Business Innovation and Investment (888)

The Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) gives you the right to manage your business and investments in Australia.

This is a visa of permanent residence. It allows you and any family members who have also been granted this visa:
stay in Australia indefinitely
work and study in Australia
apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)
sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
be enrolled in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is issued (after that you will need a resident return visa or another visa to return to Australia).

Business Innovation stream

Applying for the Business Innovation stream, you are to be in Australia and held:

• a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Business Innovation stream or the Business Innovation Extension stream
• a Special Category visa (subclass 444)
• a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)

for at the minimum one year in the two years immediately before you apply.

Additionally, you must be able to show that you are involved in current business, meet certain financial requisitions, and have a history of employing Australian workers.

Current business involvement

You must be able to show that you (or you and your partner together) have:

• had an property interest (and continue to have an property interest) and a direct and ongoing management role in an actively operating main business (or main businesses) in Australia for the two years immediately before you apply.
• had an annual turnover of at least AUD300 000 from the main business (or businesses) in the 12 months before you apply. (A nominating state or territory might agree to waive the requirement to show an annual turnover of AUD300 000 on condition you live and operate business in a specified regional area of Australia)
• owned at least one of the following percentages of the main business (or main businesses) in Australia in the year immediately before you apply:
  • 51 per cent of a business with a turnover of less than AUD400 000 per year
  • 30 per cent of a business with a turnover of AUD400 000 or more per year
  • 10 per cent of a publicly listed company
• obtained an Australian Business Number for each of your main businesses
• lodged Business Activity Statements to the Australian Taxation Office for the two years immediately before you apply
• not gained the ownership in your main business (or two main businesses) from a person who was an applicant for, or a holder of, a permanent Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 888) or a permanent business skills visa (in subclasses 890, 891, 892 or 893), lest you and that person had a joint interest in the main business for at least one year before you lodge your application for this visa.

You (or your partner, or you and your partner together) must also prove the achievement of at the minimum two of the following requirements:

• a net value of business assets of at least AUD200 000 in your nominated main business (or two main businesses) in Australia throughout the year immediately before you apply
• a net value of personal and business assets of at least AUD600 000 in Australia throughout the year immediately before you apply
• employed at least the equivalent of two full-time employees in your main business (or main businesses), throughout the year immediately before you apply who are:
  • Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, or holders of valid New Zealand passports
  • not your family members.

Investor stream

Applying for this visa in the Investor stream, you must meet the requirement of being in Australia and holding your provisional visa in the Investor stream for at least two of the four years immediately before you apply.

Additionally, you (or you and your partner together) must have held a designated investment with an Australian territory or state for at least four years.

Having applied for your provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Investor stream prior to 1 July 2015, you are pertinent to apply for a subclass 888 visa after holding your provisional visa for 3 years and 11 months. Having applied for your provisional visa after 1 July 2015, you must hold your provisional visa for at least 4 years prior to applying for a subclass 888 visa.

Significant Investor stream

Applying for a permanent visa (subclass 888) in the Significant Investor stream, you must have held at the time of application:

• a provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream or in the Significant Investor Extension stream.

You must have been in Australia as the holder of a provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream or the Significant Investor extension stream for at least 40 days per year (calculated cumulatively) for the period of time you have held your provisional visa(s), or your spouse has been in Australia for at least 180 days per year (calculated cumulatively) on the basis of the period of time the primary applicant has held their provisional visa(s).

Additionally, you (or you and your partner combined) must have:

• held complying investments ongoing for at least 4 years while holding your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).
• operated a qualifying business under the private Australian company in which you have made a direct complying investment if applicable.

Note that the current rules at the time you applied for you original subclass 188 visa in the Significant Investor stream will apply to you when your application for a subclass 888 visa is assessed.

If you applied for your provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream prior to 1 July 2015, you are eligible to apply for a subclass 888 visa after holding your provisional visa for 3 years and 11 months. If you applied for your provisional visa after 1 July 2015, you are required to hold your provisional visa for at least 4 years prior to applying for a subclass 888 visa.

Premium Investor stream

If you are applying for a permanent visa (subclass 888) in the Premium Investor stream, you must have held a provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Premium Investor stream at the time of application and be nominated by the Commonwealth government.

You must have held your provisional visa for a minimum of 1 year.

You (or you and your partner combined) must have held complying premium investments continuously for at least 1 year, and for the entire time you have held your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).