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We prefer you to contact by Email: [email protected]
Call us 24/7 in Australia: 1800 847 243
Australia: +61-7-3186 1467
India: +91-7598 338 336
Business Innovation and Investment Visa Subclass 188:
What this Business Innovation and Investment Visa Subclass 188 lets you do
To be able to apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa , you must first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) and then be invited through SkillSelect to apply.
You may then be nominated before being invited to apply.
Your EOI must specify:
When you have submitted your EOI, a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government could view it and decide whether to nominate you to apply for a visa. Government nominators have their own criteria for deciding who to nominate. In some cases, the authority might contact you before you are nominated to discuss business and investment possibilities. In others, the authority will wait for you to contact it.
If you receive an invitation, you will have 60 days to apply online for the visa. During that time, you cannot change the information in your EOI. If your first invitation expires, you do not have to submit a new EOI. Your EOI will be automatically reverted to ‘submitted’ status in SkillSelect. Government nominators can access and review your EOI and nominate you again if they wish. You will receive a second invitation upon being nominated again. If you receive a second invitation to apply for a visa and you do not lodge an application, your EOI will be removed from SkillSelect. If you still want to apply for the visa, you will need to submit a new EOI.
Although you do not need to provide supporting documents with an EOI, your visa application is likely to need extensive supporting documentation, as listed in the document checklist. Start compiling your documents early in the process, so you can respond within the 60 days if you receive an invitation.
Information about nomination requirements, business and employment in various states and territories is available on their websites:
Information about state and territory treasury corporations offering designated investments for the Investor stream is available on their websites:
You need a valid passport or other travel document for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa . If you plan to get a new passport, you should do so before applying for your visa. If you get a new passport after you have lodged your application, give the details of your new passport to one of our offices.
You might be able to update your passport details using ImmiAccount.
The visa application charges are listed in Fees and charges.
You might have to pay other costs, such as the costs of health assessments, police certificates, or any other certificates or tests. You are responsible for making the necessary arrangements.
You might be able to get this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa if:
You must meet certain health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months.
This also applies to all members of your family unit included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until the department of immigration and border protection ask you to.
This applies to you and all members of your family unit listed in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
For each member of your family unit included in the application you will need to complete:
If you have served in the armed forces of any country, provide certified copies of military service record or discharge papers.
See: Character and Penal Clearance Requirements
If you are 18 years of age or older, you must sign an Australian Values Statement to confirm that you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. The statement is included in the visa application form. You must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia book before you sign the statement.
You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa can be granted.
Your obligations
You must:
o 51 per cent, if the business has a turnover of less than AUD400 000 per year
o 30 per cent, if the business has a turnover of AUD400 000 or more per year
o 10 per cent, if the business is a publicly listed company
If your nominated main business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent no more than half your time providing those services, as opposed to general management of the business.
At the time of invitation, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net business and personal assets of at least AUD800 000 that are lawfully acquired and available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted.
You and your partner must have had no involvement in unacceptable business or investment activities.
You must:
You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must:
o a qualifying business in which you, your partner or you and your partner combined had at least 10 per cent ownership interest, or
o eligible investments owned by you, your partner or you and your partner combined of at least AUD1.5million.
Income that you earn from your designated investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.
Please note that the rules that were in force at the time that you applied for your Significant Investor visa will continue to apply for the duration of your provisional visa, including any Extension stream visas you apply for that relate to that provisional visa.
You must have a genuine and realistic commitment to:
You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have net assets of at least AUD5 million that are legally acquired, unencumbered, and available to be used to make the complying investment in Australia.
You and your partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.
You, members of your family unit aged at least 18 must agree not to bring any action against the Commonwealth for any loss relating to your complying investment.​​
Income that you earn from your complying investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.
You must also make a complying investment or a complying significant investment of at least AUD5 million over four years.
Important: You might want to seek independent legal advice in relation to ensuring that an investment made for the purpose of this stream is a ‘complying significant investment’. It is your responsibility to ensure your investment options comply.
If you applied for a Significant Investor visa prior to 1 July 2015, see the rules below, which will continue to apply to you.
For applications made after July 2015 you must make a complying significant investment of at least AUD5 million over four years in the following proportions:
Direct investment in residential real estate continues to be prohibited and indirect investment in residential property through managed funds is now strictly limited.
Investments must not be used as security or collateral for a loan.
More detailed information about complying significant investments is available at Austrade.
You must make a complying investment of at least AUD5 million in any of the following options, in any proportion, and hold that investment continuously for at least four years:
o infrastructure projects in Australia
o cash held by Australian deposit-taking institutions
o bonds issued by the Commonwealth Government or a State or Territory government
o bonds, equity, hybrids or other corporate debt in companies and trusts listed or expected to be listed within 12 months on any Australian stock exchange
o bonds or term deposits issued by Australian financial institutions
o real property in Australia
o Australian agribusiness
o annuities issued by an Australian registered life company in accordance with section 9 or 12A of the Life Insurance Act 1995
o loans secured by mortgages over the investments listed above
o derivatives used for portfolio management and non-speculative purposes which constitute no more than 20 per cent of the total value of the managed fund
o other managed funds that invest in the investments listed above
The Premium Investor stream is by nomination of Austrade on behalf of the Australian government only. You must make a complying investment of at least AUD15 million in any of the following options:
Income that you earn from your complying investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.
You must also have a genuine and realistic commitment to continue your business and investment activity in Australia after the conclusion of your provisional visa.
You, your partner (spouse or de facto), or you and your partner combined must have net assets of at least AUD15 million that are legally acquired, unencumbered, and available to be used to make the complying investment in Australia.
You and your partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.
You, your partner and other family members aged at least 18 must agree not to bring any action against the Commonwealth for any loss relating to your complying investment.​​​
You must:
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:
An activity is a complying entrepreneur activity if all of the following requirements are met:
o Commonwealth Government agency
o State or Territory Government
o Publicly Funded Research Organisation
o Investor registered as an Australian Venture Capital Limited Partnership or Early State Venture Capital Limited Partnership
o Specified Higher Education Provider
You can include the following people in your visa application at the time of lodgement:
For detailed information regarding who you can include in your application see including family members in your application.
The application must include documentary evidence of their relationship to you.​​
Members of your family unit must be able to show that they meet health and character requirements.​
After you have applied for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa but before a decision is made, only members of your family unit can be added to your application.
After you are granted this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa , if members of your family unit want to apply for the same visa, they must lodge a separate online application as subsequent entrants using:
This information explains what you need to do to apply for a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa.
You and anyone included in your application can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted.
You must be invited to apply. Your invitation letter will tell you how to lodge your application online using SkillSelect.
Note: for the Entrepreneur stream temporary arrangements will be in place until November 2016. Once you have been nominated by a state or territory government, you will be contacted by email with instructions on how to lodge your visa application.
You need to provide documents to prove the claims you make in the application. The documents are listed in the Document checklist.
Some documents could take some time to obtain. You should have them ready when you lodge the application to reduce any delays in processing.
Pay the visa application charge by credit card when you apply. You also need to send your supporting documents:
Please refer to preparing your application, for information on:
You can also contact your case officer at the department of immigration and border protection office for advice about your individual circumstances.
After you have lodged your application and documents, the department of immigration and border protection will acknowledge that they have received your information.
You can track and manage your application using ImmiAccount.
The department of immigration and border protection have visa processing times for each visa.
Your application could take longer if you need character or health checks (including x-rays), if you need to provide more information, or if your application is incomplete.
Outside Australia: If you apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa from outside Australia, do not make arrangements to travel to Australia until you are advised in writing that you have been granted a visa. Wait for a decision from the department of immigration and border protection before you leave your job, sell your home or book your travel.
In Australia: If you apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa in Australia, you could be eligible for a Bridging visa that allows you to stay in the country lawfully while your application is processed. If you are given a Bridging visa A, you can apply for a Bridging visa B (BVB) to travel outside Australia while you wait for a decision.
If you applied under the Investor stream, the Significant Investor stream or the Premium Investor stream, you must make your designated investment, complying significant investment or complying premium investment before being granted a visa. You must make the investment when the department of immigration and border protection invite you in writing to do so. The invitation includes information on how to make the required investment and how to provide evidence that you have made the investment. If you are applying for a Significant Investor or Premium Investor stream visa, your investment must be made after the time of application for your subclass 188 visa.
Income that you earn from your investment in Australia is subject to Australian taxation law.
You can provide more information to the department of immigration and border protection , at any time until a decision is made on the application. If you want to correct information you provided, use:
The department of immigration and border protection could also ask you for more information. You will have to respond by a set date. After that date, the department of immigration and border protection can make a decision about your application using the information that they have.
If another person gives the department of immigration and border protection information that could result in you being refused a visa, they will usually give you the opportunity to comment on the information.
You might also be interviewed. If you are asked to attend an interview in person, bring your passport or other identification and any requested documents to the interview.
You must tell the department of immigration and border protection if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth, divorce, separation, marriage, de facto relationship or death in your family.
Please report changes in your circumstances via ImmiAccount. If you are not able to use ImmiAccount, you can use the following forms:
If you do not provide the department of immigration and border protection with the details of any new passport issued to you, you could experience significant delays at the airport and may be denied permission to board your plane.​​
You might be able to update your address and passport details using ImmiAccount.
​You can withdraw the application at any time before the department of immigration and border protection make a decision about it. To do this, send the department of immigration and border protection a letter or email to ask for the withdrawal. Your request must include your full name and date of birth. You should also include your file reference number, client ID, or a Transaction Reference Number.
​​​All applicants 18 years of age or older, wishing to withdraw, must sign the request for withdrawal.​​​​​​
If the visa is granted, the department of immigration and border protection will let you know:
If the visa is not granted, the department of immigration and border protection will let you know:
You must provide documents to support your application for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa .
Use the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) document checklist​​ to make sure your application is complete.
If you are applying from China, Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan please use the document checklist from the Australian Consulate General Hong Kong.
Your visa is valid for four years and three months from the date it is granted.
Note: If you applied for a subclass 188 visa in any stream prior to 1 July 2015, your visa will be valid for four years. If this applies to you and you hold a visa in the investor stream or the significant investor stream you will be eligible to apply for a subclass 888 permanent visa after 3 years and 11 months.
You might be able to extend your stay under an extension stream if you hold this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa under the Business Innovation stream or the Significant Investor stream and need extra time to meet the criteria for a permanent (subclass 888) visa. If you hold this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa under the Investor stream or Premium Investor stream, you cannot apply for an extension stream under this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa .
Provisional visa holders in the Business Innovation stream can apply for one extension for an additional two years so your visa can last up to six years.
Provisional visa holders in the Significant Investor stream can apply for up to two extensions for a total of additional four years so your visa can last up to eight years.
Each extension stream lets you stay in Australia for another two years.
You need to provide valuable input into the Australian economy. You must:
In the business, it is expected that you will do at least one of the following:
the department of immigration and border protection might ask you to complete a monitoring survey about your business activities in Australia.
You can apply to extend your stay for an extra two years under a Business Innovation Extension stream.
To be eligible for this extension stream:
You cannot apply for this stream if you have held more than one subclass Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).
If another visa is granted, it will be valid for another two years from the date your first visa is granted (six years in all). The extra time gives you time to qualify for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888).
To apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa under the Business Innovation Extension stream, complete:
Provide your supporting documents and pay the visa application charge by credit card when you apply.
You must maintain your designated investment for at least four years.
There is no Extension stream for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa .
You must hold complying investments continuously for the life of your provisional visa.
You can switch between complying investments or between complying significant investments provided that:
Funds reinvested into a complying investment within 30 days are taken to have been held continuously from the original investment date.
Funds withdrawn from venture capital or emerging companies must be reinvested into venture capital or emerging companies. Funds withdrawn from the ‘balancing investment’ category of investments can be reinvested into another balancing investment, venture capital or emerging companies.
If funds are withdrawn from venture capital because the venture capital investment has been realised, those funds must be reinvested, but can be reinvested in any eligible complying significant investment.
You can apply to extend your stay for an extra two years under a Significant Investor Extension stream. You can apply for this extension stream twice, giving you a maximum of eight years on this provisional visa.
To be eligible for this extension stream:
o have had it for at least three years, or
o have not held more than one visa in the Significant Investor Extension stream
You are responsible for the investment decisions that you make. You must submit:
You and each other applicant aged 18 years or older must sign the form, in which you acknowledge that you are responsible for your financial and legal affairs and decide not to sue or incur any liabilities to the Australian Government in relation to any loss relating to the complying investment.
If you applied prior to 1 July 2015 and your complying investment was made through or switched into a managed fund, you must have submitted:
The form must be signed by a fund manager for each complying investment made through or switched into a managed fund, and state that investments made via the managed fund are limited to certain prescribed categories.
If your complying investment was made directly in an Australian private company, the company must be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and you must have an ownership interest in the company.
You must also ensure that:
To apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa under the Significant Investor Extension stream, complete:
There is no Extension stream for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa .
This visa allows you to:
You might be eligible to be granted a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) if:
o held a subclass 188 visa in the Significant Investor stream and/or the Significant Investor Extension stream for a continuous period of at least four years (or three years and 11 months if you applied for your original subclass 188 visa prior to 1 July 2015); and
o have been in Australia on this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa for a minimum of 40 days per year the visa was held or your partner (spouse or de facto) has been in Australia on this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa for a minimum of 180 days per year.
You must also have met all the obligations of your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) and all the requirements for the grant of the permanent visa (subclass 888).
Members of your family unit who have been granted this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa are eligible to study and work in Australia.
After you are granted this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa , if members of your family unit want to apply for the same visa, they must lodge a separate online application as subsequent entrants using:
They must pay the full visa application charge by credit card when they apply.
Members of your family unit can be in or outside Australia when they apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa .
Members of your family unit who apply after a visa has been granted to you must pay the full visa application charge.
Members of your family unit who apply after a visa has been granted to you must provide the documents listed under ‘Personal documents’ in the Document checklist.
You must tell the department of immigration and border protection if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth, divorce, separation, marriage, de facto relationship or death in your family.
Please report changes in your circumstances via ImmiAccount. If you are not able to use ImmiAccount, you can use the following forms:
If you do not provide the department of immigration and border protection with the details of any new passport issued to you, you could experience significant delays at the airport and may be denied permission to board your plane.​​​​​
You might be able to update your address and passport details using ImmiAccount.
Every time you change address (even to a location outside Australia), you must send a new form to the department of immigration and border protection within 28 days of the move.
You can receive up to 30 points based on your age on the day you were invited to apply.
For the Business Innovation stream or Investor stream, if you are aged 55 years or you are not eligible for points for your age under the points test.
You can receive 10 points for proficient English and 5 points for vocational English.
The IELTS, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT band score for the four components must be demonstrated in one test taken within the three years before you are invited to apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa . The Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test band score for the four components must be demonstrated in one test taken on or after 1 January 2015 and before you are invited to apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa . The department of immigration and border protection will not accept separate test scores for each component for these English language tests.
There are two IELTS tests–an academic test and a general training test. You need to take only the general test unless otherwise advised by your skills assessing authority.
The OET test must have been taken within the three years before you are invited to apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa .
You can receive up to 10 points for your educational qualifications at the time you were invited to apply if you have met the requirements for:
If you have a higher degree in business, science or technology (such as Masters in Science), but have no bachelor degree in one of those fields, you do not qualify for the award of 10 points.
You can receive up to 15 points if you have a demonstrated history of relevant business or investment experience for a specified amount of time in the period before you are invited to apply:
o at least four years in the preceding five years (10 points)
o at least seven years in the preceding eight years (15 points)
o at least the preceding four years (10 points)
o at least the preceding seven years (15 points).
To be awarded points for your assets, in each of the two fiscal years before you are invited to apply, you, your partner or you and your partner combined must have held net business and personal assets of at least:
You can be awarded points on the basis of the turnover of your nominated main business in at least two of the four fiscal years before you are invited to apply:
There is no business turnover requirement for the Investor stream.
For the Business Innovation stream, this component of the points test gives points for evidence of the following attributes at the time you are invited to apply for this Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa . You can be awarded points for more than one attribute, but only once for each of them.
o The patent or design must have been registered at least one year.
o It must have been used in the day-to-day activities of your nominated main business.
o The trademark must have been registered at least one year.
o It must have been used in the day-to-day activities of your main business.
o The agreement must be a formal agreement that has been in force for at least one year.
o You must have been involved at a senior level in day-to-day management and decision-making for the venture.
o One or more of your nominated main businesses must have derived at least 50 per cent of annual turnover from export trade for at least two of the preceding four fiscal years.
o Your nominated main business must have been registered for no more than five years.
o The average annualised growth in turnover of the business must have been greater than 20 per cent each year for a continuous period of three fiscal years.
o The business must have had 10 or more full-time employees for at least one fiscal year in the three-year period.
o This funding must have been for the early-phase start-up of a business, product commercialisation, business development or business expansion.
o Grants: You must have received a grant of at least AUD10 000 under specified conditions from a government body in your home country within the preceding four years.
o Venture capital funding: You must have received venture capital funding of at least AUD100 000 within the preceding four years.
In a limited number of cases, a nominating state or territory government could determine that your proposed business or investment is of unique and important benefit to the state or territory. In these circumstances, you can be awarded 10 points.
Source: The Australian Department of Home Affairs (www.homeaffairs.gov.au). Please visit www.border.gov.au to get updated information.
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