Business Innovation and Investment Visa Subclass 188 and 888

Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)

(Provisional means temporary visa for 4 years and 3 months and please note that extension may not be permitted so you must meet with criteria for second stage subclass 888 within time limit given and this is very important to take into account while applying for first stage and while investing money in Australia – We welcome to consult us for further clarification).

Caution – Business Visa Applicants – Australia is Great Country to settle but do remember that “ALL THAT GLITTER IS NOT GOLD!” What does it mean???

It means that if you have not done in-depth research about business investment in Australia – Information, Documents, Explanation & Evidence for applying for business visa and meet criteria of state/territory who will sponsor you; you will probably end up in a miserable situation and may receive failure in your application and you may lose hard earned money of your lifetime! Yes, it is true! We did come across business visa holders who did receive their temporary business visa, and had ended up in business investment which neither yielded any profit nor would meet the criteria for second stage of permanent business visa application. Many had totally disappointed and left the country ‘empty handed’. It MUST not happen with you as Business Visa so called Business Migration including all your family members is a BIG DECISION – we would say VERY BIG DECISION OF YOUR LIFE because you will uproot yourself from your home country and you would land in entirely new country and you would not have any idea about how to proceed further. In short, do your research work in-depth before you wish to apply for business visa. We do provide these kinds of services at very reasonable costs and we also include such services in our total costs to process your business visa application so please feel fre to discuss with us your needs to apply for business visa for Australia.

Subclass 188 has several streams

(a) The Business Innovation Stream – own and manage a business in Australia;

(b) The Investor Stream – Conduct Business and Investment Activity in Australia A$1.5 million to invest in Australia;

(c) The Significant Investor stream – A$5 million to invest in Australia;

(d) The Premium Investor stream; A$15 million to invest in Australia; and

(e) Entrepreneur Stream – Undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia

(f) Business Innovation Stream

• be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed business will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory.
• score at least 65 on the points test. Please see the Points test tab on this webpage for further information.
• for two out of the four fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have had an ownership interest in an established business or businesses that had at least AUD500 000 turnover in each of those years
• At the time of invitation, you, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have total net business and personal assets of at least AUD800 000 that are lawfully acquired and available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted; You and your partner must have had no involvement in unacceptable business or investment activities
• own at least one of the following percentage of your nominated main business:

o 51 per cent, if the business has a turnover of less than AUD400 000 per year
o 30 per cent, if the business has a turnover of AUD400 000 or more per year
o 10 per cent, if the business is a publicly listed company

• have an overall successful business career; have a genuine desire to continuously own and maintain a management role in a business in Australia;
• If your nominated main business provides professional, technical or trade services, you must have spent no more than half your time providing those services, as opposed to general management of the business.

Investor stream

• be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed investment will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory
• score at least 65 on the points test. Please see the Points test tab on this webpage for further information.
• have a high level of management skill in relation to the eligible investment or qualifying business activity
• have at least three years’ experience of direct involvement in managing one or more qualifying businesses or eligible investments
• have an overall successful record of eligible investment or qualifying business activity
• have a genuine and realistic commitment to continuing your business and investment activity in Australia after the original investment has matured
• have a genuine intention to live for at least two years in the state or territory in which you have made a designated investment.

You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must:

•  for at least one of the five fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have directly managed one of the following:
  o a qualifying business in which you, your partner or you and your partner combined had at least 10 per cent ownership interest, or
  o eligible investments owned by you, your partner or you and your partner combined of at least AUD1.5million.
• during the two fiscal years immediately before you are invited to apply, have legally acquired net business, investment and personal assets of at least AUD2.25 million that are available for legal transfer to Australia within two years of the visa being granted
• make a designated investment of at least AUD1.5 million in a state or territory government security using unencumbered funds accumulated from qualifying businesses or eligible investments and be prepared to hold that investment for at least four years from date of issue in your nominating state or territory
• have had no involvement in unacceptable activities.
• Income that you earn from your designated investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.

Significant Investor stream
Please note that the rules that were in force at the time that you applied for your Significant Investor visa will continue to apply for the duration of your provisional visa, including any Extension stream visas you apply for that relate to that provisional visa.

You must have a genuine and realistic commitment to:

• reside in the state or territory whose government agency nominated you,
• continue your business and investment activity in Australia after the conclusion of your provisional visa,
• live in Australia for at least 40 days per year (calculated cumulatively) for the duration of your provisional visa, or your spouse to live for at least 180 days per year (calculated cumulatively) for the duration of your provisional visa.
• You, your partner, or you and your partner combined must have net assets of at least AUD5 million that are legally acquired, unencumbered, and available to be used to make the complying investment in Australia.
• You and your partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.
• You, members of your family unit aged at least 18 must agree not to bring any action against the Commonwealth for any loss relating to your complying investment.
• Income that you earn from your complying investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.
• You must also make a complying investment or a complying significant investment of at least AUD5 million over four years.

Important: You might want to seek independent legal advice in relation to ensuring that an investment made for the purpose of this stream is a ‘complying significant investment’. It is your responsibility to ensure your investment options comply.

Complying Significant Investments for applications made after 1 July 2015
If you applied for a Significant Investor visa prior to 1 July 2015, see the rules below, which will continue to apply to you.

For applications made after July 2015 you must make a complying significant investment of at least AUD5 million over four years in the following proportions:

• At least AUD500 000 in venture capital and growth private equity funds which invest in start-ups and small private companies.
• At least AUD1.5 million in approved managed funds investing in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
• A ‘balancing investment’ of at least AUD3 million in managed funds that may invest in a range of assets, including ASX-listed companies, Australian corporate bonds or notes, annuities and commercial real estate.
• Direct investment in residential real estate continues to be prohibited and indirect investment in residential property through managed funds is now strictly limited.
• Investments must not be used as security or collateral for a loan.
• More detailed information about complying significant investments is available at Austrade.
• Complying Investments for applications made prior to 1 July 2015
• You must make a complying investment of at least AUD5 million in any of the following options, in any proportion, and hold that investment continuously for at least four years:
• Commonwealth, state or territory government bonds
• Eligible managed funds – that are limited to investing in any or all of the following Australian assets:
  o infrastructure projects in Australia
  o cash held by Australian deposit-taking institutions
  o bonds issued by the Commonwealth Government or a State or Territory government
  o 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
  o bonds or term deposits issued by Australian financial institutions
  o real property in Australia
  o Australian agribusiness
  o annuities issued by an Australian registered life company in accordance with section 9 or 12A of the Life Insurance Act 1995
  o loans secured by mortgages over the investments listed above
  o 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
  o 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.

Premium Investor Stream

The Premium Investor stream is by nomination of Austrade on behalf of the Australian government only. You must make a complying investment of at least AUD15 million in any of the following options:

• Australian securities exchange listed assets.
• Australian government or semi-government bonds or notes.
• Corporate bonds or notes issued by an Australian exchange listed entity (or wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian listed entity) or investment grade rated Australian corporate bonds or notes rated by an AFS licenced debt rating agency.
• Australian proprietary limited companies.
• Real property in Australia excluding residential property.
• Deferred annuities issued by Australian registered life companies.
• State or territory government approved philanthropic contribution.
  Income that you earn from your complying investment in Australia is subject to tax under Australian taxation law.
• You must also have a genuine and realistic commitment to continue your business and investment activity in Australia after the conclusion of your provisional visa.
• You, your partner (spouse or de facto), or you and your partner combined must have net assets of at least AUD15 million that are legally acquired, unencumbered, and available to be used to make the complying investment in Australia.
• You and your partner must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities.
• You, your partner and other family members aged at least 18 must agree not to bring any action against the Commonwealth for any loss relating to your complying investment

Entrepreneur stream

• be under 55 years of age, although a state or territory can waive this requirement if your proposed complying entrepreneur activity will be of exceptional economic benefit to the nominating state or territory
• have competent English and be able to provide evidence of this at the time you are invited to apply for the visa
• be undertaking or proposing to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia and have a genuine intention to continue this activity
• A Complying Entrepreneur Activity is an activity that relates to an innovative idea that will lead to the commercialisation of a product or service in Australia, or the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.
  This activity must not relate to any of the following excluded categories:
  1. Residential real estate
  2. Labour hire
  3. Purchase of an existing enterprise or a franchise in Australia.

An activity is a complying entrepreneur activity if all of the following requirements are met:

•  you have one or more legally enforceable agreements to receive funding with a total of at least AUD200 000 from one of the following entitites:
  o Commonwealth Government agency
  o State or Territory Government
  o Publicly Funded Research Organisation
  o Investor registered as an Australian Venture Capital Limited Partnership or Early State Venture Capital Limited Partnership
  o Specified Higher Education Provider
• under the agreement at least 10 per cent of the funding must be payable to the entrepreneurial entity within 12 months of the day the activity starts to be undertaken in Australia;
• You held at least 30 per cent interest in your entrepreneurial entity when you entered into the agreement.
• You have a business plan for the entrepreneurial entity noting how your innovative idea will lead to the commercialisation of a product or service in Australia, or the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.

The points table

Factor Description Points
Age 18–24 years 20
25–32 years 30
33–39 years 25
40–44 years 20
45–54 years 15
55 and older 0
English language ability Vocational English
5
Proficient English
10
Qualifications Australian trade certificate, diploma or bachelor degree by an Australian education institute; or
a bachelor qualification recognised by an education institution of a recognised standard 5
Bachelor degree in business, science or technology by an Australian institution; or a bachelor qualification by an education institution of a recognised standard 10
Special endorsement The nominating state or territory government agency could decide that your proposed business is of unique and important benefit to the state or territory where the nominating government agency is located 10
Financial assets Net business and personal assets of you, your partner or you and your partner combined in each of the preceding two years of at least:
AUD800 000 5
AUD1.3 million 15
AUD1.8 million 25
AUD2.25 million 35
Business turnover Annual turnover in your main business during a period of at least two years of the preceding four fiscal years of at least:
AUD500 000 5
AUD1 million 15
AUD1.5 million 25
AUD2 million 35

Business Innovation stream only

Business experience You have held one or more businesses before you were invited to apply for the visa for:
Not less than four years within the preceding five years 10
Not less than seven years within the preceding eight years 15

Investor stream only

Investor experience Eligible investment of at least AUD100 000 held for:
At least four years before the time of invitation to apply for the visa 10
At least seven years before the time of invitation to apply for the visa 15

Business innovation qualifications

At the time of invitation to apply for the visa: Evidence of registered patents or registered designs 15
Evidence of registered trademarks 10
Evidence of formal joint venture agreements 5
Evidence of export trade 15
Evidence of ownership interest in a gazelle business 10
Evidence of receipt of grants or venture capital funding 10
State or territory nomination Special endorsement (limited places) 10

In Business Visa applicant be sponsored by state or territory and/or Govt. agency.
When you read requirements it looks simple but in reality the requirements are very complex. The documents, information, explanation and evidence provided must meet with criteria of each stream at the time of application and at the time of decision and at the time of visa grant.

Applicant can include partner and dependent children preferably below age 18 in their application so entire family can migrate together.

All applicants must meet with health and character (police check) requirements as required by Dept of Immigration, Australia.

Please remember One fails all fail means if any one of your family members fails to meet requirements all of you will fail – for example, if someone has medical condition and cannot meet health criteria (unless it is waived), application will fail so right from beginning you must all your background with experienced immigration consultant so that you may other options to apply or you may be able to solve your problem well in advance.

On Business Visa people mainly from following countries have been traditionally migrating to Australia, however, any country in the world who is eligible to apply can apply for Business Visa so please feel free to contact us for your business visa needs for Australian Business Visa application.

1. China including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
2. Singapore
3. Malaysia
4. South Africa
5. Vietnam
6. Kenya

Business Opportunities in Australia:

There will be several kinds of business opportunities in Australia such as Cyber Security, Agri Business, Agri Technology, Waste Management, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Water Management, Fast Food Industry, Travel & Tourism, Wine Exports, Education Exports, Information Technology, Engineering, and Financial Services and so on; the list is endless. Australia is HUGE a vast country a continent East to West about 5,000 km and North to South about 4,500 km with population ONLY about 25 million (Density only 1 person per Square Km compared to 30,000 to 40,000 per Square Km in densely populated countries like India, China etc).

State/Territory Nomination for Business Visa Applicants:

Each State/Territory has their own criteria to be satisfied to apply for Business Visa for Australia. Australia has 6 states such as NSW (New South Wales – Sydney Capital City), VIC (Victoria – Melbourne Capital City), QLD (Queensland – Brisbane Capital City), WA (Western Australia – Perth Capital City), TAS (Tasmania – Hobart Capital City), and SA (South Australia – Adelaide Capital City); and 2 Union Territories – NT (Northern Territory – Darwin Capital City) and ACT (Australian Capital Territory – Canberra Capital City of Country Australia).

Each of the above has their own Govt. Agency and one has to approach them one by one and it is very time confusing and tiring activity and wages are very high in Australia so fees to process Business Visa application will always be higher than any other visa applications. You may come across cheap agents, however, you must be careful in engaging such persons as many applicants have been receiving rejections as they had not addressed criteria in an appropriatge manner whereby govt. authorities would have been convinced genuineness of business applicant.

Please feel free to contact us anytime suitable to you and we will try our best to provide you the best possible customer service and will process your business visa application with zeal, dedication and total care so that you will be happy to achieve your “Dream” to settle in Australia with yourself and your family members.

IMPORTANT FACTS TO NOTE IN BUSINESS VISA FAILURE CASES:

➢ When we come across Business Visa unsuccessful applicants; we often note that they had gone wrong in calculation of points for several factors, they had misinterpreted terminology, they had provided financial statements not in consistent with requirements of Dept of Immigration, and they had not provided enough information, documents and explanation and evidence so that Dept of Immigration would have been convinced about their genuineness of applying for Business Visa for Australia.

➢ They often blamed their agents whereas faults lied within themselves; please remember you as applicant is responsible for your application and nobody else; if you had engaged ‘cheap’ agent it was your fault so first you determine your eligibility with initial consulting and then get ready and then apply for visa.

➢ Never buy a business in advance in Australia assuming it can favour you for application and it can give you residency in Australia – you will be totally wrong and you will lose all your money. When you get Business Visa, Dept of Immigration and the concerned authority will tell you how much to invest and where to invest and it will depend upon and you also must keep in mind the second stage requirements to apply for permanent visa subclass 888.

➢ Several kinds of businesses available in Australia and you must research about it in-depth and do consult people known to you, or accountant or business advisor and then take final decision.

➢ Do think about your family members and their needs and particularly children schooling or college as tuition fees are very high in Australia so the case with standard of living so keep sufficient funds to meet with day to day expenses

➢ Least but not last, do contact us for chat or to have initial consulting and we will be more than happy to assist you as much as we can to make your “dream” come true!

Regional opportunities for business migrants

1. Australian Capital Territory – http://www.canberrayourfuture.com.au/

2. New South Wales – https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/

3. Northern Territory – https://www.nt.gov.au/

4. Queensland – https://migration.qld.gov.au/

5. South Australia – http://www.migration.sa.gov.au/

6. Tasmania – https://www.migration.tas.gov.au/

7. Victoria – https://liveinmelbourne.vic.gov.au/

8. Western Australia – http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/

Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888)

If you continue to own and manage a business in Australia (the Business Innovation stream); continue business and investment activity in Australia (the Investor stream, the Significant Investor stream and the Premium Investor stream); and continue entrepreneurial activity in Australia (Entrepreneur stream); you will be eligible to apply for Permanent Business Visa Subclass 888 and you must with all the criteria meant for this visa subclass.

You will be eligible if hold a relevant stream of the subclass 188 visa; be nominated by a state or territory government agency or Austrade; have owned and operated a business in Australia for at least 2 years (Business Innovation stream) or
have held a designated investment of AUD 1.5 million for 4 years (Investor stream; or have held a complying investment of AUD 5 million for 4 years (Significant Investor stream) or held a complying investment of AUD 15 million for 1 year (Premium Investor stream).

Additional requirements are:

• You and your partner have a satisfactory record of complying with Commonwealth laws, and of each State or Territory in which you operate a business and employ employees in the business, relating to your business,
• you have been nominated by an Australian state or territory or by Austrade on behalf of the Australian government,
• you and all your family members meet health and character requirements – you do not need to prove this again if you have already done this for the provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 188),
• have a realistic commitment to maintain business or investment activities in Australia.
• Other requirements depend on the stream in which you held your provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa (subclass 188).

Subclass 188 Temporary Business Visa has several streams and to apply for subclass 888 Permanent Business Visa, you must prepare yourself right from the beginning to meet with criteria of second stage 888 visa according to stream of 188 visa which you held. As a brief summary, we give below basic eligibility to apply for 888 visa.

Eligibility – Business innovation stream

You must have been in Australia and held:
a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Business Innovation stream or the Business Innovation Extension stream
for at least one year in the two years immediately before you apply.
In addition, you must be able to show ongoing business involvement, meet certain financial requirements, and have a history of employing Australian workers.

Eligibility – Investor stream

If you are applying for this visa in the Investor stream, you must have been in Australia and held your provisional visa in the Investor stream for at least two of the four years immediately before you apply.

In addition, you (or you and your partner combined) must have held a designated investment with an Australian state or territory for at least four years.

If you applied for your provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Investor stream prior to 1 July 2015, you are eligible to apply for a subclass 888 visa after holding your provisional visa for 3 years and 11 months. If you applied for your provisional visa after 1 July 2015, you are required to hold your provisional visa for at least 4 years prior to applying for a subclass 888 visa.

Eligibility – Significant Investor stream

If you are applying for a permanent visa (subclass 888) in the Significant Investor stream, you must have held at the time of application:
a provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream or in the Significant Investor Extension stream.
You must have been in Australia as the holder of a provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream or the Significant Investor extension stream for at least 40 days per year (calculated cumulatively) for the period of time you have held your provisional visa(s), or your spouse has been in Australia for at least 180 days per year (calculated cumulatively) on the basis of the period of time the primary applicant has held their provisional visa(s).

In addition, you (or you and your partner combined) must have:

• held complying investments continuously for at least 4 years while holding your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).
• operated a qualifying business under the private Australian company in which you have made a direct complying investment if applicable.

Note that the rules in force at the time you applied for you original subclass 188 visa in the Significant Investor stream will apply to you when your application for a subclass 888 visa is assessed.
If you applied for your provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream prior to 1 July 2015, you are eligible to apply for a subclass 888 visa after holding your provisional visa for 3 years and 11 months. If you applied for your provisional visa after 1 July 2015, you are required to hold your provisional visa for at least 4 years prior to applying for a subclass 888 visa.

Eligibility – Premium Investor stream

If you are applying for a permanent visa (subclass 888) in the Premium Investor stream, you must have held a provisional visa (subclass 188) in the Premium Investor stream at the time of application and be nominated by the Commonwealth government. You must have held your provisional visa for a minimum of 1 year.

You (or you and your partner combined) must have held complying premium investments continuously for at least 1 year, and for the entire time you have held your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188).

Eligibility – Entrepreneur stream

If you are applying for this visa in the Entrepreneur stream, you must have been in Australia and held your provisional visa in the Entrepreneur stream for a continuous period of at least four years immediately before you apply. In addition, you must be able to demonstrate a successful record of entrepreneurial activities in Australia.

Please note it is very difficult to provide all the details of any kind of Australian Visa because immigration laws are complex and changing frequently. For example, Business visa has several streams and you will get lost to find what you want and you may end up in miserable situation. To avoid such situation if you can afford small fee of initial consulting of highly experienced registered migration agent, we would recommend you to seek initial consulting and the proceed further. We have vast experience of various kinds of visas for Australia and you will not be disappointed if you consult us before you proceed for applying for business visa.