188 Business Innovation & Investment (Entrepreneur Stream) Visa

188 Business Innovation & Investment (Entrepreneur Stream) Visa

The Business Innovation & Investment (Subclass 188) visa provides a pathway to permanent residency for business people who want to own and manage a business or to make an investment in Australia.

188 Visa Entrepreneur Stream

The Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment Visa under the Entrepreneur Stream is for applicants who wish to undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia.

Applicant Requirements

You must:

• be under 55 years of age. If you are over 55, your proposed complying entrepreneur activity must be considered an exceptional economic benefit to your nominating State or Territory government agency
• be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency
• have competent English or you hold a valid passport issued by the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland (and you are a citizen of that country)

Entrepreneur Activity

At the time that you are invited to apply for the Subclass 188 visa under the Entrepreneur Stream, you must be undertaking (or propose to undertake) a complying entrepreneur activity. You must have a genuine intention to complete your entrepreneur stream activity. A complying entrepreneur activity must relate to an innovative idea that is proposed to lead to the commercialisation of a product or service in Australia, or to the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.

In addition, you must have one or more legally enforceable agreements to receive funding of at least AU$200,000. This funding must be provided by one or more of the following entities:

• Commonwealth government agency or a State/Territory government agency
• Publicly Funded Research Organisation
• investor registered (or conditionally registered) as an Australian Venture Capital Limitedfollow Partnership or an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership
• listed higher education provider

Permanent Residence

The permanent (Subclass 888) Business Innovation & Investment visa allows business people and investors who own and manage a business or hold investments in Australia to continue these activities on a permanent basis.

Subclass 888 visa applicants under the Entrepreneur stream must:

• have been the primary holder of a subclass 188 Business Innovation & Investment visa in the Entrepreneur stream for at least four years.
• have resided in Australia for at least two of the last four years
• be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency
• have a satisfactory record of complying with Australian laws, with no involvement in unacceptable investment activities (this also applies to your spouse/de facto partner)

Visa applicants must demonstrate a successful record of undertaking entrepreneurial activities in Australia whilst they have held a subclass 188 visa in the Entrepreneur stream.