Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) vs EB-5 Immigrant Investor 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
- ›Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) is faster: 18 months vs 30 months for EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa.
- ›Faster to citizenship: EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa at ~5 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 800,000 for EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa.
Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188) Australia · entrepreneur | EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa United States · investment | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Australia | United States |
| Category | Entrepreneur | Investment |
| Application Fee | $4,000 | $3,675 |
| Minimum Income | — | — |
| Minimum Investment | $150,000 | $800,000 |
| Processing Time | 18 months | 30 months |
| Family Included | Spouse or de facto partner and dependent children included in the provisional visa; all must meet health and character requirements | Spouse and unmarried children under 21 included at no additional investment |
| Path to PR | Yes — 5 years | Yes — 0 years |
| Path to Citizenship | Yes — 9 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 | Must reside in the US after receiving conditional green card; 6-month continuous absence voids residency |
| Dual Citizenship | Allowed | Allowed |
| Tax Impact | Provisional visa holders residing in Australia are generally treated as Australian tax residents and taxed on worldwide income | Grants US lawful permanent resident status; worldwide income subject to US taxation from day of admission |
| Tax Residency Trigger | 183 days/yr | 0 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 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 EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa grants US lawful permanent residency to foreign nationals who invest a minimum of $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or $1,050,000 elsewhere, creating at least 10 full-time US jobs. Investors receive a conditional two-year green card, which can be converted to permanent residency after demonstrating job creation requirements have been met. After five years as a permanent resident, EB-5 holders may apply for US citizenship.
Full EB-5 Immigrant Investor 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
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa
- ⚠EB-5 Reform Act 2022: thresholds raised to $800k (TEA) / $1.05M (non-TEA); reserved visa categories added
- ⚠Mainland China + India face multi-year visa retrogression after I-526E approval
- ⚠Green card = US tax resident from day 1 = worldwide income taxation + FATCA/FBAR obligations
- ⚠Investment must stay "at risk" — guaranteed returns disqualify
- ⚠Regional Center selection critical — bankrupt/fraudulent RCs have caused total loss of both investment AND visa
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.