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

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Subclass 888 Significant Investor
Stay	Permanent; stay indefinitely
Cost	From AUD4,375 main applicant
Eligibility timing	Usually four years on 188
Work rights	Work in Australia
Study	Study in Australia
Medicare	May enrol in Medicare
Travel facility	Multiple travel for five years
Citizenship	Eligible applicants may apply
Family sponsorship	May sponsor relatives
Visa record	Digital visa linked to passport
Application location	In or outside Australia
Nomination	Current state, territory or Austrade
Investment requirement	Maintain complying AUD5 million investment
Processing	No standard times available

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Purpose

The Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888), Significant Investor stream, allows eligible subclass 188 Significant Investor visa holders to continue business and investment activities and live permanently in Australia.

Eligibility

You must:

• Hold, or in limited cases have held, a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor or Significant Investor Extension stream.
• Have a current nomination from a state or territory government agency or Austrade that has not been withdrawn.
• Have maintained the required complying investment or complying significant investment throughout the required period.
• Have a realistic commitment to continuing business or investment activity in Australia.
• Meet the residence requirement.
• Not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities in Australia.
• Have followed applicable Commonwealth, state and territory laws if operating an Australian business, including taxation, superannuation and workplace relations laws.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Have no outstanding Australian Government debt, unless an approved repayment arrangement is in place.
• Meet immigration-history requirements; prior visa cancellation or refusal may affect eligibility.

Provisional visa holding periods

Generally, the primary applicant must have continuously held:

• A Significant Investor stream subclass 188 visa for four years; or
• A Significant Investor stream visa and one or more Significant Investor Extension stream visas for four continuous years; or
• A Significant Investor stream visa applied for before 1 July 2015 for three years and 11 months.

If invited to apply for the original Significant Investor stream subclass 188 visa on or after 1 July 2021, the source states the primary holder must have held that visa for at least three years. It separately states a secondary holder whose primary holder was invited on or after that date must have held their visa for at least four years.

Application windows

If you currently hold a Significant Investor stream subclass 188 visa:

Provisional application date	Subclass 888 application window
Before 1 July 2015	3 years 11 months to 4 years
On or after 1 July 2015	4 years to 4 years 3 months

If you hold a Significant Investor Extension stream visa, you must have held Significant Investor and Extension stream visas continuously for four years when applying.

Residence requirement

Unless COVID-19 concessions apply, either:

• You must have been in Australia for at least 40 days for each relevant year of your Significant Investor or Extension stream visa period; or
• Your spouse or de facto partner, as the primary visa holder, must have been in Australia for at least 180 days for each relevant year.

For an Extension stream period, part of a year is treated as one year.

Investment requirement

When your provisional visa was granted, you invested AUD5 million in a complying investment or complying significant investment.

You, or you and your spouse or de facto partner combined, must have held the required investment for the entire period you held the subclass 188 visa. You must disclose any transfer of funds between investments.

Investment rules applicable to your permanent visa are those in force when you applied for your provisional visa.

For direct investments in an Australian proprietary company:

• If held for less than two years, the company must have been a qualifying business throughout.
• If held for two years or more, it must have been a qualifying business for at least two years.
• If unable to operate as a qualifying business, you must have made a genuine attempt to do so.

English requirement and second instalment

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. Do not pay it unless requested.

Australian values

Applicants aged 18 or over at decision must:

• Read, or have explained to them, the Life in Australia book; and
• Sign an Australian Values Statement.

Family Provisions

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

Family members applying must meet health and character requirements. Non-migrating family members may also need to meet these requirements.

After visa grant, family members cannot be added. Family wishing to join later must apply for a separate suitable 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.

For a dependent child turning 18 or 23 during processing, additional dependency evidence may be required.

For children under 18, obtain consent from any person with legal authority over where the child lives who is not migrating. Use Form 1229 or provide a statutory declaration, court order, or evidence that the child’s home-country laws allow departure.

Cost

The visa application charge starts from AUD4,375 for the main applicant. Additional charges apply for each family member included.

Other possible costs include health examinations, police certificates and biometrics.

From 1 July 2026, eligible citizens of specified Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste receive a lower visa application charge when lodging a valid application. Eligibility is identified through the primary applicant’s valid passport.

Eligible passport countries are:

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

Documents

Provide clear colour scans or photographs of documents. Non-English documents must include English translations. Certification is not required.

Identity and relationship evidence

Provide for each applicant:

• Passport biographical pages.
• National identity card, if held.
• Name-change evidence, if applicable.
• Two recent 45 mm × 35 mm photographs.
• Marriage, divorce, separation or death documents, where relevant.

Nomination and business evidence

Provide:

• Completed Form 1414 Nomination—Business Skills class from 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.
• Declaration of compliance with Australian laws and details of any breaches.

Investment evidence

Provide evidence that you maintained the required investment throughout your provisional visa period, including evidence of investment transfers.

For provisional applications lodged on or after 1 July 2015, evidence can include:

• Recent holding statements showing investor name, amount and commencement date.
• Form 1413D for each managed-fund investment.
• Transfer evidence and fund declarations for switched investments.

For provisional applications lodged before 1 July 2015, evidence can include:

• Government bond holding statements.
• Managed-fund holding statements and Form 1413.
• For proprietary-company investments, company extracts and audited accounts.

Character documents

Applicants aged 16 or over must provide:

• Form 80.
• Police certificates from every country where they spent 12 months or more during the past 10 years since turning 16.
• Military service or discharge records, if applicable.

Partner and dependent evidence

For a partner not already holding a subclass 188 visa as your dependent partner, provide relationship evidence, such as:

• Marriage certificate; or
• Evidence of at least 12 months’ de facto relationship.

For dependent children, provide identity, relationship and dependency evidence as applicable. A dependent child aged 18 or over may need Form 47a and evidence of financial dependency for at least 12 months.

How to Apply

Apply online through ImmiAccount.

1. Confirm your nomination remains current.
2. Gather identity, investment, character and family documents.
3. Complete the online application.
4. Attach supporting documents.
5. Pay the correct visa application charge.
6. Keep the transaction reference number (TRN).
7. Check ImmiAccount for requests and updates.

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

Processing

No standard processing times are available for this stream.

Applications may take longer if forms are incomplete, documents are missing, further information is needed, or information requires verification.

You may be asked to provide health examinations or biometrics. Do not undertake new health examinations unless requested. Health examination results are generally valid for 12 months.

After Applying

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

If in Australia:

• Remain lawful by holding a valid visa.
• A Bridging visa A may commence when your current visa expires.
• If leaving Australia while holding a Bridging visa A, apply for a Bridging visa B or make other return arrangements.
• Do not cancel your current visa, as this may make you unlawful and ineligible for a Bridging visa A.

Tell the Department promptly about changes to your contact details, passport, relationship status, a child’s birth, or an intention to withdraw the application. Use Form 1023 to correct incorrect answers.

Rights and Conditions

With this visa, you can:

• Stay in Australia permanently.
• Work and study in Australia.
• Continue business and investment activities.
• Attend free Adult Migrant English Program classes, if eligible.
• Enrol in Medicare.
• Sponsor eligible relatives.
• Apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

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

The Department expects you to continue Australian business and investment activities in line with the intentions stated in your application.

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

Travel

You may travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for five years from the visa grant date, while the travel facility remains valid.

After the five-year travel facility expires, you need a Resident Return visa or another permanent visa with a valid travel facility to return to Australia as a permanent resident.

If you leave after the travel facility expires without a valid return facility, you cannot return as a permanent resident.

Check your travel facility in 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 when granted.

You may apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.