Stay in Australia for up to 5 years.
From AUD6,085
Live in Australia for up to 5 years;
Operate a new or existing business in Australia;
Bring eligible members of your family with you;
Travel to and from Australia for the validity of your visa;
Apply for a permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) Visa (Subclass 888) Business Innovation stream if certain requirements are met.
You must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency, before being invited to apply for this visa.
The State or Territory government agency that nominates you must not withdraw their nomination after you apply, or we will be unable to grant you a visa.
For 2 out of 4 fiscal years immediately before you receive an invitation to apply, you must have had an ownership stake in 1 or 2 businesses that had at least:
Whether you have 1 or 2 businesses, you must own at least:
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.
When you are invited to apply for this visa, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net business and personal assets of at least:
Your funds must be available to transfer to Australia within 2 years of us granting the visa.
You must score at least 65 points on the points test.
You can get points for many reasons, including your:
Check how many points you might get.
You must have a successful business career and a genuine desire to continuously own and manage a business in Australia.
You will not receive an invitation if you are aged 55 or older at the time of the invitation to apply for the visa. If you are older, a State or Territory might invite you to apply for this visa if your business will be of exceptional economic benefit.
You and your partner must have had no history of involvement in business or investment activities that are of a nature that is not generally acceptable in Australia.
All applicants aged 18 or over at the time of application must either have at least functional English or you will be asked to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge.
You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet our health requirement.
Family members who are not coming to Australia might also meet our health requirement.
You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you must meet our character requirement.
Family members who are not coming to Australia must also have to meet our meet our character requirement.
If you and your family members who have applied for the visa are 18 years of age or older at the time of application, you and your family members must:
If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, you or they must show that it has been paid back or there is an approved arrangement in place to pay it back
You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia. Check if visa cancellation affects your eligibility.
You must give us an Expression of Interest (EOI), be nominated by a State or Territory, and then be invited to apply.
You must submit an expression of interest (EOI) to let us know you want to apply for this visa.
Your EOI tells us about your skills, qualifications and business experience. It lets us know which states and territories you would like to operate a business in. If you are eligible and a State or Territory government nominates you, we might then invite you to apply for the visa.
Check that you meet all other eligibility criteria for the visa.
Each nominator will assess your EOI using their own criteria. Learn more:
If you receive an invitation to apply for the visa after you submit your EOI, you will need to provide documents that:
You should have all these documents before you submit your EOI.
You must score at least 65 points on our points test to be eligible for this visa. If you can’t score 65 points, you will not be considered for an invitation.
If we invite you to apply for the visa, you must prove the claims you make in your EOI.
Use the points table to check how many points you might score.
We use the points test to help us select people who have the skills and attributes Australia needs.
You can get points for many reasons, including your:
Submit your EOI via Skillselect.
You can submit it from within or outside Australia.
Your EOI is not a visa application. There is no charge for submitting an EOI.
Select the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).
You will receive an email confirming your EOI has been submitted.
SkillSelect will estimate your points score. If you score is at least 65 points, your EOI will be visible to State and Territory governments. If you have skills they need, a State or Territory government agency might nominate you for the visa.
If you get a nomination, you will get an invitation to apply for this visa
An EOI is not a visa application. Submitting an EOI does not mean you will get a bridging visa.
If your current visa is about to expire, you must apply for another visa to remain in Australia lawfully.
You can change your EOI in SkillSelect if:
You must be able to meet the minimum score of 65 points.
SkillSelect will update your points score when you make changes to your EOI. You can change your EOI at any time before we invite you to apply for a visa.
You can’t make changes to your EOI after we invite you to apply for a visa.
You could receive an invitation any time within 2 years of submitting your EOI. If you are invited to apply for the visa, you will receive an email from SkillSelect. Receiving an invitation does not mean you will be granted the visa.
If you are invited, you have 60 calendar days to apply for the visa. This time will not be extended.
You must demonstrate that you can score a minimum of 65 points and satisfy all other eligibility criteria. If you can’t meet the points score and all other eligibility criteria, we will not grant you the visa.
If you do not apply for the visa after two invitations, your EOI will be removed from SkillSelect.
If you can’t show that you can meet the points score and satisfy all other eligibility criteria, you should not apply for the visa until you can. If you want to update your EOI to better reflect your points score, you can do that after the 60-day invitation period.
If this is your first invitation, you might be sent a second invitation after the 60-day invitation period.
If this is your second invitation, you will have to submit another EOI if you still want the visa.
If you are not invited to apply within 2 years of submitting your EOI, your EOI will expire. We will send you an email when your EOI is about to expire.
You will need to submit a new EOI if you still want the visa.
You will not receive an invitation if you turn 55, unless the nominating State or Territory government agency has determined an exceptional economic benefit to the State or Territory in which the agency is located.
You don’t have to use a migration agent to submit an EOI, if you do, you should use a a registered migration agent.
You and your family members who are applying for this visa, will need valid passports. If you plan to get a new passport, do this before applying.
You don’t have to use a migration agent to apply for any visa. But if you want to, see how to find a registered migration agent.
Anyone can help you fill out forms or give you general help with your application. But you must let us know if you want someone to:
You will need to prove your identity, and provide documents about your business and assets. You also need to provide documents about family members applying with you.
You and family members who apply for the visa with you, must provide:
Colour copies of the pages of your current passport showing photo, personal details, and passport issue and expiry dates.
Also provide:
Documents that prove a change of name include:
You must provide documents about your business and your net assets. These documents are to prove that your business is eligible for this visa. With your application, provide:
With your application, give us:
This can include:
This can include:
If you want to include assets held by a trust, you must include a copy of the trust deed.
This can include:
If your business is a trust, provide full trust deed and amendments (including the names of all trustees and beneficiaries at the time the trust was formed).
Provide evidence that you maintained direct and continuous involvement in management of the business from day to day and in making decisions affecting the overall direction and performance of the business for 2 of the 4 fiscal years before we invited you to apply.
The evidence needs to show your involvement in decisions about the management of the business. It must show you are responsible for such areas as:
Provide your business registration certificate or licence for your main business.
This can include:
Provide a full set of financial statements for your business. These must be for:
An independent accountant must prepare the statements to International Accounting Standards. They must include a balance sheet, profit and loss statement and notes to the accounts.
Provide:
If applicable, provide:
Evidence of assets of:
Provide evidence that you, your partner, or you and your partner combined hold required total net business and personal assets. You must have acquired these assets legally. You must be able to transfer them to Australia within 2 years after we grant the visa.
You will be required to nominate a specific date within 3 months immediately before we invited you to apply.
Provide Form 1139A Statement of Assets and Liabilities Position.
Provide evidence of your ownership of each asset, its value, and any liabilities against it as at the date you nominated.
Provide:
Label each document so that it clearly identifies the relevant asset or liability.
Cross- reference the asset or liability to the appropriate item in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities Position. This can be found on Form 1139A Statement of Assets and Liabilities Position.
Provide documents only for items you want points for in the Points Test. Check what you can get points for.
To be awarded points for English language ability you must demonstrate that you have either vocational English or proficient English.
Provide a certified copy of the trade qualification, diploma or bachelor degree to claim points.
Provide evidence of ownership of assets as at the 2 fiscal years prior to when we invited you to apply for the visa. Use Form 1139A Statement of Assets and Liabilities Position.
Provide a full set of financial statements for the business:
Turnover claims must be further supported by submitted VAT or Income Tax Returns for the business.
Provide evidence that you have held one or more main business for:
For a registered patent or design, provide evidence that proves that you own it.
The relevant national or regional intellectual property administration office must issue this evidence. It must include enough information that we can assess whether your ownership meets the points requirement.
Also provide a statement outlining how the registered patent or registered design is relevant to your main business.
This statement must also show how it is applied in the day-to-day activities of the business. You must be able to provide evidence to support any claims made in the statement if we ask you to.
For a registered trademark, provide evidence that proves ownership of the trademark.
The relevant national or regional intellectual property administration office must issue this documentation. It must include enough information that we can assess whether your ownership meets the points requirement.
Also provide a statement outlining how the trademark is relevant to your main business. This statement must also show how it is applied in the day-to-day activities of the business. You must be able to provide evidence to support any claims made in the statement if we ask you to.
For a joint venture agreement, provide a copy of the agreement showing:
Also provide a statement outlining:
For export trade, provide:
Evidence that at least 50% of the turnover of your main business related to export trade. This must be the case for at least 2 of the 4 fiscal years before we invited you to apply for this visa. You could provide:
We might ask you to provide a special-purpose report prepared by a qualified accountant attesting to your claim.
For a gazelle business, provide:
Also provide evidence that you have had 10 or more full-time employees for at least one fiscal year. This must be the same consecutive 3-year period claimed for growth in turnover. You could provide taxation records, insurance or superannuation documents or similar business records identifying each employee by name.
To show receipt of grant or venture capital funding, provide:
Provide proof you have at least functional English.
All applicants aged 18 years and older at the time of application who can’t provide evidence of having at least functional English must pay a second instalment of the visa application charge.
If you and any family member applying with you have less than functional English, provide a statement indicating your intention to pay the second visa application charge for each person with less than functional English.
We will advise you when to pay this.
You do not need to provide health documents. The doctor will send them to us.
You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you, provide:
To nominate someone to:
See more about getting help with your application.
Provide your partner‘s:
Provide either:
Documents that prove your de facto relationship include:
For every dependant 18 years old or younger who is applying with you, provide:
You must get consent for any applicant under 18 years of age to migrate to Australia from anyone who:
They must complete either:
Alternatively, you can show us:
Include:
Note: If your child is likely to turn 18 while your application is being processed, you will need to provide evidence they are dependent on you. See the section ‘Dependants over 18 documents’ below for further information. A child who turns 18 while your application is being processed and who is not dependent on you cannot satisfy the criteria for this visa.
To include your child who is over 18 in your visa application, they must be:
Provide:
If your child is likely to turn 23 while your application is being processed, you will need to provide evidence they are dependent on you due to disability.
Proof of dependency
You must also provide proof the child is dependent on you.
You must also prove this person has been financially dependent on you for at least 12 months before you apply. You could provide:
Note: A child who turns 23 while your application is being processed and who does not meet these requirements cannot satisfy the criteria for this visa.
Have all non-English documents translated into English.
Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.
Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited. But on each translation, they must include their:
These details must be in English.
Note: You do not need to have any documents certified.
Scan or photograph all documents (English and non-English) in colour.
The scans and photos must be clear.
If a document is more than one page, save it all as one file.
If you are applying from China, Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan use the document checklist from the Australian Consulate General Hong Kong.
Apply for this visa online in ImmiAccount. You must be invited to apply. Your invitation letter contains instructions on how to lodge your application.
You are obliged to prove your identity and provide true information with your application. See what happens if you can’t prove your identity or don’t provide true information.
ImmiAccount will tell you the charge. We will not process your application until you pay the correct charge.
Send your documents
After you submit your application online, send us your documents and other forms.
If you live in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong (SAR), Macau (SAR) or Taiwan, send the documents to the Australian Consulate General Hong Kong.
If you live elsewhere, send your documents by registered post to:
Adelaide Visa and Citizenship Office
Attention: Adelaide Business Skills Processing Centre
We will let you know when we have received your application.
We cannot provide updates on applications. You will be contacted if additional information is required. Please wait for us to contact you.
You do not have to tell us if you want to travel outside Australia while we process your application. This is because you can be outside Australia when we make a decision.
But if you leave Australia, make sure you have a valid visa if you plan to return to Australia before a decision is made on your application.
Learn about visa expiry.
Learn about Bridging visas
If you did not have health examinations before you applied, we will let you know if you need them.
We might ask for biometrics (fingerprints and photo). We will let you know if you need to provide them.
If you didn’t send us all documents when you applied, send them as soon as you can.
If you live in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong (SAR), Macau (SAR) or Taiwan, send the documents to the Australian Consulate General Hong Kong.
If you live elsewhere, send your documents by registered post to:
Adelaide Visa and Citizenship Office
Attention: Adelaide Business Skills Processing Centre
If you are in Australia, make sure you stay lawful by holding a valid visa while we process your application.
When you applied for this visa, if you were in Australia, you were granted a Bridging visa A (BVA). If your current visa expires before we decide on your application, the BVA will start.
You can stay in Australia on the BVA while we process your new visa application. However, if you intend to leave Australia and return while holding a BVA, you will need to apply to our office for a Bridging Visa B (BVB) or make alternative visa arrangements to return, as your BVA ceases when you leave Australia.”
Do not cancel your current visa. If you do, you will:
Learn more about visa expiry.
If you need to pay a second instalment, we will send you an invoice after you have met all other requirements for the visa. Pay the invoice after you get it.
You must pay the instalment before we will grant the visa.
You can add members of the family unit to your application after you apply but before we decide on your visa
Complete Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement (481KB PDF) and
Find out what to do if your child is born after you apply.
Let us know as soon as you can if you made a mistake on your application. Complete Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers (168KB PDF).
Let us know if you no longer want someone to:
See more about withdrawing your nomination.
Things you need to let us know about after you have applied include:
See how to tell us if your situation changes
We will let you know in writing our decision about your visa application. If we grant you the visa, we will tell you:
Keep a copy of the decision with you when in Australia.
If we refuse your visa, we will tell you why it was refused and whether you have a right to a review of the decision.
We will not refund the application fee if we refuse your application.
Send us an enquiry today to get started on your visa application.
8515 – Must not marry or enter into a de facto relationship before entry | You must not marry or enter into a de facto relationship before entering Australia. See what to do if your details have changed. The Department might cancel your visa if they find out you were engaged, married or in a de facto relationship before we granted you the visa but did not update your details. |
