Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa (subclass 188a)

Business Innovation Stream (subclass 188a) Summary

This provisional visa is for business owners or shareholders (with at least 30% ownership) with several years of successful business experience. It lets you operate a new or existing business in Australia.

With this visa, you can:

· operate a new or existing business in Australia

· stay in Australia for up to 5 years

· bring eligible members of your family with you

· apply for a permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) in the Business Innovation stream if certain requirements are met.

Eligibility Requirements

For 2 out of 4 fiscal years immediately before you receive an invitation to apply, applicants must have had an ownership stake in 1 or 2 businesses that had at least:

· AUD 500,000 turnover in each of those 2 years if you were invited to apply before 1 July 2021

· AUD 750,000 turnover in each of those 2 years if you were invited to apply on or after 1 July 2021

Whether you have 1 or 2 businesses, you must own at least:

· 51%, of the total value of the business if the business has a turnover of less than AUD 400,000 per year

· 30%, of the total value of the business  if the business has a turnover of AUD 400,000 or more per year, or

· 10%, of the total value of the business if the business is operated by a publicly listed company

If your business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent less than half your time providing those services, rather than general management of the business.