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Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) visa (subclass 188)

AustraliaInvestment

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

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What investment option or options qualify?

The subclass 188 provisional visa has seven streams: Business Innovation (operate a new or existing business), Investor (a complying significant investment or a designated investment), Significant Investor (a complying significant investment of at least AUD5 million), Business Innovation Extension and Significant Investor Extension (stay extensions for existing 188 holders), Premium Investor (AUD15 million in investments and/or philanthropic contributions, nominated by Austrade), and Entrepreneur (nomination-based, no set investment amount stated). The entire Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) closed to new applications on 31 July 2024 (Premium Investor stream closed 1 July 2024); applications lodged before that date continue to be processed.

See recorded sources
  • Hub page — intro
    This visa allows you to own and manage a business in Australia, conduct business and investment activity in Australia or undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia
  • Hub page — closure notice
    The Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) is closed as of 31 July 2024. Applications made before this date will still be processed.
  • Hub page — Significant Investor stream card
    This provisional visa requires you to invest at least AUD5 million in Australian investments that meet certain requirements and maintain investment activity in Australia. This stream closed to new applications on 31 July 2024.
  • Hub page — Premium Investor stream card
    This provisional visa requires you to be nominated by Austrade and invest at least AUD15 million in Australian investments and/or philanthropic contributions. This stream closed to new applications on 1 July 2024.

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

The Significant Investor stream requires at least AUD5 million in complying significant investments, and the Premium Investor stream requires AUD15 million in investments and/or philanthropic contributions. The official source states no numeric investment threshold for the Business Innovation, Investor and Entrepreneur streams, only qualitative eligibility (operate a business, make a complying/designated investment, be nominated). Government fees are separate; visa application charges (main applicant) differ by stream: Business Innovation and Investor streams from AUD12,505.00, Significant Investor from AUD18,335.00, Premium Investor from AUD9,455.00, Entrepreneur from AUD8,455.00, and the Business Innovation Extension / Significant Investor Extension streams from AUD1,505.00.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The Business Innovation, Investor and Entrepreneur streams' numeric criteria (turnover, net assets, points test, funding agreement) are not detailed on this overview page; they are documented on each stream's own dedicated route page in this program.

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

The Investor and Significant Investor streams require the applicant to maintain business or investment activity in Australia; the official source does not quantify a holding period for the base streams. The Extension streams state explicit hold requirements: the Business Innovation Extension requires the applicant to have held the Business Innovation stream visa for at least 3 years before extending; the Significant Investor Extension requires at least 3 years holding the Significant Investor stream visa (or an existing Significant Investor Extension visa), capped at a maximum of two Extension applications and a total stay of up to 9 years from the original grant.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The specific holding/maintenance period for the base Investor, Significant Investor, Business Innovation and Premium Investor streams (before any extension) is not quantified on this overview page beyond 'maintain ... activity'; more detail is on each stream's dedicated route page.

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

IMPORTANT: this visa is closed since 31 July 2024, with applications lodged before that date still processed. The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm which family members can be included or what residence and work rights they receive.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official page states the visa is closed to new applications; the eligibility description is retained only to describe who the visa was for, not to suggest it can still be applied for.

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 a provisional (temporary) visa: stays range from up to 5 years (Business Innovation, Investor, Entrepreneur streams) to up to 4 years and 3 months (Premium Investor), with dedicated Extension streams letting Business Innovation stream holders add 2 more years and Significant Investor stream holders add up to 4 more years (maximum 9 years total from the original grant, via up to two Extension applications). The longer-term direction for these provisional streams is progression to the corresponding subclass 888 permanent visa; the official source does not state that pathway in detail or what happens to the underlying investment after any transition. The entire programme is closed to new applications from 31 July 2024 (Premium Investor: 1 July 2024).

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • This overview page does not detail the subclass 888 permanent pathway itself, citizenship direction, or the treatment of the underlying investment after any transition to permanent residence; those specifics are addressed on the dedicated subclass 888 stream pages already captured in this program.

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

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