Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) vs Greece Golden Visa
A factual side-by-side comparison of two residency programmes. All figures are drawn from the canonical program pages — follow either link in the table header for sources and the full profile.
Key Differences at a Glance
- ›Greece Golden Visa is faster: 4 months vs 18 months for Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188).
- ›Faster to citizenship: Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) at ~5 years, vs 7 for Greece Golden Visa.
- ›Lower capital: Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) (150,000 USD) vs 250,000 for Greece Golden Visa.
Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) Australia · entrepreneur | Greece Golden Visa Greece · investment | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Australia | Greece |
| Category | Entrepreneur | Investment |
| Application Fee | $4,000 | $2,200 |
| Minimum Income | — | — |
| Minimum Investment | $150,000 | $250,000 |
| Processing Time | 18 months | 4 months |
| Family Included | Spouse or de facto partner and dependent children included in the provisional visa; all must meet health and character requirements | No additional investment required; covers spouse and dependent children up to 21, as well as parents and parents-in-law |
| Path to PR | Yes — 4 years | Yes — 5 years |
| Path to Citizenship | Yes — 5 years | Yes — 7 years |
| Physical Presence | Business Innovation stream requires genuine establishment of a business in Australia and physical presence during the provisional visa period | No minimum annual stay required to maintain the Golden Visa; 7 years of actual residence required for citizenship |
| Dual Citizenship | Allowed | Allowed |
| Tax Impact | Provisional visa holders residing in Australia are generally treated as Australian tax residents and taxed on worldwide income | No mandatory tax residency triggered by the visa; those who choose to tax-reside may benefit from Greece's non-dom lump sum tax of €100,000/year on foreign income for up to 15 years |
| Tax Residency Trigger | 183 days/yr | 183 days/yr |
| Worldwide Taxation | Yes | Yes |
| Renewal Cost | — | $2,200 |
About Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188)
The Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa is a five-year provisional visa for business owners, investors and entrepreneurs, requiring a state or territory nomination. It has several streams — Business Innovation, Investor, Significant Investor (AUD$5M) and Entrepreneur — each with distinct thresholds: for example, net assets of at least AUD$800,000 (Business Innovation) or AUD$2,250,000 (Investor), a points score of 65+, and business turnover of AUD$750,000 over two of the last four years; applicants are generally under 55. Costs are high — about AUD$6,000 in government fees and AUD$28,000–$50,000 realistically, excluding the AUD$1.25M–$2.5M business investment itself. A spouse/partner and children are included. The provisional visa does not auto-convert to permanent residency; holders must actively meet stream conditions, then apply for the permanent Subclass 888, after which citizenship becomes available. Provisional holders resident in Australia are taxed on worldwide income. The programme has been CLOSED to new applicants since 1 July 2024 — only previously lodged cases are being processed.
Full Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) profile →About Greece Golden Visa
Greece's Golden Visa is one of Europe's most accessible investment-residency programmes. Originally a uniform €250,000 real-estate threshold, the 2024 reform raised investment minimums sharply: €800,000 in high-demand zones (Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands over 3,100 inhabitants), €400,000 in other regions, with the legacy €250,000 threshold preserved only for commercial-to-residential conversions and specific listed-building restorations. Alternative routes include €500,000 in Greek capital-company shares, €500,000 in mutual funds or AIFs, or €500,000 bank deposit. The visa grants 5-year renewable residence with no minimum physical-presence requirement — making it one of the lowest-effort EU residency permits and a popular passive-investment route for non-EU HNWIs. Holders gain Schengen visa-free travel but cannot acquire Greek citizenship through this route directly; standard naturalisation requires 7 years of physical residence plus B1 Greek language. Greece levies progressive income tax to 44%, but a flat-tax regime for qualifying HNWIs taxes worldwide income at €100,000/year for up to 15 years. Property tax (ENFIA) applies annually to the underlying real-estate investment.
Full Greece Golden Visa profile →Gotchas to Watch For
Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188)
- ⚠**PROGRAMME CLOSED TO NEW APPLICANTS from 1 July 2024.** Only previously-lodged cases in the pipeline are being processed. A successor visa was announced in the Dec 2024 migration strategy — verify current status.
- ⚠Provisional 4-year visa does NOT automatically convert to PR — the 888 requires active compliance with stream conditions
- ⚠State quotas dried up well before the federal closure — many would-be applicants received no nomination
Greece Golden Visa
- ⚠September 2024 reform raised thresholds significantly; Athens/Thessaloniki/Mykonos/Santorini now €800k minimum
- ⚠No physical presence required, but also no path to citizenship without 7 years actual residence
- ⚠Greek Golden Visa ≠ EU Schengen freedom; allows visa-free Schengen travel but not residence
- ⚠Property cannot be rented short-term (Airbnb) in Athens/Thessaloniki districts under some interpretations — consult lawyer
- ⚠Citizenship requires 7 years of genuine residence, B1 Greek, civic test
Neutral reference — we don't recommend one programme over another. Programmes change: always verify each detail against the official source linked on the individual program pages.