Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)
188A Business Innovation stream
Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation Stream, also known as 188A visa program, is tailored for the shareholders of small and medium-sized enterprises. The 188A visa grants its holders the right to stay in Australia for up to 4 years.
Applicant must have:
Eligibility
1. Be nominated: You must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency, before being invited to apply for this visa. The State or Territory government agency that nominates you must not withdraw their nomination after you apply, or we will be unable to grant you a visa.
2. Have business ownership
For 2 out of 4 fiscal years immediately before you receive an invitation to apply, you must have had an ownership stake in 1 or 2 businesses that had at least AUD500,000 turnover in each of those 2 years.
Whether you have 1 or 2 businesses, you must own at least:
If your business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent less than half your time providing those services, rather than general management of the business.
3. Own personal and business assets of at least AUD800,000:
When you are invited to apply for this visa, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net business and personal assets of at least AUD800,000. Your funds must be available to transfer to Australia within 2 years of us granting the visa.
4. Score at least 65 on the points test:
You must score at least 65 points on the points test.
You can get points for many reasons, including your:
5. Have a successful business career
You must have a successful business career and a genuine desire to continuously own and manage a business in Australia.
6. Be under 55:
You will not receive an invitation if you are aged 55 or older at the time of the invitation to apply for the visa. If you are older, a State or Territory might invite you to apply for this visa if your business will be of exceptional economic benefit.
7. Not have a history of involvement in unacceptable activities: You and your partner must have had no history of involvement in business or investment activities that are of a nature that is not generally acceptable in Australia.
8. Have functional English: All applicants aged 18 or over at the time of application must either have at least functional English or you will be asked to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge
Meet other requirements:
Application Cost
This visa costs AUD5,375 for the main applicant
There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you:
The second instalment charges are:
Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888)
888A Business Innovation stream
This visa lets holders of the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Business Innovation stream or the Business Innovation Extension stream, or holders of a subclass 444 (Special Category) visa, or certain holders of a subclass 457 (Business (Long Stay) visa, stay permanently.
Eligibility
You must be the primary holder of a:
You can also apply if you are the secondary visa holder of a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa and:
2. Be nominated:
You must have a current nomination from a state or territory government agency.
When you applied for your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa, you gave us an expression of interest. A state or territory saw your expression of interest and nominated you.
You do not need to provide a new Expression of Interest. But the state or territory needs to confirm that your nomination is still current.
3. Own and manage a business in Australia
For the 2 years immediately before you apply, you must have:
For the 24 months immediately before you apply, you must own at least:
Business acquisition
If you bought your main business (or businesses) from a person who applied for or held:
at the time of the acquisition, you must show that you and that person co-owned the business for at least 1 year before you apply.
4. Have an annual business turnover of AUD300,000:
Your main business or businesses (or the business or businesses of your spouse or de facto partner, or of you and your spouse or de facto partner together), had an annual turnover of at least AUD300,000 in the 12 months immediately before the application was made.
You might not need to have a turnover of AUD300,000 if the nominating State or Territory government agency has determined that there are exceptional circumstances.
5. Meet the assets and employees requirement:
For the 12 months immediately before you apply, you or your partner (or you and your partner together) must show at least 2 of the following:
If you want to meet the employee rule, your employees must work in your main business (or main businesses) and:
You might not need to meet the assets and employees requirement if the nominating State or Territory government agency has determined that there are exceptional circumstances.
6. Have followed Australian laws:
When operating your business in Australia, you and your partner must have followed:
This includes laws about taxation, superannuation and workplace relations.
7. Functional English:
You might have to pay an extra charge for any dependent applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. If they can’t show that they have at least functional English, they will need to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge when we ask you to.
They will not need to pay a second instalment if they have already paid a second instalment of the visa application charge in relation to an application for a Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)) visa.
8. Meet the residence requirement:
You must have been in Australia for at least 1 year in the 2 years immediately before you apply as the holder of a:
9. Not have been involved in unacceptable business activities: You and your partner must not have been involved in any business or investment activities that are unacceptable in Australia.
10. Have a realistic commitment to continuing business activities: You must have a realistic commitment to continuing your business and investment activities in Australia.
Meet other requirements:
Application Cost
The visa costs AUD2,590 for the main applicant.
We will refund the charge if we do not grant you the visa.
The second instalment charge is AUD4,890.
an extra charge for any applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English.
You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the second instalment or other costs.
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