188A Business Innovation Visa
Who is this Visa For?
This provisional visa is for people with business skills, intend to operate a new or existing business in Australia. This visa provides a permanent resident(888 visa) pathway to the holder of the visa.
- less than 55 years of age or is proposing to establish or participate in business or investment activity which is of exceptional economic benefit to the State or Territory ;
- have a successful business history;
- have adequate personal and business assets of at least AUD1.25 million, the funds must be available to transfer to Australia within 2 years of granting the visa;
- for 2 out of 4 fiscal years immediately before receiving an invitation to apply, have had an ownership stake in 1 or 2 businesses that had at least AUD750,000 turnovers in each of those 2 years;
- score at least 65 points on the point test
State and Territory Nomination Requirements
(from 1 July 2021)
- is operated for the purpose of making profit through the provision of goods, services or goods and services (other than the provision of rental property) to the public; and
- is not operated primarily or substantially for the purpose of speculative or passive investment.
New South Wales
Sydney Regions
- 1000-1920
- 2000-2249
- 2555-2573
- 2755
- 2759-2772
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) Personal background
You must be under 50 years of age and have:
- a bachelor’s degree recognised as equivalent to the Australian standard, or
- In the past 10 years have at least:
- 3 years of business experience in a NSW target sector, or
- 5 years of business experience in a non-target sector
3) Personal and business assets
You must have combined net personal and business assets of:
- A$1,750,000 – Sydney
4) Business turnover
You must have qualifying ownership in up to two businesses that have a combined annual turnover of the below amount in two of the four most recent fiscal years:
- A$1,250,000 – Sydney
5) Points test
Your SkillSelect EOI must show a minimum score of 65 points.
Applications with the following characters will be prioritised:
- 15 points for business experience, or
- Points for business innovation qualifications
6) Business plan
You must provide a business proposal to describe how your business will contribute to the NSW economy and create new jobs.
Sydney target sectors:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Food and beverage manufacturing
- Agricultural technology
- Aerospace and defence
- Renewable energy and sustainability
- Emerging digital technology
- Cyber security
- Medtech
NSW Regional Regions
- All other postcode areas other than Sydney’s postcodes
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) Personal background
You must be under 50 years of age and have:
- a bachelor’s degree recognised as equivalent to the Australian standard, or
- In the past 10 years have at least:
- 3 years of business experience in a NSW target sector, or
- 5 years of business experience in a non-target sector
3) Personal and business assets
You must have combined net personal and business assets of:
- A$1,250,000 – Regional NSW
4) Business turnover
You must have qualifying ownership in up to two businesses that have a combined annual turnover of the below amount in two of the four most recent fiscal years:
- A$750,000 – Regional NSW
5) Points test
Your SkillSelect EOI must show a minimum score of 65 points.
Applications with the following characters will be prioritised:
- 15 points for business experience, or
- Points for business innovation qualifications
6) Business plan
You must provide a business proposal to describe how your business will contribute to the NSW economy and create new jobs.
Regional NSW target sectors:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Food and beverage manufacturing
- Agricultural technology
- Aerospace and defence
- Renewable energy and sustainability
- Emerging digital technology
- Cyber security
- Medtech
And
- Technology-enabled primary industries
- Critical minerals
- Recycling and waste management
Victoria
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) Points
You must score at least 65 on the Department of Home Affairs points test in SkillSelect.
3) Age
You must be under 55 at the time of application.
A waiver of the age requirement in limited circumstances. If you are over 55 and have an exceptional and innovative business proposal for Victoria.
3) English
You must have vocational English.
If you do not have vocational English, you may provide evidence of one of the following:
- you completed a course taught in English that took at least 3 years and led to a tertiary qualification, or
- you completed final year schooling in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa or New Zealand, or
- you completed other qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English.
4) Qualification
You must have completed either:
- At least a bachelor degree in a STEMM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics or Medicine), or
- A Masters of Business Administration (MBA).
If you do not hold either of these, you must have relevant business history.
5) Business History
If you do not have a relevant qualification, you must have at least 3 years of experience in:
- Health, medical research and life sciences
- Digital
- Agri-food
- Advanced manufacturing
- New energy, emissions reduction and circular economy
6) Your business proposal must show innovation and job creation
You must show how your proposed business activity will contribute to the Victorian economy through innovation and job creation.
7) Innovation
You must demonstrate in your proposal that your business will contribute to innovation in Victoria through innovations in either product or process*.
8) Job creation
You must also demonstrate that your business will create jobs in Victoria.
You must employ at least 2 full-time eligible employees.
Target sectors
Health, medical research, and life sciences
The health sector consists of businesses providing medical services and those involved in related medical education, research and development.
The medical research sector includes drug development, clinical trials, health product manufacturing, medical devices and digital health.
The life sciences sector comprises many industries such as the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Companies involved in food processing, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals may also form part of the life sciences sector.
Digital
The digital sector makes use of technology and innovation to drive economic growth, productivity, and competitiveness. If you operated a digital business for at least 3 years, we may consider it relevant business history. Some examples of highly regarded digital areas include:
- Health / Medtech
- Digital games
- AI and analytics
- Education tech
- Robotics and automation
- Agri Tech
- Fintech
- Transport tech
- Cloud software / Saas
- Cybersecurity
- Smart cities and infrastructure tech
- Device software
- Energy and resources tech
- GPS, imaging and geospatial
Agri-food
The agri-food sector includes food research and development, innovation in developing food growth and production of food products, and the modernisation and innovation of the agri-food sector.
An example of an agri-food business could be adopting technology and innovative packaging to improve the storage time of produces.
Advanced manufacturing
The advanced manufacturing sector produces high-value products, secures new global value chain connections, embraces new advances in technology such as additive manufacturing/3D printing, digital technologies, Industry 4.0 technologies, robotic and automation, and improvements in sustainability.
The advanced manufacturing sector includes industries such as defence, automotive, pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, aerospace, rolling stock, zero-emission vehicles, renewable energy, advanced materials and composites, food processing, off-site and modular construction and new emerging technologies such as green hydrogen and green steel.
An example is a business that uses robotics to improve the consistency of work in an automotive assembly line. Another example is a business using advanced materials to create precise glass blends to make high strength medical devices.
New energy, emissions reduction and circular economy
This sector includes industries such as clean energy, renewables, bioenergy, carbon capture and energy storage. It also includes recycling and waste reduction.
Process Innovation
A new or significantly improved production or delivery method which includes significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software. Implementing processes already commonly used in Victoria is not considered Process Innovation.
Product Innovation
A good or service that is new or significantly improved. This includes significant improvements in technical specifications, components and materials, software in the product, user-friendliness or other functional characteristics. Businesses that simply sell innovative products are not considered as product innovation.
ACT Camberra
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) Plan to invest a minimum $200,000 to purchase or establish a business will be of economic benefit to the ACT.
3) Make a personal commitment and have sufficient personal funds to settle in Canberra upon grant of the subclass 188 visa.
4) Sign a declaration acknowledging the ACT nomination obligations as the holder of a Business Innovation and investment (provisional) (subclass 188) visa.
Queensland
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) Must demonstrate a genuine commitment to Queensland.
3) Must have net business and personal assets of at least A$1.25 million ready to be transferred to Queensland after visa grant.
4) Must invest in one or two qualifying business(es) in Queensland after being granted visa:
- business investment of at least A$400,000 if the proposed business will be established in the Greater Brisbane and Gold Coast regions; OR
- business investment of at least A$300,000 if the proposed business will be established in regional Queensland.
- Export business must develop international markets for Queensland products.
- General importing business will not be acceptable unless the imported products are highly innovative, advanced in technology, or currently unavailable in Queensland. You should also provide value-adding service to the imported products such as customised design, product assembly installation, testing, repair, maintenance, etc.
- Property Development business will not be accepted.
South Australia
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) Intend to live in South Australia.
3) Propose an investment and/or business activity in South Australia that will meet the South Australian state nomination ‘Benefit to state requirements‘ for the subclass 888 Business Innovation stream.
4) Applicants aged 55 years or over at the time of invitation must demonstrate that the proposal will be of exceptional economic benefit to South Australia by meeting a higher investment threshold.
5) Provide detailed information on the viability and economic impact of the proposal to South Australia.
6) Agree to register your arrival in South Australia with Skilled & Business Migration and maintain current contact details for the duration of your visa.
- Applicants who have between 55 and 65 points can apply for exceptional circumstances for the additional 10 points from the South Australian Government. Priority will be given to investment proposals to be undertaken in South Australia. These applications will be assessed on a case by case basis.
- The choice of investment and/or business activity is based on the client’s own preference; however a business solely on selling imports (including bringing a product into South Australia from other States/Territories) will require substantial justification to demonstrate the benefit to the state.
- Support for an application to the Department of Home Affairs to extend subclass 188 visa is at the discretion of Skilled & Business Migration.
- Approval for a proposed business undertaking property development is still at the discretion of the Manager Business Migration for 188. With respect to the business required to be a sufficient business undertaking and not deemed as private investor property development even if the minimum financial requirement is met. Please see the fact sheet for further information.
- South Australia will manage the demand levels for certain business investments, including – but not limited to – cafes, restaurants, convenience stores, service stations and retail stores.
- It is strongly recommended that applicants obtain professional legal and financial advice before undertaking any business or investment activity.
- Nomination is entirely at the discretion of the Government of South Australia. Meeting the minimum published requirements does not guarantee nomination by South Australia. In assessing your Intention to Apply and application, Skilled & Business Migration will consider each application on its merits and the broader benefit to South Australia.
| Business or investment activity | Under 55 years of age | 55 years of age or older |
| Investment into a business & 3 full-time equivalent employees | AUD $300,000 | AUD $600,000 |
| Property development | AUD $1.5 million (Metropolitan Adelaide) AUD $1.2 million (Regional South Australia) | AUD $2 million (Metropolitan Adelaide) AUD $1.5 million (Regional South Australia) |
| Export (purchase value) | AUD $750,000 to AUD $1.25 million | AUD $1.5 million to AUD $2.5 million |
| Export composition | Under 55 years of age | 55 years of age or older |
| Three different products (maximum of 60% in any one product) | AUD $750,000 | AUD $1.5 million |
| Two different products (maximum of 80% in any one product) | AUD $1 million | AUD $2 million |
| One product | AUD $1.25 million | AUD $2.5 million |
SA Skilled & Business Migration may provide a waiver for proposals that bring an exceptional benefit to the state. It will be accessed on a case by case basis for either the (A) turnover requirement or (B) the assets and employment requirements.
A. $300,000 (AUD) turnover; OR
B. Waiver two out of the following three Department of Home Affairs requirements:
- Waiver $200,000 (AUD) in net business assets
- Waiver $600,000 (AUD) in net personal and/or business assets
- Wavier two full time employee requirement.
Tasmania
1) Meet Department of Immigration’s requirements
2) be a successful business owner or innovator proposing a new business or partnering with an existing Australian business partner to develop new technologies or innovations, enhance industry capabilities, or offer a product or service with a distinct point of difference, which is suited to Tasmanian conditions
3) be able to invest at least AUD 200,000 to establish a new business or purchase an existing business in Tasmania
4) have a realistic, well-researched and plausible business plan
5) demonstrate that you have or can acquire the relevant knowledge, skills, experiences, qualifications, licences etc. to undertake senior level day-to-day and strategic management of the business in Tasmania
6) have sufficient funds to settle in Tasmania
7) intend to live in Tasmania and contribute to Tasmania’s economy while you hold a subclass 188 visa associated with Tasmanian nomination, and
8) agree to the nomination undertakings.
- You must demonstrate your genuine commitment to invest with an Australian-based business partner to either enhance an existing business or start a new business in Tasmania.
- The business must not be a franchise.
- You must provide evidence of the agreement to invest.
- You must have ownership of the relevant patents and/or trademarks from an authorised governing body, or you can use the technology without breaching intellectual property rights laws.
If you are seeking an age waiver for exceptional economic benefit or 10-point special endorsement for unique and important benefit, you must demonstrate that your proposed business is of unique and important benefit to Tasmania. It must:
- be substantially different or innovative compared with existing businesses or
- allow Tasmania to gain some significant competitive advantage that it does not currently have or
- demonstrate that you have exceptional qualifications and experience linked to the business (i.e. the business cannot proceed without you).