Business & Investor Visa — Migrate Through Investment

The program operates under subclasses 188 (provisional) and 888 (permanent). The main streams are: 188A Business Innovation (for established business owners), 188B Investor (for investors with $1.5M in a complying investment), 188C Significant Investor ($5M in complying investments), 188D Premium Investor ($15M+), and 188E Entrepreneur (for high-value entrepreneurial activity). Each stream has distinct points test requirements, asset thresholds, and business turnover criteria under the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Significant Investor stream (188C) requires a complying investment of at least $5 million, held for the duration of the provisional visa. The investment must be held through ASIC-regulated managed funds and split across a prescribed allocation: a minimum percentage in venture capital and private equity, a further portion in emerging companies, and the balance in balanced managed funds. The Investment Manager must be approved by the Department of Home Affairs. Incorrect structuring is a common ground for application failure.

State nomination is highly competitive and each state sets its own annual cap, priority industries, minimum business turnover requirements, and net asset thresholds above the federal minimums. Nomination programs regularly open and close. States typically favour applicants who can demonstrate a genuine intention to operate a business in that state, prior business visits, and assets and turnover well above the minimum. A migration lawyer with knowledge of each state's current priorities can significantly improve your nomination prospects.

The 188 visa is provisional (typically granted for 4 or 5 years) and is the precursor to the permanent 888 visa. To transition to permanent residence, you must demonstrate that during your provisional visa period you have maintained complying business or investment activity, met residence requirements in Australia, and satisfied any conditions attached to your specific stream. The 888 application requires fresh evidence across tax years and is assessed independently — holding the 188 does not guarantee a 888 grant.

Genuine business activity requires demonstrating active involvement in the management of the business, not merely passive ownership. Evidence includes board meeting attendance records, employment of Australian workers, business financials demonstrating operating activity, BAS lodgements, and documentation of key business decisions. Applicants who purchased a business but were not actively involved in management are frequently scrutinised. A migration lawyer can help you gather and present this evidence effectively.

Yes — visa refusals under the Business Innovation and Investment program are generally reviewable by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Migration and Refugee Division. The AAT conducts a fresh merits review of the decision on its own evidence. Importantly, you can submit additional evidence to the AAT that was not before the original decision-maker. However, state nomination refusals are not subject to merits review. A migration lawyer can advise whether the grounds for refusal are amenable to AAT review and represent you throughout the process.