your complying investment intentions. | |||
| You have not engaged in a business where a provision of professional, technical or trade services took up more than 50% of your time. | Be less than 55 years old | Ownership interests in a business | Evidence to support your source of funds declaration: |
| You have a realistic commitment to establish or participate in a qualifying business in Australia and maintain a substantial ownership and direct and continuous involvement in the management of that business. | You have at least 65 points on the department points test for the Business Innovation & Investment visa. | Cash on deposit | for business income, provide evidence of business ownership, performance and profit distribution. For example, company registration and shareholder records, financial statements or taxation records |
| You have demonstrated that there is a need to be temporarily in Australia to conduct or establish the proposed business activity. | This option requires you to have managed investments or owned a business, and to be willing to invest AUD 1.5 million in Australian State or Territory Government bonds. | Stocks or bonds | for investment income, provide evidence of investment activities and performance. For example, statements issued by stocks trading company, property purchase and sale contracts, leases or investment product contracts. |
| Neither you nor your spouse have a history of involvement in business or investment activities that are of a nature that is not generally acceptable in Australia. | You have had business and personal net assets of at least AUD 2.25 million for the last 2 fiscal years | Real estate | for gifted or inherited assets, provide duly witnessed gift deeds or wills. Also provide other evidence demonstrating how the original owner accumulated the assets |
| Provisional visa holders in the Business Innovation stream may be eligible to apply for an extension to their provisional visa for an additional 2 years if the extra time is needed to meet the criteria for the permanent visa, subclass 888. | You must make an investment of AUD 1.5 million in Australian State or Territory bonds prior to the grant of the visa | Gold or bullion | for a historical accumulation of wealth where official verifiable evidence is no longer available, provide bank records demonstrating continuous ownership of funds over a substantial period. |
| You have 3 years of experience either managing a qualifying business or “eligible investments”, and have shown a high level of management skill | Loan to a business | for assets held in Australia, provide evidence which links the assets to the declared sources | |
| For at least 1 of the last 5 fiscal years, you have either: | Visa holders can extend their visa term if they would like to be given that they satisfy the extension requirements. They will be allowed to extend their provisional visa by an additional two years, with a maximum of two extensions permitted. | Have a genuine commitment to continue business and investment activity in Australia after the conclusion of the provisional visa | |
| managed a business in which you hold a 10% shareholding; or | |||
| submit an expression of interest in SkillSelect | |||
| managed “eligible investments” of at least AUD 1.5 million | be nominated by a State or Territory government | ||
| make investments of at least five million Australian dollars into complying investments. | |||
| Business Innovation Extension Stream | Significant Investor Extension Stream | ||
| If you already hold a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa in the Innovation stream, you can apply for this visa to extend your stay in Australia for up to an additional 2 years making it 6-year maximum stay period from the date of grant of original 188 Visa | If you already hold a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa in the Significant Investor stream, you can apply for this visa to extend your stay in Australia for up to an additional 4 years | ||
| You must have already held a Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa Significant Investor stream for at least 3 years, or a Subclass 188 visa in the Significant Investor Extension Stream | |||
| You must have already held a Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa Innovation stream for at least 3 years | Immediate family members can be included in the application | ||
| Immediate family members can be included in the application |
| Entrepreneur Stream 188 visa |
|---|
| Applicant must be undertaking, or proposing to undertake, a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia. You must have a genuine intention to continue this activity. This visa stream requires state or territory Nomination Applicant must: • be under 55 years of age • have competent English and be able to provide evidence of this at the time you are invited to apply for the visa • be undertaking or proposing to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia and have a genuine intention to continue this activity A Complying Entrepreneur Activity is an activity that relates to an innovative idea that will lead to the commercialisation of a product or service in Australia or the development of an enterprise or business in Australia. This activity must not relate to any of the following excluded categories: • Residential real estate • Labour Hire • Purchase of an existing enterprise or a franchise in Australia. An activity is a complying entrepreneur activity if all of the following requirements are met: • you have one or more legally enforceable agreements to receive funding with a total of at least AUD200 000 from one of the following entities: • Commonwealth Government agency • State or Territory Government • Publicly Funded Research Organisation • Investor registered as an Australian Venture Capital Limited Partnership or Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership • Specified Higher Education Provider • under the agreement at least 10 per cent of the funding must be payable to the entrepreneurial entity within 12 months of the day the activity starts to be undertaken in Australia; • you held at least 30 per cent interest in your entrepreneurial entity when you entered into the agreement. |
Points table for Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) & Business Investor
Points criteria are assessed at the time of invitation.
You will only be awarded one set of points under each factor. For example, if you have an English language ability of Proficient, you will be awarded 10 points for Proficient English and not points for both Proficient English and Vocational English.
The points test does not apply to you if you are applying in the Significant Investor stream, the Premium Investor stream, or the Business Innovation Extension stream or the Significant Investor Extension stream.
| Criteria | Points |
|---|---|
| Age | |
| 18- 24 Yrs | 20 |
| 25- 32 yrs | 30 |
| 33- 39 Yrs | 25 |
| 40- 44 Yrs | 20 |
| 45- 54 Yrs | 15 |
| 55 & Older | 0 |
| English Language Skills | |
| Vocational English ( IELTS overall 5 each) | 5 |
| Proficient English ( IELTS overall 7 each | 10 |
| Financial Assets | |
| Net business and personal assets of you, your partner or you and your partner combined in each of the preceding 2 fiscal years of at least: | |
| Not less than AUD800,000 | |
| 5 | |
| Not less than AUD1.3 million | |
| 15 | |
| Not less than AUD1.8 million | |
| 25 | |
| Not less than AUD2.25 million | |
| 30 | |
| Business Turnover | |
| You had an ownership interest in one or more main businesses that had an annual turnover in at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the time of invitation to apply for the visa: | |
| Not less than AUD500,000 | |
| Not less than AUD1 million | 5 |
| Not less than AUD1.5 million | 15 |
| Not less than AUD2.0 million | 25 |
| 35 | |
| Education | |
| Trade certificate, diploma or bachelor degree by an Australian education institute; or a bachelor qualification recognised by an educational institution of a recognised standard | 5 |
| A bachelor’s degree in business, science or technology by an Australian institution; or a bachelor qualification in business, science or technology by an educational institution of a recognised standard | |
| 10 | |
| Business Experience | |
| Not less than 4 years within the preceding 5 years | 10 |
| Not less than 7 years within the preceding 8 years | 15 |
| Investor Stream | |
| Immediately before the time of application you held eligible investments of at least AUD100,000 held for: | |
| Not less than 4 years | 10 |
| Not less than 7 years | 15 |
| Business Innovation Qualification | |
| Patents or designs registered not less than 1 year before that time and used in the day to day activities of the main business | 15 |
| Trademarks registered not less than 1 year before that time and used in the day to day activities of the main business | |
| An ownership in and day to day participation in the management of one or more main business operated under a formal joint venture agreement/s entered into no less than 1 year before the time | 10 |
| An ownership interest in a main business/s that derives no less than 50% of its annual turnover from export trade | 5 |
| An ownership interest in a main buisness/s not more that 5 years before | |
| ·had an average annualised growth in turnover that was greater than 20% per annum over 3 continuous fiscal years; and | 15 |
| · at least one of the 3 fiscal years employed 10 or more employees for a total number of hours that was at least the total number of hours that would have been worked by 10 full-time employees | |
| The nominating State or Territory government agency has determined that your proposed business is of unique and important benefit to the State or Territory where the nominating government agency is located | 10 |
| An ownership interest in a main business/s that received: | |
| a grant from a government body in your home country of at least AUD10,000 for the purposes of early phase start up of a business, product commercialisation, business development or business expansion | |
| or | |
| venture capital funding of at least AUD100,000 not more than 4 years before the time of the invitation for the purposes of early phase start up of a business, product commercialisation, business development or business expansion | |
| 10 | |
| 10 | |
Employer Nomination ( Subclass 186)
Basic Eligibility
- You must have the necessary skills for the job
- You must be nominated by an Australian employer
- You must meet our health and character requirements
| Direct Entry stream | Labour agreement stream | Temporary Residence Transition stream |
|---|---|---|
| This visa lets skilled workers, who are nominated by an employer, live and work in Australia permanently. | This visa lets skilled workers who are nominated by their employer live and work in Australia permanently. The Labour Agreement stream might be for you if you currently work, or will work, for an employer who is party to a labour agreement. | This visa lets skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, live and work in Australia permanently. |
| you must be nominated by an Australian employer | The employer must have a labour agreement | You must hold a 457, TSS or related bridging visa A, B or C |
| your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations. | Stay | Usually, you must have worked for your employer full-time for at least three years |
| you must have at least Competent English | Permanently | You must be nominated by your employer |
| Cost | ||
| Stay | From AUD4,045 | Stay |
| Permanently | Processing Time | Permanent |
| Cost | Unavailable due to low volume of applications | Cost |
| From AUD4,045 | Details | From AUD4,045 |
| Processing Time | Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) | Processing Time |
| 75% of applications: 61 days | 75% of applications: 4 months | |
| 90% of applications: 82 days | 90% of applications: 7 months | |
| Details | ||
| Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) |