Business Innovation and Investment Visas – Permanent (888)

Business migrants who hold subclass 188 visas can apply for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (subclass 888) in order to gain permanent residency.

Queensland state nomination is required prior to lodging your application with the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The eligibility criteria for this visa is based on the subclass 188 visa stream that you originally applied for – the Business innovation stream, Investor stream or Significant investor stream.

The Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (subclass 888) visa has three streams:

• 888 Business innovation stream (Permanent): this is the pathway to permanent residency for holders of the 188 visa subclass
• 888 Business investor stream (Permanent): this is the pathway to permanent residency for holders of the 188 visa subclass
• 888 Significant investor stream (Permanent): this is the pathway to permanent residency for holders of the 188 visa subclass.

Holders of a 444 subclass visa (New Zealand citizens), are able to apply for this visa without first being granted a 188 Business innovation stream (Provisional) visa.

Validity

This visa lets you live and work permanently in Australia. You may travel in and out of Australia for five years. You also may have family members accompany you to Australia and you can enroll Medicare Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses.

How it works

This visa allows you to continue to own and manage a business in Australia (the Business Innovation stream) or continue business and investment activity in Australia (the Investor stream and the Significant Investor stream).

Visa applicants do not need to satisfy the innovation points test and there are no upper age limits. The visa stream features a residence requirement of 160 days spent in Australia over four years while holding the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (Subclass 188) visa.

Visa holders can extend their visa term if they would like to given that they satisfy the extension requirements. They will be allowed to extend their provisional visa by an additional two years, with a maximum of two extensions permitted.

Business migrants who hold subclass 188 visas can apply for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (subclass 888) in order to gain permanent residency.

Queensland state nomination is required prior to lodging your application with the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The eligibility criteria for this visa is based on the subclass 188 visa stream that you originally applied for – the Business innovation stream, Investor stream or Significant investor stream.

Requirements

You can apply for a this visa if you:

• fulfill the individual requirements of the subclass 188 visa according to your selected stream.
• are the primary holder of a provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 188)
• have met all the requirements of your provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa in the stream in which you first applied
• have not been involved in any unacceptable business or investment activities
• have a satisfactory record of complying with Australia laws
• have been nominated by an Australian state or territory
• you and all your family members meet health and character requirements - you do not need to prove this again if you have already met this requirement for the provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 188)
• have a genuine commitment to continue to maintain business or investment activities in Australia

Individual Requirements