Business Innovation Stream Subclass 188 (Provisional)

This Visa is designed for people who have an ownership interest in a business in their home country and would like to establish a new or develop an existing business in Australia.

Business Visas are complex. Please contact our team of registered migration experts for immediate advice and assistance.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THIS VISA?

You must be able to show you have had a successful business career.
Specific criteria have to be met by your business in your home country in which you have had an ownership interest and have been involved in its day to day management and overall strategic direction;
One or two of your business had a turnover of AUD750,000 for at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years immediately before the application is made.
Whether you have 1 or 2 businesses, you must own at least:
- 51%, of the total value of the business if the business has a turnover of less than AUD400,000 per year
- 30%, of the total value of the business if the business has a turnover of AUD400,000 or more per year, or
- 10%, of the total value of the business if the business is operated by a publicly listed company
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.
You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net business and personal assets of at least AUD1,250,000 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 your visa;
Your age must be under 55 or the nominating state or territory must provide their support to waive the age requirement if you can demonstrate that your proposed business activity in Australia is of exceptional benefit to Australia;
Be nominated by a state or territory government in Australia before being invited to apply for this visa;
Meet the points tested pass mark, set at 65;
Have an overall successful business career in your home country, which will involve providing evidence of your involvement in your main business decisions, management and responsibilities;
Have a realistic commitment to establish or participate in a qualifying business in Australia and maintain substantial ownership and direct and continuous involvement in the management of that business;
Demonstrate a need to be resident in Australia for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a business

What Does This Visa Let You Do?

You can reside in Australia and operate the business you proposed in your subclass 188 Business Innovation application;
As it is a full re-entry visa you can travel in and out of Australia for the life of your visa;
Include your dependent family members in your application so they can get the same visa as you;
This visa is granted for 5 years but an extension for another 2 years can be applied for, to provide the applicant with a maximum period 7 years, from the time of their subclass 188 visa grant
You will need to live in Australia for the period of 2 out of 4 years immediately before the date of application for your permanent visa (subclass 888). It does not need to have been for a continuous stay and combining short period of stay may be added together to satisfy this requirement.

Apply for Permanent Residency

You or your partner can apply for Permanent Residence – Business Innovation Stream Visa-Subclass 888 (Permanent), once you or your partner have fulfilled the requirements of this visa (please see Business Innovation Stream 188).
Before applying for the 888 (Permanent) the main applicant is required to maintain an ownership interest of a main business/businesses in Australia as was proposed in the 188 application, for a period of at least 2 years prior to the date of application;
The applicant is also required to have been in Australia for a period of at least 1 out of the 2 years immediately before an application is made.

I WANT AN

Employer Sponsorship
Visa

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I AM A

Skilled Person & Want to Live
and Work in Australia

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I WANT TO

Sponsor My Partner
or Parents

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I WANT A

Student Visa or
Graduate Visa

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I WANT TO

Start a Business or
Invest in Australia

Find Out More

Frequently asked questions

Resident Return Visas – What are my Options?

Living in Australia for at least two years (can be accumulative) in the last 5 years prior to lodging your visa you will automatically be granted a new 5 -year Permanent Residence Visa.

If you have spent less than 2 years in Australia, then you may be eligible for a one-year RRV. You would need to present ties you have to Australia such as employment, investment, family or business ties.

Speak to us how best to present your RRV application and what to do in the lag time between lodgement and assessment.
Can I apply for a Bridging visa?

No, generally not.

A bridging visa is granted automatically if an applicant has applied for a visa from a substantive visa and the visa which they have applied from expires but the new one they have applied for has not yet been granted. To keep someone lawfully in Australia while the new visa application is being assessed, that person automatically goes onto a Bridging visa A.

If they want to travel outside of Australia while their visa is being assessed, then they need to apply for a Bridging visa B. At all times, a visa holder must avoid being in Australia without a valid visa or a Bridging visa. People who are unlawfully in Australia are placed on a Bridging visa E which requires them to depart Australia immediately. This usually carries a three-year restriction on any temporary visa that allows re-entry into Australia.
Where can I see my current visa status?

As a visa holder, you can use VEVO to check your current visa details and conditions.

Client Story

SANDEEP & ASHU SHARMA

Sandeep Sharma applied for his Permanent Residence visa under subclass 186 Employer Nominated Sponsorship, after two years of being sponsored under a 457 Employer Sponsorship visa. His Permanent Visa was granted on August 2014.

I have been in Sydney, Australia for the last 6 years. I was referred to AustraliaMigrate by a friend of mine.

In the beginning, I was sponsored by my company under a 457 visa. As I would like to stay on in Australia, I applied for the visa Permanent Residence Visa (186).

The visa application process was complex and very challenging. AustraliaMigrate helped me to prepare and lodge my application in a limited time. My application was approved just within one week and my 457 long stay business visa was granted.

Why AustraliaMigrate?

“AustraliaMigrate Pty Ltd has been helping people around the world successfully apply for Australian visas for over 20 years.
Our professional specialists are highly experienced in the migration environment.”

We guide individuals and businesses through the complex migration process to Australia. With long years of industry experience, our immigration specialists have built a reputation of providing accessible, accurate and genuine advice to our esteemed clients.

Our specialists assist in preparing and reviewing your documents and forms before submitting for successful approval. We strive to make the whole immigration process hassle-free for you.

We have a very high success rate of visa approval and a solid reputation resulting in a large amount of repeat business. We provide immigration services to individuals, families and companies, whether they are small or public companies and in any industry.

Immigration is the only thing we do so we are highly specialized in it.

What our clients have to say about us

B. SISSING

Thank you Ian. Fabulous news. Thanks to you and your team’s effort and work. Great service.

C. DAVIES

Thank you SO so much for all of your patience and work on this. Still hasn’t sunk in yet that I’m actually free! Once again, massive thanks to both you and Mariola!!

CAMILA & CHRISTIAN

Thanks so much for this excellent news. I’m impressed how fast and smooth it all went, which is a result of excellence in services. Thanks so much for all the attention.

M. MOBIN

Thank you Ian ,I highly appreciate your kind efforts. Its a big day for me and my family and you make it possible. May you live long with health, wealth and peace.

Business Innovation Stream Visa – Subclass 188

Changes to the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)