Business Visas: overview

1. Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visas (subclass 188): should you intend to establish a business in Australia, you will be granted this visa  for 4 years and, after establishing the requisite level of business or maintaining a suitable investment, you will then be eligible to make an application for the permanent visa. This provisional visa consists of 3 streams or options, namely a) Business Innovation, b) Business Investor and c) Significant Investor. The first two streams were formerly separate visas, while the Significant Investor stream is new.
2. Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) Visas (subclass 888): once you have obtained, held and met the requirements of the provisional visa, you may be entitled to apply for the permanent visa. Furthermore, you must have had a designated investment in Australia for 4 years, and have had direct and continuous involvement in your business for at least 2 years prior to the lodgement of your application for the subclass 888 visa, and continue to do so until a decision on the permanent visa is made. Similarly, there are two streams, namely a) Innovation and b) Investor.
3. Business Talent (Migrant) Visa (subclass 132): for this visa, you are not required to hold a provisional visa and you can even make your application from outside Australia. There are two streams, namely a) Significant Business History and b) Venture Capital Entrepreneur. The latter stream is a new addition to the Business Visa programme.

The process for a Business Visa is similar to the General Skilled Migration Programme, where the applicant must make an initial Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Department of Immigration, and then be approved for an invitation to apply from the state or territory to which they wish to migrate.

View the full list of  in depth information on each Australian Business Visa