888 Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) – Entrepreneur stream

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Entrepreneur stream, subclass 888
Visa type	Permanent residence
Stay	Indefinite
Main cost	From AUD4,375
Eligibility timing	188 held 3 or 4 years
Residence requirement	At least 2 years
Nomination	Current State or Territory nomination
Work rights	Work in Australia
Study	Study in Australia
Medicare	Can enrol in Medicare
Travel facility	Multiple travel for 5 years
Citizenship	May apply if eligible
Family sponsorship	Can sponsor relatives
Family inclusion	Before decision only
Visa record	Digital, linked to passport
Application location	Inside or outside Australia
Application method	Online through ImmiAccount
Processing time	Use processing time guide

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Purpose

The Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888), Entrepreneur stream, lets eligible subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream holders continue entrepreneurial activities and live in Australia permanently.

Eligibility

You must:

• Hold, or in some cases have held, a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Entrepreneur stream.
• Have a current nomination from an Australian State or Territory government agency.
• Show an overall successful record of entrepreneurial activities in Australia.
• Make a realistic commitment to continue business or investment activities in Australia.
• Have complied with Commonwealth and relevant State or Territory laws, including taxation, superannuation and workplace relations laws.
• Not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities in Australia, including through your spouse or de facto partner.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Have no outstanding Australian Government debt, or an approved repayment arrangement.
• Satisfy immigration-history requirements; a visa cancellation or refusal may affect eligibility.

Subclass 188 holding period

Unless COVID-19 concessions apply, you must have held the subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream visa continuously:

• At least 4 years if invited to apply for the subclass 188 visa before 1 July 2021.
• At least 3 years if invited to apply for the subclass 188 visa on or after 1 July 2021.

Residence requirement

Unless COVID-19 concessions apply, you must have resided in Australia:

• At least 2 of the 4 years while holding the subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream visa, if invited before 1 July 2021.
• At least 2 years while holding the subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream visa, if invited on or after 1 July 2021.

COVID-19 concessions

During the COVID-19 concession period, time spent overseas counts as time in Australia for eligible subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream holders.

From 1 February 2020 until 3 months after the end of the concession period, you may also apply if your subclass 188 Entrepreneur stream visa expired during that period. For this concession, an expired visa must have been granted on or before 30 June 2019.

Entrepreneurial-success requirement

You must demonstrate either:

• 2 key success factors, or
• 1 key success factor and 3 supporting success factors.

Key success factors

Examples include:

• Employing at least 2 eligible Australian workers.
• Annual turnover of at least AUD300,000.
• Filing a provisional patent or acquiring a standard or innovation patent.
• Receiving ongoing funding or investment.
• Partnering with a university.
• Selling an entrepreneurial venture for AUD2 million.

Supporting success factors

Examples include:

• Expanding entrepreneurial activities into other business areas.
• A statement of success from the nominating State or Territory.
• Corporate-sector sponsorship.
• Starting one other business or contributing to two others.
• Formal awards or recognition.
• Raising or contributing to social capital.

Entrepreneurial activities in Australia cannot be:

• Residential real estate.
• Labour hire.
• Buying an existing enterprise or franchise in Australia.

Family members

You can include members of your family unit when applying or add them before a decision is made.

Family members may need to meet health and character requirements, including family members not migrating to Australia.

After visa grant, you cannot add family members. A family member wishing to join you later must apply for a separate visa.

Dependent children

A child over 18 generally must be:

• Under 23 and dependent on you or your partner; or
• Aged 23 or over, unable to earn a living because of physical or cognitive limitations, and dependent.

Evidence of financial dependency for at least 12 months may be required.

For a child under 18 migrating without a person with legal responsibility, provide either:

• Form 1229, or a statutory declaration of consent; or
• A court order or evidence allowing the child to leave their home country.

English and second instalment charge

Applicants aged 18 or over who did not pay a second instalment charge for a previous subclass 188 application must have functional English or pay the second instalment when requested.

The second instalment charge is AUD4,890 for each applicable applicant. Do not pay it until invoiced.

Cost

The visa costs from AUD4,375 for the main applicant. Additional charges apply for family members.

You may also need to pay for health examinations, police certificates and biometrics.

From 1 July 2026, eligible citizens of specified Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste may receive a lower visa application charge. Eligibility is identified through the valid passport used in ImmiAccount.

Eligible primary applicants must hold a valid passport issued by:

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Nauru
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

Family members may receive the lower charge based on the primary applicant’s passport.

Documents

Provide clear colour scans or photographs of documents. Translate non-English documents into English and include both original and translation.

Key documents include:

• Current passport identity pages for all applicants.
• National identity card, if available.
• Name-change documents, if applicable.
• Marriage, divorce, separation or death documents, where relevant.
• Form 1414 Nomination – Business Skills class, completed by the nominating State or Territory.
• One-page summary of current Australian business and investment activities.
• One-page summary of long-term Australian business and investment intentions.
• Written declaration of legal compliance by you and your spouse or de facto partner.
• Details of any legal breaches.
• Up to two-page summary of Australian entrepreneur activities.
• Evidence of entrepreneurial success, such as employment, turnover, funding, investment, business sale, awards or recognition.
• Form 80 and police certificates for applicants aged 16 or over.
• Military records or discharge papers, if applicable.
• Functional English evidence for applicable dependent applicants aged 18 or over.

Police certificates are required from every country where an applicant spent a total of 12 months or more in the previous 10 years since turning 16.

Partner evidence

If your partner was your dependent partner on the subclass 188 visa, relationship evidence is not required.

For a partner not previously included as your dependent, provide relationship evidence, identity documents, character documents and evidence of other relationships. A de facto relationship generally requires at least 12 months’ evidence.

How to Apply

You may be in or outside Australia when applying and when a decision is made, but not in immigration clearance.

1. Confirm your State or Territory nomination remains current.
2. Obtain a completed Form 1414 from the nominating government agency.
3. Gather identity, business, family, health and character documents.
4. Create or sign in to ImmiAccount.
5. Attach documents and pay the required application charge.
6. Keep the transaction reference number (TRN).
7. Monitor ImmiAccount for requests and upload further information promptly.

The Department will not process the application until the correct charge is paid.

After Applying

You may travel while the application is processed. Before leaving Australia, ensure you hold a valid visa to return.

If applying in Australia, a Bridging visa A may start when your current visa expires. Do not cancel your current visa, as this may leave you unlawful and ineligible for a Bridging visa A.

You must tell the Department about changes including:

• Contact details or passport.
• Relationship status.
• Birth of a child.
• Errors in the application.
• Withdrawal of the application.

To correct an error, complete Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers and attach it in ImmiAccount.

Health examination results are generally valid for 12 months. Do not undertake new examinations unless requested. Biometrics may also be requested.

Rights After Grant

This visa allows you to:

• Stay in Australia permanently.
• Work and study in Australia.
• Continue entrepreneurial activities.
• Enrol in Medicare.
• Attend free Adult Migrant English Program classes, if eligible.
• Sponsor eligible relatives.
• Apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.
• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from grant.

Newly arrived residents may need to wait before accessing certain Australian Government payments and benefits.

Obligations and Conditions

You and your family members must obey Australian laws and comply with all visa conditions.

You are expected to continue business and investment activities in Australia in line with the intentions stated in your application.

If outside Australia when the visa is granted, you and included family members must enter Australia by the date specified by the Department. Included family members may be restricted from marrying or entering a de facto relationship before entry, if advised by the Department.

Travel

The visa includes a 5-year travel facility from the grant date. You may travel in and out of Australia as often as you wish while it remains valid.

After the travel facility ends, you need a Resident Return visa to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident, unless you become an Australian citizen.

Check travel-facility validity through VEVO.

Citizenship

For citizenship purposes, permanent residence starts:

• On the visa grant date, if you are in Australia; or
• On your first entry to Australia on this visa, if outside Australia at grant.

Visa Record

Australian visas are digital. No visa label is placed in your passport. Your visa record is linked electronically to your passport and can be checked through VEVO.