Investor Visa: A Guide To Provisional Business Visa For Australia [Update January 2023]

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5 Ways To Get A Provisional Business Visa [subclass 188] For Australia

Getting a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa [subclass 188] is one of the main pathways to Australian Permanent Residency and Australian Citizenship.

This provisional visa is a temporary visa and it is typically valid for 4 years and 3 months. Thereafter, you’ll be eligible to apply for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) Visa [subclass 888] as a second step in your pathway to permanent residency.

First of all, let me run through the 5 streams through which you might obtain the Provisional Business Visa.

Once you are successful in obtaining the Provisional Business Visa, you will have rights and obligations (discussed in Section 2).

Relevant Forms:

1139A and 80

Cost of visa: From AUD 6,270 (January 2023)

*Note: Each applicant must first fulfil the criteria common to all streams and then satisfy the criteria specific to their stream of choosing.
Common criteria:
→You or your spouse/de facto partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business activities; and
→The nominating State or Territory government agency or the CEO of Austrade must not have withdrawn the nomination.

Section 1: 5 Ways Explained

OK, The 5 streams for provisional business visas are:

Business Innovation Stream:

• Invitation from the Minister, in writing, to apply for the visa;
• You must be under 55 years of age at the time of invitation and score at least 65 points on the points test;
• Demonstrate you need to be resident in Australia and to establish or conduct the proposed business activity;
• 2/4 fiscal years before the invitation to apply you must have had an ownership interest in an established business or businesses that had at least AUD 500,000 turnover in each of those years;
• Own at least one of the following % of your nominated main business
  • 51% if TO<400,000 per year
  • 30% if TO>400,000 per year
  • 10% if a publicly listed company
• Have an overall successful business career;
• You must have a genuine desire to own and manage a business; and
• Personal/business assets owned by you/you and your partner combined must be worth at least AUD 800,000 at the time of invitation.

Investor Stream:

• Invitation from the Minister, in writing, to apply for the visa;
• You must be under 55 years of age and score at least 65 points on the test;
• There must be a genuine intention of staying in the area of designated investment;
• You will have 3 years of experience managing investments;
• An investment of at least AUD 1.5million in an Australian state or territory and maintaining business and investment activity in Australia in your own name/your partner’s name; and
• You or you and your partner must have a net business, investment and personal assets (acquired within two fiscal years before invitation) of at least AUD 2.25 million that are available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted.

Significant Investor Stream:

• Invitation from the Minister, in writing, to apply for the visa;
• You must make a complying significant investment on or after the time of application, of at least AUD 5 million and must have a genuine intention to hold that investment for at least 4 years:
• The Minister must be given a completed copy of approved form 1412; and
• Direct investment in a residential area is prohibited.

Premium Investor Stream:

• Invitation from the Minister, in writing, to apply for the visa;
• You must make on or after the time of application complying investment of at least AUD 15 million and must have a genuine intention to hold that investment for the entire visa period; and
• You must give the Minister a completed copy of the approved form 1412.

Entrepreneur Stream:

• Invitation from the Minister, in writing, to apply for the visa;
• You are under 55 years of age at the time of the invitation to apply for the visa and have competent English; and
• You are undertaking or proposing to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity that must not relate to residential real estate, labour hire and purchase of an existing enterprise or a franchise in Australia.

Section 2: What rights does the visa give you?

• The first entry into Australia must be made before the date specified by the Minister (if outside Australia);
• Establish business;
• You may travel in and out of Australia for the duration of the visa;
• Bring members of your family unit to Australia; and
• You may seek permanent residency by applying for an 888 (Permanent) visa.

So if you want to seize the opportunity now, book a consultation with our immigration specialists.

Your Experience?

Please share your comments with me.

I’d love to know more about your experience applying for this visa subclass!