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: Greece Golden Visa at ~7 years, vs 9 for Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188).
- ›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 — 5 years | Yes — 5 years |
| Path to Citizenship | Yes — 9 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 provisional five-year visa requiring a state or territory government nomination, designed for business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs who wish to establish or manage a business in Australia. There are multiple streams — Business Innovation, Investor, Significant Investor (AUD$5M), and Entrepreneur — each with distinct net asset and business turnover thresholds. After meeting stream-specific requirements, holders can apply for the permanent Subclass 888 Business Innovation and Investment visa.
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.