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Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa - Significant Investor stream (Subclass 888)

AustraliaInvestment

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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What investment option or options qualify?

The applicant must hold (or, in some circumstances such as via a spouse/de facto pathway, have held) a subclass 188 provisional visa in the Significant Investor stream or Significant Investor Extension stream, and must continue to hold the complying investment or complying significant investment required for that provisional visa. The applicant must also have a current, unwithdrawn nomination from a state or territory government agency or Austrade.

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What official minimum amount, tier or threshold applies to each relevant option?

The qualifying investment amount, AUD5 million, is the complying investment or complying significant investment already made under the corresponding subclass 188 Significant Investor stream visa — this permanent visa does not add a new investment amount, only continuation of the existing one. Government fees for this permanent visa are separate from that investment capital: the main-applicant visa application charge is from AUD4,375.00 (concessions apply in limited circumstances), and a second instalment charge of AUD4,890 applies only to applicants aged 18+ without functional English who did not already pay a second instalment for their subclass 188 application.

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How long must the investment be maintained and what continuing ownership, investment or physical-presence conditions are important?

The applicant must have held the complying investment (pre-1 July 2015 applications) or complying significant investment (on/after 1 July 2015 applications) for the whole period of the subclass 188 provisional visa, and must report any transfers between investments. Where any part of the investment was a direct investment in an Australian proprietary company, that company must have been a 'qualifying business' for the whole period if held under 2 years, or for at least 2 years if held 2 years or more (or the applicant must show a genuine attempt to so operate it). A residence requirement also applies: a continuous 4-year period holding the Significant Investor stream (and/or Significant Investor Extension stream) visa, or 3 years and 11 months if the 188 visa application predated 1 July 2015, plus a minimum physical-presence day count in Australia (40 days per year held, primary applicant; 180 days per year, secondary/spouse pathway).

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Which family members can be included where officially stated, and what broad residence/work rights result?

Family unit members can be included in the application at the time of lodgement, or added at any time before a decision is made. Family members applying for the visa must meet health and character requirements; family members not travelling to Australia may also have to meet these requirements. Once granted, the visa holder can sponsor relatives to come to Australia. The official source does not state the family members' residence or work rights.

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What status is obtained, how is it renewed, what longer-term residence/citizenship direction is officially stated, and what happens to the investment when relevant?

This is the permanent-residency endpoint of the Significant Investor pathway: the visa is indefinite, with permanent residency (for citizenship purposes) starting on grant date (if in Australia) or first entry (if outside Australia). The travel facility is valid for 5 years from grant; after that, the holder needs a Resident Return visa to keep re-entering as a permanent resident, or can pursue Australian citizenship (which removes the need for a visa to enter). The holder may become eligible for citizenship if requirements are met. The official source does not state what happens to the underlying investment after the permanent visa is granted.

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Limits of the record
  • This page does not state what happens to the underlying complying investment after the permanent subclass 888 visa is granted (e.g. whether it can be withdrawn); it addresses only the investment-holding conditions during the preceding provisional (subclass 188) period.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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