Premium Investor stream

As the visa applicant, you must,

• hold a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa in the Premium Investor stream
• meet certain investment requirements related to your provisional visa
• have a current nomination from Austrade which has not been withdrawn

• You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when a decision is made on your application, but not in immigration clearance.
• A primary applicant for the visa must be:
  • the primary holder of a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Premium investor stream.
  • the holder of a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa granted on the basis that you were the spouse or de facto partner of a person who held a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa in the Premium Investor stream, and you have ceased to be the spouse or de facto partner of that person or that person has died.
  • At the time you (the primary applicant) apply for the permanent visa, you must have held the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa in the Premium Investor stream for a continuous period of at least 12 months. You must have held your provisional visa for at least 1 year.
  • Family members who apply for the visa with you do not need to hold a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa.
• You must have a current nomination from Austrade.
  • Before we invited you to apply for your provisional visa, you gave us an expression of interest. Austrade saw your expression of interest and nominated you. For this visa, Austrade needs to confirm that your nomination is still current.
• You must have held complying premium investments for the required period of time
• When we granted your Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa in the Premium Investor stream, you invested AUD15 million in a 'complying premium investment'.
• To be granted a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent)(subclass 888) visa in the Premium Investor stream, you must have:
  • held, at the time of application, a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa in the Premium Investor stream for a continuous period of at least 12 months and
  • held the complying premium investment (except any part of the investment that is a philanthropic contribution) for the whole time you have held your provisional visa.
• Our investment rules state that your complying premium investment of AUD15 million had to be in any of these options:

• Australian securities exchange listed assets
• Australian government or semi-government bonds or notes
• corporate bonds or notes issued by an Australian exchange listed entity (or wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian listed entity), investment grade rated Australian corporate bonds or notes rated by an AFS licenced debt rating agency
• Australian proprietary limited companies operated to make a profit by providing goods or services to the public, not as a passive or speculative investment, (such as a landlord of residential property, gambling, share trading, or holding property for capital gain)
• real property in Australia excluding residential property
• deferred annuities issued by Australian registered life companies
• state or territory government approved philanthropic contribution
• To be an eligible fund, a further requirement is that cash is to be no more than 20% of a fund’s net assets and derivatives are to be used for risk management purposes only.
• Premium investors may elect to make a portion or the entirety of their investment by way of a philanthropic donation (endorsed by a state or territory government.)
• You and your spouse or de facto partner must not have been involved in any business or investment activities that are unacceptable in Australia.
• You must have a realistic commitment to continuing your business or investment activities in Australia.
• You might have to pay an extra charge for any dependent applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. If they can't show that they have at least functional English, they will need to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge when we ask you to.
  • They will not need to pay a second instalment if they have already paid a second instalment of the visa application charge in relation to an application for a Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)) visa.
• You must have followed Australian laws when you made your investments.
• If you operated a business in Australia, you and your partner must have followed:
  • Commonwealth laws
  • the laws of the states or territories where your business operated
  • This includes laws about taxation, superannuation and workplace relations
• You and any family member included in this application must meet all the health and character requirements
• You or any family member must not have any debt to pay to the Australian government. If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
• If you are 18 years of age or older, you must: have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia AND confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign an Australian Values Statement

Note: If you have had a visa cancelled or previous application refused, you may not be granted a visa.

• stay in Australia permanently
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Australia's public health care scheme, Medicare
• sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

• This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.
• You can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply. You can also add dependent children to your application at any time before a decision is made on your application.
• You might have to pay an extra charge for any applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. This charge is the second instalment. You are required to pay it only when DOHA asks you to. The second instalment charge is AUD 4,890.

You only need to pay it for family members who did not pay the second instalment charge for their Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa.

• You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date we grant this visa. This is as long as the travel facility on this visa remains valid.

If you want to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• you will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident
• you might also want to consider Australian citizenship. If you become an Australian citizen, you don't require a visa to enter Australia. You will need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter Australia. Consult with our expert registered migration agents to check your eligibility.