Business Innovation And Investment (Permanent) Visa Business Innovation Stream (Subclass 888)

To apply for this visa, you must first be nominated by a state or territory government, which will generally be the state or territory government who nominated you for your provisional business visa.

There are separate eligibility criteria at the federal and state / territory level. We will outline the eligibility criteria for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and the criteria of the NSW State Government. We can advise you of the eligibility criteria of other states and territories should you be interested in migrating to a state or territory besides NSW.

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

The requirements under this stream are that you:

1. are the primary holder of a Subclass 188 Visa and have met all the requirements for your Subclass 188 Visa under the Business Innovation Stream
2. have been nominated by a state / territory government
3. have been physically present in Australia for at least one year in the two years prior to application
4. owned at least one of the following percentages in your main business(es) that has been actively trading throughout the 12 months preceding the application
5. 51% of a business with a turnover of less than AUD$400,000
6. 30% of a business with a turnover of AUD$400,000 or more; or
7. 10% of a publicly listed company.
8. have obtained an ABN for your business(es)
9. have lodged Business Activity Statements with the Australian Taxation Office for the two years preceding the application for your business(es)
10. have maintained a direct and continuous management role in your Australian business(es)
11. own a business(es) that had a turnover of at least AUD$300,000 in the 12 months preceding the application
12. satisfy at least two of the three following criteria throughout the 12 months preceding the application:
    • Net Business Assets Requirement: the net assets of your business(es) in Australia are at least AUD$200,000
    • Employees Requirement: your business(es) has employed at least two full-time equivalent employees who are Australian citizens, permanent residents or New Zealand passport holders and are not your family members; and/or
    • Net Business and Personal Assets Requirement: you have net personal and business assets in Australia of at least AUD$600,000.
13. have a genuine commitment to maintain your business activities in Australia
14. have complied with Australian laws
15. satisfy health and character requirements
16. have no outstanding debts to the Australian government or have arranged to pay any outstanding debts (e.g. tax debts)

NSW Government

Before applying to the DIBP for the visa, you must first be nominated by a state or territory government.

The requirements for nomination by the NSW government are that:

1. You must demonstrate that you meet the DIBP criteria above.
2. You must have been involved in a business(es) that has been actively operating throughout the last two years.
3. You must prove that you have been actively involved in managing your business(es).
4. If you are applying on the basis of the net business and personal assets criteria (see above – DIBP Criteria 9), if your business is in Sydney, your net business assets are at least $AUD300,000, and your net personal / business assets are at least $AUD900,000 throughout the 12 months preceding the application.
5. If your business is in Sydney, you must have invested at least $AUD500,000 in your business(es) for at least the last 12 months preceding the application.
6. Your business(es) must have had a turnover of at least $AUD300,000 in the last 12 months before the application is lodged.
7. You must provide a full resume of your overseas and Australian business career and responsibilities demonstrating a successful business careers.
8. The business(es) you own and run in Australia must be consistent with the business plan you provided to the NSW Government for your Subclass 188 Visa nomination application, unless you have submitted a change of business plan which has been approved by the NSW government.

If you wish to apply for this visa, please contact one of our experienced immigration lawyers.

These applications require a lot of information and documentation. We will ensure your application is structured in such a way that it is given the best prospects of success.

We offer all our prospective clients an initial meeting, during which we will thoroughly explain the law surrounding this visa to you and inform you of the process moving forward.

To organise an initial consultation with us, please contact one of our experienced immigration lawyers on (02) 9590 3987.