Changes coming to Australia’s business and investor visas

The Australian Business and Investor visa program is changing from July 1. The current seven visa categories will be reduced to four, with the 188D Premium Investor visa, and both 132 Business Talent visa categories being discontinued.

The remaining visa categories will be the 188A Business Innovation stream, 188B Investor stream, 188C Significant Investor stream, and the 188E Entrepreneur stream.

Increases to investment requirements are expected though not yet announced for the 188B and 188C streams however, the investment period is planned to be reduced to a minimum of three years instead of four.

The 188A visa category will require business assets of 1.25 million Australian dollars (increased from AUD 800,000) and annual turnover of AUD 750,000 (an increase from AUD 500,000).

Provisional 188 visa holders in all four remaining streams will be able to apply for permanent residency after 3 years but the provisional visa will be valid for 5 years, giving investors additional time to meet the requirements for the permanent 888 visa. The visa application charge for Business and Investment visas will also increase by at least 11% from 1 July.

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