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Home / Visa Options / Business & Investment Visas

Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa - Subclass 188

Overview Nomination requirements How to Apply

Important update:

The 2022-23 Business and Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) is now open. Read the news section of our website, and about each of the subclass 188 visa’s four streams, for all information and requirements for South Australian nomination in the 2022-23 program year.

 

This is a state nominated provisional residence visa for business owners, investors and entrepreneurs. It is the first step in a two-step pathway to permanent residency. There are four visa streams in this program to choose from.

 

Who can apply for this visa? 

This visa offers applicants the choice of four streams:

  1. Business Innovation stream: Successful business owners who want to undertake business in South Australia. 

  2. Investor stream: Successful investors or business owners willing to invest and maintain AUD$2.5 million (AUD$3.75 million if over 55 years of age) into complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional visa. 

  3. Significant Investor stream: People willing to invest AUD$5 million into a complying investment fund for the duration of the provisional visa.  

  4. Entrepreneur stream: People who have support from a selected Service Provider to undertake a complying entrepreneurial activity that is proposed to lead to either the commercialisation of a product or service in South Australia or the development of a business in South Australia. 

 

Pathway to permanent residency 

After three years on a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) subclass 188 visa, you may be eligible to apply for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa - subclass 888. 

Previous state nomination requirements for subclass 188  

  • Nominated between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022 
  • Nominated before 1 July 2021 

 

    To apply for this visa you must be state nominated by Skilled & Business Migration and meet all nomination criteria, as well as the Department of Home Affairs eligibility criteria.

    The Department of Home Affairs and state nomination requirements are different for each stream. Applicants must first apply to Skilled & Business Migration for state nomination before lodging a subclass 188 visa application with the Department of Home Affairs.


    Important Update: Candidates seeking a Subclass 188A nomination are required to submit an ‘Intention to apply’ (ITA) for consideration.  

    ITA applications from high quality applicants, who can create genuine and sustainable business opportunities in South Australia, may be invited to apply for state nomination.   

    In 2022-23, Skilled & Business Migration will be prioritising applications from candidates who have proven experience in their proposed business and can demonstrate their proposal will exceed the minimum investment criteria.  


    To meet the South Australian nomination requirements you must:

    • Meet the Department of Home Affairs subclass 188 Business Innovation stream visa criteria.
    • Intend to live in South Australia.
    • Score at least 80 points in the Department of Home Affairs’ points test. 
    • Provide a business plan detailing the viability and economic impact of your proposal to South Australia. Further details are listed in the How to Apply section. 
    • If proposing an export business in South Australia, you must demonstrate proven export experience and relevant expertise in the products being exported. 
    • 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. 
    • 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. 

    Additional Information

    • The choice of investment and/or business activity is based on the client's own preference; however, a business which is solely selling imports (including bringing product into South Australia from other States or Territories of Australia) will require substantial justification to demonstrate the benefit to 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 Skilled & Business Migration for Subclasses 188 and 888. If you are a business owner who wishes to undertake property development as a business to meet state nomination requirements, please see the Property Development Pathways fact sheet for further information. 
    • South Australia will strictly manage the demand levels for certain business investments including - but not limited to - cafes, restaurants, convenience stores, beauty salons, 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.  
    • Any duplicated applications will be automatically refused.  
    • Skilled & Business Migration will consider each application on its merits and the broader benefit to South Australia.  
    • Approval must be sought from Skilled & Business Migration in writing to change the business proposal of an approved State nomination application. Failure to gain approval will result in an application for the subclass 888 endorsement being refused. 

    To meet the South Australian nomination requirements you must:

    • Meet Department of Home Affairs 188 investment stream criteria 
    • Intend to live in South Australia 
    • Agree to make and maintain an investment of AUD$2.5 million (AUD$3.75 million if over 55 year of age) for the duration of the provisional visa in a complying investment fund (CIF). The complying investment fund must materially benefit South Australia. 
    • This material benefit to South Australia could include demonstration of evidence of investment activities in South Australia at the Subclass 888 visa application stage either as part of the CIF or additional to it. 

    Additional Information

    • Applicants who have between 55 and 65 points can apply for exceptional circumstances for the additional 10 points from the South Australian Government. These applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 
    • The choice of investment options is based on the client's own preference and Department of Home Affairs complying investment requirements. 
    • It is strongly recommended that applicants obtain professional legal and financial advice before investing or undertaking any business activity. 
    • The South Australian Government will not advise on any investment made or any business activity to be undertaken by the applicant, nor does it accept liability for any financial loss, cost of expense incurred as a result of any business decision, business activities or investments of the applicant or any person in any way connected with the significant investor program or otherwise. 
    • The Commonwealth and State Government require applicants to agree to not taking legal action against them for any loss of capital arising from the complying investment. 

    To meet the South Australian nomination requirements you must:

    • Meet Department of Home Affairs subclass 188 significant investor stream criteria. 
    • Intend to live in South Australia 
    • Agree to make and maintain an investment of AUD$5 million for the duration of the provisional visa in a complying investment fund (CIF). The complying investment fund must materially benefit South Australia. 
    • This material benefit to South Australia could include demonstration of evidence of investment activities in South Australia at the Subclass 888 visa application stage either as part of the CIF or additional to it. 

    Additional Information

    • The choice of investment options is based on the client's own preference and Department of Home Affairs complying investment requirements. 
    • It is strongly recommended that applicants obtain professional legal and financial advice before investing or undertaking any business activity. 
    • The South Australian Government will not advise on any investment made or any business activity to be undertaken by the applicant, nor does it accept liability for any financial loss, cost of expense incurred as a result of any business decision, business activities or investments of the applicant or any person in any way connected with the significant investor program or otherwise. 
    • The Commonwealth and State Government require applicants to agree to not taking legal action against them for any loss of capital arising from the complying investment. 

    To meet the South Australian nomination requirements you must:

    • Meet the Department of Home Affairs Subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream visa criteria. 
    • Have competent English or be a passport holder or citizen of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand. 
    • Intend to live in South Australia. 
    • Propose a business to be based in South Australia that has strong potential to achieve the Subclass 888 Entrepreneur stream Department of Home affairs visa criteria within 5 years, including the achievement of the success factors. 
    • Propose a business that has the potential to become a sustainable high-growth start-up, with the potential to employ South Australians. 
    • Priority will be given to proposals that support the strategic objectives of the Government of South Australia. 
    • Provide detailed information on the viability and economic impact of the proposal to South Australia. Further details are listed in the How to Apply section. Applicants aged 55 years or over at the time of invitation must demonstrate that the proposed entrepreneurial activity will be of exceptional economic benefit to South Australia. 
    • Agree to meet all other obligations to ensure that your state nomination remains current at the time you apply directly to the Department of Home Affairs for the Subclass 888 Entrepreneur visa. 
    • Secure the support of a selected Service Provider that has reviewed and approved your proposed entrepreneurial activity. 

    The South Australian service providers are:

    • The Innovation & Collaboration Centre (ICC) - The Innovation & Collaboration Centre (ICC) is home to a collaborative community of entrepreneurs, with access to world-class mentoring, university research, prototyping labs, and business development support. A partnership between UniSA and the SA Government, the ICC is renowned for its ability to fast-track startup access to the Australian market, and for providing startups with connections to a global network of industry experts. The ICC has a tailored program for entrepreneurial visa holders, along with pre-eminent accelerator and incubator programs for space and high-tech startups. 
    • Stone & Chalk - The largest dedicated start up and scaleup innovation community in Australia with hubs in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. In South Australia, Stone & Chalk is based at Lot Fourteen, the innovation precinct that is making global impact and is co-located with world leading organisations and startups such as Myriota, the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Google and the Australian Space Agency.
    • New Venture Institute (NVI) - Located in Australia’s most awarded Innovation District at Tonsley, Flinders New Venture Institute provides a range of programs and services to a vibrant community of startups and businesses in six focus sectors that reflect Flinders University’s areas of strength, growth, and research: Advanced Manufacturing; Creative Industries; Education; Energy, Water, and Sustainability; Health; Wine, Tourism, and AgTech. The institute is ideally placed to spark, enable, and develop business ideas from conception to industry advancement.  
    • Moonshots - Moonshot's aim is to have start-ups with great business plans join us to work with our “been there doing it” Entrepreneurs to build globally scalable investable businesses. They love Creative, Space, BioTech, AI/Hi-Tech, AgTech, Education and Defence Industries and as long as people have a growth mindset where they come from is of no interest! 
    • ThincLab - ThincLab is powered by the Adelaide Business School and is the University of Adelaide’s flagship business incubator. It works with an extensive network of partners to help entrepreneurs launch and grow innovative companies. It has a global footprint with five locations, and has been supporting early stage and scaling entrepreneurs across all industry sectors for the last 28 years. ThincLab also has a specialist incubator for AgTech, Food and Wine innovations.

    Current visa restrictions 

    • Holders of certain visas will not be eligible for endorsement by the South Australian Government, these include student visas (including subclasses 500, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574), Subclass 403 and Subclass 771. 
    • Subclass 485 visa holders may participate should the service provider assess they have an innovative idea and a strong business case. 

    Restricted activities 

    The proposed business activity must not relate to any of the following categories: 

    • Residential real estate 
    • Labour hire 
    • Purchase of an existing enterprise or a franchise in Australia 
    • Cafes and restaurants 
    • Consulting firms/companies 
    • Employment agencies 
    • Export/import businesses 

    This visa has special requirements for specific streams that should be reviewed prior to application as they may impact your eligibility and fulfillment of nomination requirements.

    Age waivers - Exceptional economic benefit to South Australia

    If you are applying for the Business Innovation, Investor or Entrepreneur stream, and aged 55 years or older at the time of invitation, the level of investment and/or business activity proposed must be of exceptional economic benefit to South Australia. There is no age restriction for the Significant Investor stream.

    Applicants aged 55 years or older must propose an investment and/or business activity in South Australia that meets the higher thresholds outlined in the state nomination requirements for the subclass 888 Business Innovation stream.

    Applicants aged 55 years or older must maintain an investment of AUD$3.75 million for the duration of the provisional visa in complying investment fund.

    Applicants aged 55 years or over must demonstrate that the proposed entrepreneurial activity will be of exceptional economic benefit to South Australia.

    Once you have decided which stream you want to apply for, and ensured that you meet the Department of Home Affairs visa criteria and South Australian nomination requirements, you will need to prepare and supply a range of documentation to complete your application.

    Please review the Before you apply information below prior to starting your application via the Skilled & Business Migration portal.

    Before you apply, you must have ready all information and documentation to support your state nomination application and prove the claims you make. Please refer to the below checklist as a guide to what you need to prepare for your application.

    For all streams:

    • You must confirm that you have sufficient financial resources to support yourself and dependents to settle in South Australia and understand it is your responsibility to determine the cost of living in South Australia. Evidence of financial capacity is not required. However, Skilled & Business Migration reserves the right to seek additional information or evidence at a later stage if necessary.
    • Provide scanned copies of the main applicant’s photo pages of your passport, and scanned copy of the spouse passport. 
    • Provide your Expression of Interest (EOI) reference number.  

    Important: 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.

    For the Business Innovation stream, you must also:

    • Provide a business plan detailing the viability and economic impact of your proposal to South Australia using this Business plan template. 

    It is an expectation that applications will not be duplicative as identical or near identical applications would indicate that they might not represent a genuine business proposal that would benefit South Australia's economy, local businesses and the workforce. 

    For the Investor and Significant Investor stream, you must also:

    • Provide the name of and information about the proposed complying investment(s) and its fund manager. 
    • Provide information on how the investment will materially benefit South Australia. 

    For the Entrepreneur stream, you must also:

    • Provide detailed information about the proposed  entrepreneurial business activity, demonstrating: 
    • You have in-depth knowledge, expertise or track record in the target product or service. 
    • Your proposed business has the potential to become a sustainable high-growth start-up, with the future potential to employ South Australians. 
    • Your project will have the majority of its assets and staff located in South Australia. 
    • Provide a letter of support from a selected Service Provider that has reviewed and approves your proposed entrepreneurial business activity. 
    • Provide an English language test result demonstrating you have at least competent English. If you are a passport holder or citizen of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand, you do not need to provide an English test result. 

    Applications for endorsement by the South Australian Government for the 188E State Nomination will require a letter of support from an approved service provider. 

    For more details on assessment processes, please see below. 

    You must seek support from one of the South Australian innovation eco-system service providers to be considered for nomination by Skilled & Business Migration. 

    1. Prior to submitting your application, review the entry requirements on the service providers’ websites. In addition to the South Australian Government (Skilled & Business Migration) requirements. You must also meet your selected service provider’s pre-requisite entry requirements for their mentoring and/or support programs.    
    2. Once you have selected a service provider, you may choose to send an email to the provider to briefly explain your business concept and ask if they will accept and support your business concept/an application from you. The service provider will contact you directly if they need additional information to help them decide if they will support your application. 
    3. Once you have obtained a letter of support from the service provider you can submit your application via the Skilled & Business Migration portal, you’re required to upload your letter of support. 
    4. The South Australian Government will provide you with a Letter of Endorsement, subject to you meeting all relevant requirements. The Letter of Endorsement is valid for 60 days from the date of issue. You must lodge an application to the Department of Home Affairs within this 60-day period.   
    5.  You must include this Letter of Endorsement when you apply online to the Department of Home Affairs. 
    6. The Department of Home Affairs will assess your VISA application and advise you and Skilled & Business Migration if you have been granted a 188E VISA. 

    Once you have ensured you meet all visa and nomination criteria, and prepared all documentation required for your application:

    1. Lodge an EOI through Department of Home Affairs SkillSelect website. Choose South Australia as your preferred state and select the visa stream you want nomination for. Keep note of the reference number as you will need it for your state nomination application.
    2. Create an account via the Skilled & Business Migration portal: 
      • For 188A you must first lodge an Intention to Apply (ITA) before you are able to submit an application for state nomination. 
      • For all other streams, you can submit an application for state nomination directly via the portal. 
    3. Once you have submitted your ITA or state nomination application, you will receive notification from the Skilled & Business Migration team that your submission has been received. 
    4. If you are approved for state nomination, you will receive an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs asking you to lodge your visa application within 60 days of nomination.
    5. You must lodge your application within this timeframe as re-nomination is not permitted within the same program year unless a new state nomination application is submitted. This will incur a new application fee and approval is subject to the availability of nomination places in the stream selected.
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