Significant Investor Extension stream

As the visa applicant, you must,

• hold a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream and have held that visa for at least 3 years; or
• hold a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor Extension stream and not have held more than one of these visas
• be nominated by a State or Territory government agency or Austrade.

• 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.
• You must not have held more than one Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Significant Investor Extension stream visa.
• You must continue to hold your complying significant investment in accordance with the complying investment framework in place at the time you applied for this visa.
• You and your partner must have had no history of involvement in business or investment activities that are of a nature that is not generally acceptable in Australia.
• All applicants aged 18 or over at time of application who did not pay a second instalment of the visa application charge for a previous subclass 188 visa application, must either have functional English or you will be asked to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge. See the charge details in the General Notes section.
• 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.

• carry out investment activity in Australia
• bring eligible members of your family with you
• apply for a permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) Significant Investor stream if certain requirements are met

You might be able to extend your total visa duration to 8 years after the date of the grant of the original Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation stream if the visa that you held at the time of application was a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation Extension stream and COVID-19 concessions apply.

There are arrangements in place for provisional visa holders who may have been disadvantaged as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 19 September 2020 until 3 months after the end of the ‘COVID-19 concession period’ you can also apply for this visa if you:

• held a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation stream during the ‘COVID-19 concession period’, AND it was granted on or before 30 June 2019;

OR

• hold or held a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation Extension stream during the ‘COVID-19 concession period’ :
  • have not held more than one of these visas; and
  • were granted a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation stream on or before 30 June 2019.

You and your family members who are part of your application must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws.

Meet your visa obligations

To be eligible for the grant of a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) in the Significant Investor stream, you must live in Australia for at least 40 days per year for the duration of your provisional visa. Or your spouse must live in Australia for at least 180 days per year for the duration of your provisional visa. These days do not need to be consecutive.

Maintain your investment

You must continue to hold a complying significant investment continuously for the life of your provisional visa. You can switch between complying significant investments if:

• you reinvest the funds you withdraw from an investment into other complying significant investments within 30 days
• the sum withdrawn is the same as, or less than, the sum reinvested irrespective of any gains and losses due to market exposures

If you reinvest funds into a complying significant investment within 30 days, DOHA counts that as holding them continuously.

If you withdraw funds from venture capital or emerging company investments, you must reinvest the funds into venture capital or emerging companies.

If you withdraw funds from the 'balancing investment' category of investments, you can reinvest them into another balancing investment, venture capital or emerging companies.

If you withdraw funds from venture capital because the venture capital investment has been realised, you must reinvest those funds. You can reinvest them in any eligible complying significant investment.

Income that you earn from your complying significant investment in Australia may be subject to tax under an Australian taxation law.

The rules that were in force at the time that you applied for your first Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) in the Significant Investor stream will continue to apply for the duration of your provisional visa, including any Extension stream visas you apply for that relate to that provisional visa. You might want to seek independent legal advice to ensure that an investment is a ‘complying significant investment’. It is your responsibility to ensure your investment options comply with this visa's requirements.

Follow Australian workplace laws

All workers in Australia (including visa holders) have rights and protections at work. Pay rates and workplace conditions are set by Australian law.

If you operate a business in Australia, you must comply with workplace laws. The Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) can help you with:

• pay rates
• shift calculations
• leave arrangements and notice
• redundancy entitlements

• This is a provisional visa.
  • If you held a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Significant Investor stream at the time of application, you can stay for 6 years after the date of the grant of the original Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Significant Investor stream.
  • If you held a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Significant Investor Extension stream at the time of application, you can stay for 8 years after the date of the grant of the original Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Significant Investor stream.
• You must apply for a new visa if you want to stay longer. Once you have this visa, you can apply for permanent residence through the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) Significant Investor stream if certain requirements are met.

If you need more time to meet the requirements of a Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (subclass 888) Significant Investor stream visa, you can apply for a second Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass188) in the Significant Investor Extension stream. A person can be granted a maximum of 2 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass188) in the Significant Investor Extension stream visas.

Consult with our expert registered migration agents to explore your visa options today.

• You can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply. You can also add your dependent child to your application at any time before a decision is made on your application.
• You will have to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge for any applicant who was at least 18 years old at the time of application, and is assessed as not having functional English, and has not paid a second instalment of the visa application charge in relation to an application for their Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa. The second instalment charges are:
  • main applicant: AUD 9,795
  • family members: AUD 4,890