Investing in your future…
INVESTOR VISAS
Business Innovation & Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)
Investor Stream
This is a temporary visa granted for a period of 4 years and is for people who want to make a designated investment of at least $1.5 million in an Australian State or Territory. Holding this visa is a prerequisite to applying for the Investor Stream subclass 888, which is a permanent visa.
What criteria do I have to satisfy?
Applicants for this visa stream must:
be under 55 years of age (although States can waive this requirement if the proposed investment will be of exceptional economic benefit)
score at least 65 points in the Business Innovation and Investment points test
have a high level of management skill in relation to the eligible investment or qualifying business activity
have a genuine commitment to maintaining investment activity after the original investment has matured
have a genuine intention to live for at least 2 years in the State or Territory where the initial investment is made
In addition the applicant, the applicants partner or both combined must, for at least one of the five fiscal years before being invited to apply, have directly managed a qualifying business in which the applicant(s) have at least a 10% ownership interest or have directly owned and managed eligible investments of at least $1.5 million. In addition, in the two years fiscal years before being invited to apply, applicants need to have business, investment or personal assets of at least $2.25 million which are available for transfer to Australia within 2 years of the visa being granted. Applicants are also required to make a designated investment of at least $1.5 million in a State or Territory Government security and be prepared to hold that investment for at least 4 years.
How can I apply?
To be able to apply for this visa, applicants must submit an Expression of Interest ('EOI') through the SkillSelect platform, be nominated by a State or Territory Government and then be invited to apply for the visa by the Minister.
Once an invitation to apply has been received, applicants have 60 days to submit the visa application. As a result of this deadline, applicants may want to consider collating the required supporting documentation for the visa application before submitting the EOI.
Significant Investor stream
This is a temporary visa granted for a period of 4 years and is for people who want to make a complying investment of at least $5 million in Government bonds or eligible managed funds. Holding this visa is a prerequisite to applying for the Investor Stream subclass 888, which is a permanent visa.
What criteria do I have to meet?
The complying investment of at least $5 million, can be made in any proportion, but must be made for at least four years, in any of the following options:
Commonwealth, state or territory government bonds
Eligible managed funds - that are limited to investing in any or all of the following Australian assets:
infrastructure projects in Australia
cash held by Australian deposit-taking institutions
bonds issued by the Commonwealth Government or a State or Territory government
bonds, equity, hybrids or other corporate debt in companies and trusts listed or expected to be listed within 12 months on any Australian stock exchange
bonds or term deposits issued by Australian financial institutions
real property in Australia
Australian agribusiness
annuities issued by an Australian registered life company in accordance with section 9 or 12A of the Life Insurance Act 1995
loans secured by mortgages over the investments listed above
derivatives used for portfolio management and non-speculative purposes which constitute no more than 20 per cent of the total value of the managed fund
other managed funds that invest in the investments listed above
direct investment into private Australian companies - in which you have an ownership interest. The company needs to operate a qualifying business if you intend to apply for and meet the criteria for a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) in the Significant Investor stream.
Applicants also need to have a genuine commitment to reside in the State that provided nomination, to continue investment activity after the investment matures, to live in Australia for at least 160 cumulative days while holding the provisional visa.
Find out about the permanent investor visa
To find out about the permanent investor visas click on our guide below.
Investor and Significant Investor Stream (Permanent) visa (subclass 888)