Australia Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 188)
Australia AUS
Last verified 2025-01-01Official source
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.
Program Details
- Category
- Entrepreneur
- Processing Time
- 18 months
- Application Fee
- $4,000
- Minimum Income
- N/A
- Minimum Investment
- $150,000
- Family Included
- Spouse or de facto partner and dependent children included in the provisional visa; all must meet health and character requirements
- Path to PR
- Yes — 5 years
- Path to Citizenship
- Yes — 9 years
- Physical Presence
- Business Innovation stream requires genuine establishment of a business in Australia and physical presence during the provisional visa period
- Dual Citizenship
- Allowed
- Tax Impact
- Provisional visa holders residing in Australia are generally treated as Australian tax residents and taxed on worldwide income
Key Requirements
- ✓State or territory government nomination
- ✓Points test score of at least 65 under the business innovation points test
- ✓Net assets of at least AUD$800,000 (Business Innovation stream) or AUD$2,250,000 (Investor stream)
- ✓Minimum annual business turnover threshold (Business Innovation: AUD$750,000 over 2 of last 4 years)
- ✓Ownership interest in an established business
- ✓Under 55 years of age (unless nominating state/territory grants an age exemption)
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