Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) vs NZ Active Investor Plus 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
- ›NZ Active Investor Plus Visa is faster: 9 months vs 18 months 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 9,000,000 for NZ Active Investor Plus Visa.
Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) Australia · entrepreneur | NZ Active Investor Plus Visa New Zealand · investment | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Australia | New Zealand |
| Category | Entrepreneur | Investment |
| Application Fee | $4,000 | $16,000 |
| Minimum Income | — | — |
| Minimum Investment | $150,000 | $9,000,000 |
| Processing Time | 18 months | 9 months |
| Family Included | Spouse or de facto partner and dependent children included in the provisional visa; all must meet health and character requirements | Spouse + dependent children under 24 included as principal applicant family |
| Path to PR | Yes — 4 years | Yes — 2 years |
| Path to Citizenship | Yes — 5 years | Yes — 5 years |
| Physical Presence | Business Innovation stream requires genuine establishment of a business in Australia and physical presence during the provisional visa period | 117 days minimum in NZ over the 4-year investment period (~30 days/year average; effectively very flexible) |
| Dual Citizenship | Allowed | Allowed |
| Tax Impact | Provisional visa holders residing in Australia are generally treated as Australian tax residents and taxed on worldwide income | NZ tax resident on worldwide income from 183-day rule. Transitional residency exemption (4 years on foreign-source income) materially attractive for new immigrants. No capital gains tax for individuals on most investment activity. |
| Tax Residency Trigger | 183 days/yr | 183 days/yr |
| Worldwide Taxation | Yes | Yes |
| Renewal Cost | — | — |
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 NZ Active Investor Plus Visa
Active Investor Plus, launched April 2025, replaces the previous Investor 1 + Investor 2 categories with a points-based, weighted-investment regime. Minimum NZD 5 million invested in qualifying assets weighted by category: direct investment (3× weighting), managed funds (2× weighting), bonds (1× weighting). The weighted total must reach NZD 15 million over the 4-year period. Practically, NZD 5M direct investment satisfies the floor. Major appeal: extremely modest physical-presence requirement (117 days over 4 years), generous transitional-residency tax exemption for new arrivals, and a 5-year path to NZ citizenship with no language test.
Full NZ Active Investor Plus 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
NZ Active Investor Plus Visa
- ⚠Investment is committed for 4 years — early withdrawal triggers visa cancellation
- ⚠Weighting system means lower-risk bonds require nominally larger investments (NZD 15M floor reached at 1× weight)
- ⚠Transitional residency exemption is automatic but should be elected explicitly on IRD form IR3
- ⚠Specialist immigration lawyer fees are substantial — budget USD 30-80k for legal preparation
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.