Business Visa – Significant Investor Stream
Subclass 888C
(Permanent)
Overview
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As a permanent visa, Businss Visa – Significant stream (Subclass 888C) is the second and final stage of Business Visa – Significant Investor stream (Subclass 188C) and lets its holders to stay permanently in Australia whilst continuing their investment activities.
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Even simpler than the first stage, Subclass 888C visa involves no Expression of Interest (EOI), but does require nomination from state/territory government or Austrade.
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You may include your family in your visa application so your entire family can migrate together.
Process
Step 1 – Apply for state/territory nomination
Step 2 – Submit application for Subclass 188C visa once nomination is approved
Eligibility
Obtain nomination from state/territory government or Austrade
Have not had involvement in unacceptable business or investment activities
Meet health and character requirements
Have functional English (or a second instalment of application fee applies)
Have a realistic commitment to continue your business or investment activity in Australia.
Residence: 40 days per year for primary applicant or 180 days per year for secondary applicant (unless COVID-19 concessions apply), which means primary and secondary applicants can ‘swap’ where the seconday applicant for Subclass 188A visa can now become the primary applicant for Subclass 888A visa in order to meet the residence requirment
Investment: Have held the investment for at least 4 years
Tell the Immigration of any funds you transferred from one investment to another.
If any part of your investment is or was a direct investment in an Australian proprietary company, then:
- if the period of the direct investment was less than 2 years, the company must have been a qualifying business for the whole period, or
- if the period of the direct investment was 2 years or more, the company was a ‘qualifying business’ for at least 2 years, or
- if the company has been unable to operate as a ‘qualifying business’, you must have made a genuine attempt to do so
Special Notes
Qualifying Business
A qualifying business:
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is operated for the purpose of making profit through the provision of goods, services or goods and services (other than the provision of rental property) to the public; and
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is not operated primarily or substantially for the purpose of speculative or passive investment.
COVID-19 Concessions
Arrangements are in place for provisional visa holders who may have been disadvantaged as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the ‘Covid-19 concession period’ which commenced 1 February 2020 and is ongoing, time spent overseas will count as time being in Australia if:
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Your first Business Visa – Significant Investor stream (Subclass 188C) that expired during the concession period was granted on or before 30 June 2019; and
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one of the following applies:
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if you held a Business Visa – Significant Investor stream (Subclass 188C) or Significant Investor Extension stream that expired during the concession period; or
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your visa expired during the concession period and your spouse or de facto partner was the primary holder of a Business Visa – Significant Investor stream (Subclass 188C) or Significant Investor Extension stream
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Location
Applicants may be in or outside Australia at the time of application and visa grant.
Duration of Stay
This is a permanent visa that allows you to stay permanently in Australia. However, its travel facility expires after 5 years so you will need to apply for Resident Return Visa (Subclass 155 & 157) or Australian citizenship (if eligible) if you wish to travel overseas and back to Australia after the expiry date.
Tricks and Common Reasons for Refusal
1 – Unfamiliarity with How the Australian Immigration Works and Its Mentality
In many cases, applicants prepare and submit their supporting documentation in a disorderly way, giving the Immigration a hard time digging through tons of paperwork to get things in the right order when picking up a new visa application. This will potentially lead to endless back-and-forth clarification and explanation, wasting both sides lots of time and can even result in a refusal of Subclass 888C visa.
This is common since applying for a visa, especially a permanent one, is the very first time to most applicants. For this reason, our team have developed our own system for labelling, coding, structuring and, where necessary, cross-referencing documentation so your application can be submitted in the most presentable and logical manner. Making your application stand out among all competitors has been our goal from day one.
2 – Careless Yet Costly Mistakes
Applying for migration is seen as a delicate work of art due to the staggering amount of attention, paperwork, and details involved. A seemingly minor/harmless error such as a typo in your résumé, a date entered wrong, or a tick in the wrong box in the lengthy visa application form can prove costly as the Immigration processes all visa applications strictly in accordance with migration law, in particular Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994. Even a small error can be regarded as failing to satisfy a visa requirement and therefore lead to a visa refusal. To minimise such incidents, our team pay extra attention while editing and drafting every client’s paperwork and always proofread and also conduct a final review of documentation before submission.
3 – Applications Not Being Decision-ready
Another common reason of refusal for Subclass 888 visa is submitting an application without all the required documentation. This happens incidentally when the application was prepared carelessly, or intentionally when the applicant was trying to rush an application for whatever reason (e.g. meeting a cut-off date of a major migration policy change, which happens almost each and every year and often catches people off guard). Even with nearly 20 years of experience, we handle each application meticulously as our first to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Should a sudden change of policy hit and impact you, we are more than capable of advising you what documents are mandatory at the time of submission and what can wait so you are not in danger of a straight-up visa refusal upon submission.
Benefits
With this visa, you may:
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migrate to Australia together with your family
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stay and live in Australia permanently
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potentially bring your extended family members to Australia permanently on parent visa or visa intended for other relatives
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access various government benefits, including but not limited to:
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pension
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unemployment and job-seeking benefits
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cocession cards for commuting
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benefits associated with new-born baby
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interest-free school loan
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travel overseas and back to Australia without limitations for any purposes (e.g. overseas holiday, visiting family and/or attending family matters in home country)
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access Australia’s public health care scheme (Medicare) which essentially provides free medical consultations, operations and hospitalization for a wide range of medical conditions
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study in Australia without any limitations
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attend free English language course provided by Australian government
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apply for Australian citizenship when eligible
Application Fees
You may include your family in the application so your family can migrate to Australia together.
First Instalment
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Main applicant: $2935
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Each secondary applicant aged 18 or over: $1470
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Each secondary applicant under 18: $730
Second Instalment
For each secondary applicant at least 18 is assessed as not having functional English at the time of application, a second instalment of $4890 applies.
Please note: you may incur third-party charges, for example, for assets valuation, translation, English test, police certificate and health exam.
Processing Time
Kindly note the processing time constantly varies. Please contact us for update.
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75% of applications: 26 months
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90% of applications: 27 months
Our Unbeatable Services - How Exactly We Make It Hassle-free
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Let’s face it – visa applications are complex, especially when you are not an expert in Australian immigration law - that is Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994.
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Simply put – our visa and immigration legal services are truly unbeatable.
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This is because our immigration lawyers and registered migration agents in Melbourne do all of the 40 Things in Our Exclusive 5-step Services for you to:
- give you a stress-free visa application journey;
- maximise your chances of a successful application outcome.
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Can you find such detailed and specific services elsewhere? We guarantee you can’t.
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This way, you know your money really is well-spent.
Please note a client refers to a visa applicant, their family members or a sponsoring employer where applicable.