Business Innovation and Investment
Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) Visa – Subclass 888
What is Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) Visa?
This visa grants the Applicant with a permanent stay. The visa lets holders of the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (Subclass 188) continue business activities in Australia indefinitely.
There are five (5) streams under the Business Innovation and Investment Permanent Visa (Subclass 888).
A) Application Process for Business Innovation Stream
ownership and management
For the 2 years immediately before the application is made, the Applicant must have:
had, and continue to have, an ownership interest in up to two main businesses in Australia
had a direct and continuous management role in that business or businesses
submitted Business Activity Statements to the Australian Taxation Office
an Australian Business Number for each of the Applicant’s main businesses
For the 24 months immediately before the application is made, the Applicant must own:
51% of a business with a turnover of less than AUD400,000 per year, or
30% of a business with a turnover of AUD400,000 or more per year, or
10% of a publicly listed company
Business Acquisition
This is for the Applicant who bought main business from a person who applied for or held:
Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) Visa or
Permanent business skills visa (in subclasses 890, 891, 892 or 893).
Have an annual business turnover of AUD300,000
For the 12 months before the application, the main business must have had an annual turnover of at least AUD300,000.
Assets and employees requirement
For the 12 months immediately before the application is made, the applicant or partner must have show at least 2 of the following:
assets of AUD200,000 net in the Applicant’s main business (or 2 main businesses) in Australia
personal and business assets in Australia of AUD600,000 net
equivalent of at least 2 full-time eligible employees in the Applicant’s main business
if the Applicant wants to meet the employee rule, the employees must work in main business and:
be Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, or holders of valid New Zealand passports
not be members of the applicant’s family
Meet residency requirement
The Applicant must have lived in Australia for at least 1 of the 2 years immediately before the application.
The Applicant’s business history
Neither the applicant nor their partner must have a history of involvement in business activities generally not acceptable in Australia.
Genuine and realistic commitment
The Visa Applicant must demonstrate a genuine and realistic commitment to establish or participate in an existing qualifying business in Australia. The Visa Applicant must also have a genuine and realistic commitment to maintain a substantial ownership in this business and to maintain a direct and continuous involvement in the management of the qualifying business from day to day. For example, it makes decisions that affect the overall direction and performance of the qualifying business.
A qualifying business is one operated for the purpose of making profit through the provision of goods, services, or goods and services, as distinct from the provision of rental property. It must not be operated primarily or substantially for the purpose of speculative or passive investment.
State Nomination to be active
The Applicant is, amongst all other requirements, contingent on being nominated by the relevant State or Territory government agency and this nomination has not been withdrawn.
Level of English language
The Applicant’s family members aged 18 or over must have at least functional English if they do not pay a second instalment of the visa application charge for their subclass 188 visa. Otherwise, they need to pay for second instalment charge when the department asks them to.
B) Application Process for Investor Stream
hold a subclass 188 in the investor stream
have held a designated investment of AUD 1.5 million
When this visa is applied, the Applicant needs to invest 1.5 million in an Australian state or territory for at least 4 years.
Meet residency requirement
The Applicant must have lived in Australia for at least 2 of the 4 years immediately before the application.
Genuine and realistic commitment
The Visa Applicant must demonstrate a genuine and realistic commitment to establish or participate in an existing qualifying business in Australia. The Visa Applicant must also have a genuine and realistic commitment to maintain a substantial ownership in this business and to maintain a direct and continuous involvement in the management of the qualifying business from day to day. For example, it makes decisions that affect the overall direction and performance of the qualifying business.
A qualifying business is one operated for the purpose of making profit through the provision of goods, services, or goods and services, as distinct from the provision of rental property. It must not be operated primarily or substantially for the purpose of speculative or passive investment.
The Applicant’s business history
Neither the applicant nor their partner must have a history of involvement in business activities generally not acceptable in Australia.
State Nomination to be active
The Applicant is, amongst all other requirements, contingent on being nominated by the relevant State or Territory government agency and this nomination has not been withdrawn.
Level of English language
The Applicant’s family members aged 18 or over must have at least functional English if they do not pay a second instalment of the visa application charge for their subclass 188 visa. Otherwise, they need to pay for second instalment charge when the department asks them to.
C) Application Process for Significant Investor Stream
D) Application Process for Premium Investor Stream
Stage 1: Austrade Nomination
There is no need to submit a new EOI to the Department. However, a new Austrade nomination must be obtained first. For more information, visit Austrade.
One of the visa requirements is that the Austrade has not withdrawn the nomination at the time of invitation.
Stage 2: Visa Application
Additional Criteria for Premium Investor Stream
+ Stream – Premium Investor Stream
The visa applicant must hold a subclass 188D visa for at least 12 months at the time of invitation;
Obtain a positive Austrade Nomination depending on the stream;
No adverse business history for the visa applicants or their spouses (or de facto partner);
Visa applicants or their spouses (or de facto partner) have a satisfactory record in the past with Australian laws
The visa applicants (and their de facto partner) demonstrates realistic commitment to maintain their business or investment activities in Australia;
All public interest criteria are met, particularly the health and character requirement
Health requirements:
All persons included in the application will be required to undertake a medical examination prior to their visa being issued.
When applying, all persons included in the application must:
declare whether they have a medical condition that is likely to require ongoing support from community or government services
declare whether they have been diagnosed with Tuberculosis or any other serious diseases that might be a threat to Australian Community
Character requirements:
All persons included in the application will be required to obtain a police clearance certificate for all countries they have lived in for greater than twelve months in the last ten years.
When applying, all persons included in the application must provide all requested information, declare all criminal offences, truthfully answer all questions
E) Application Process for Entrepreneur Stream
Stage 1: State/Territory Nomination
There is no need to submit a new EOI to the Department. However, a new State/Territor nomination must be obtained first.
The applicants will need to apply through the appropriate State or Territory agency and following the relevant instructions and requirements of each State or Territory.
You may wish to visit the following links to each State/Territory Department for more information:
New South Wales: https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/live-and-work-in-nsw/visas-and-immigration/business-migration
Victoria: https://liveinmelbourne.vic.gov.au/migrate/business-investor-visas
Queensland: https://migration.qld.gov.au/business-visa-options/
Australian Capital Territory: http://www.canberrayourfuture.com.au/portal/migrating/article/business-skills-visa-act-nomination/
South Australia: https://www.migration.sa.gov.au/business-migrants
Western Australia: https://www.businessmigration.wa.gov.au/business-migration
Northern Territory: https://theterritory.com.au/migrate/migrate-for-business
Each State or Territory has its own criteria to determining whether or not to nominate particular visa applicant, therefore the applicants should always consult the relevant State or Territory government in relation to their respective criteria.
Stage 2: Visa Application
Additional Criteria for Entrepreneur Stream
Similar to other streams under the Business Innovation and Investment Visa, applicants under the Entrepreneur stream need to satisfy the following requirements:
The visa applicant must hold a subclass 188E visa for at least 4 years at the time of invitation, and has resided in Australia for at least 2 years of the 4 years;
Obtain a positive State/Territory Nomination depending on the stream;
No adverse business history for the visa applicants or their spouses (or de facto partner);
Visa applicants or their spouses (or de facto partner) have a satisfactory record in the past with Australian laws
The visa applicants (and their de facto partner) demonstrates realistic commitment to maintain their business or investment activities in Australia;
All public interest criteria are met, particularly the health and character requirement
Health requirements:
All persons included in the application will be required to undertake a medical examination prior to their visa being issued.
When applying, all persons included in the application must:
declare whether they have a medical condition that is likely to require ongoing support from community or government services
declare whether they have been diagnosed with Tuberculosis or any other serious diseases that might be a threat to Australian Community
Character requirements:
All persons included in the application will be required to obtain a police clearance certificate for all countries they have lived in for greater than twelve months in the last ten years.
When applying, all persons included in the application must provide all requested information, declare all criminal offences, truthfully answer all questions.
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What Questions Do Migration Agents Ask Our Accredited Specialists
Under what business structure, can a job placement company, apply to be a sponsor with the sole purpose of charging a fee to visa applicants? And is there a method which would allow the sponsor to place the visa applicant with another unrelated business?
How can employers charge a payment to the visa applicants in exchange to sponsor, without being caught under the immigration offence ‘cash for visa’?
How many types of visas (including streams), can a Temporary Activities Sponsor benefit from, in sponsoring more candidates? And are there any difference in the sponsorship obligation?
Can a visa applicant pay for costs related to the visa applicant? or must the Sponsor pay for all costs? How do I explain & educate my client, a large company who does not wish to pay for any costs for the sponsorship because the Director feels that the visa applicant has more to benefit than the company.
In what circumstances will a visa applicant lose their right to appeal a refusal?