The Business Innovation stream is for successful businesspeople who want to establish or develop a business in Australia.

Eligibility conditions

Applicants for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) Business Innovation stream must meet several eligibility requirements for their visa to be granted. The applicant must have:
- A nomination from an Australian state or territory government
- Ownership in one more business for at least 2 of the previous 4 financial years, which must have had an annual turnover of at least 500 000 AUD (345 000 USD) in those years
- Ownership of one of the following:
- At least 51% of a business with an annual turnover of less than 400 000 AUD (275 000 USD)
- At least 30% of a business with an annual turnover of more than 400 000 AUD (275 000 USD)
- At least 10% ownership of a publicly listed company
- A total of 800 000 AUD (550 000 USD) in business and/or personal assets, which must have been acquired legally and must be able to be transferred to Australia within 2 years of the visa start date. Your partner or spouse's assets count towards this sum.

If the business nominated to meet the conditions above provides services of a professional, technical, or trade nature you must have spent a maximum of 50% of your time providing those services personally, and a minimum of 50% of your time managing the business.

Applicants must normally be 55 or younger to qualify for this visa, but the age requirement can be waived at the discretion of the nominating state or territory if the proposed business will benefit the state or territory's economy greatly.