Business Innovation and Investor (Provisional) Visa – SC188

The visa is a provisional visa for people you want to own, manage or invest in a business or alternatively want to make an investment in Australia.  It is the first step getting a permanent visa.To get the is visa you must firs submit an expression of interest and then be nominated by a State or Territory Government in Australia ant invited to apply for the Visa by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.

The visa is valid for a period of 4 years and 3 months.  Under certain circumstances you can extend the visa in the Business Innovation stream and the Significant Investor Stream.

Once you are granted the visa you can:

• travel in and out of Australia for the life of your visa
• bring family members with you to Australia
• seek permanent residence by applying for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888).

You can include the following people in your visa application at the time of lodgement:

• your partner (married or de facto)
• your or your partner’s dependent children
• other dependent relatives.

All applicants must meet health and character requirements. You will generally have to be under 55 years of age, but a State or Territory can waive the requirement.

The visa has four different streams and it will depend on which one you wish to apply for or can qualify for:

BUSINESS INNOVATION STREAM – For people with business skills who want to establish, develop and manage a new or existing business in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government. You have to also satisfy a points test based on a number of criteria such as age, English language ability, qualifications, assets and business history.

INVESTOR STREAM – For people who want to make a designated investment of at least AUD1.5million in an Australian state or territory and maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants must be nominated by a state or territory government.

SIGNIFICANT INVESTOR STREAM – For people who are willing to invest at least AUD5million into complying significant investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. Applicants can be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade on behalf of the Australian government.

PREMIUM INVESTOR STREAM – For people who are willing to invest at least AUD15million into complying premium investments in Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia.  Applicants must be nominated by Austrade on behalf of the Australian government.