188 – Significant Investor stream

Queensland welcomes migrants interested in making a significant complying investment in Australia.

This is a state-nominated 5-year provisional visa. It is a stream of the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) and a pathway to permanent residency through the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888).

State nomination for this visa is managed by the Queensland Government, through Migration Queensland, in collaboration with the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs.

Eligibility criteria

To be considered for Queensland state nomination, you must first meet the Home Affairs Eligibility Criteria.

You must also meet the Migration Queensland criteria below. 

Significant Investor stream

To seek Queensland state nomination, you must:

• demonstrate a genuine commitment to Queensland.
• have net assets of at least A$5 million, which will be invested in Complying Investment in accordance to Complying Investment Framework (CIF)

Complying Investment Framework (CIF)

• 20% in Venture Capital & Growth Private Equity funds (VCPE) that invest in start-up and small private Companies
• 30% in approved managed funds that must invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
• 50% in balancing investments of managed funds.

After holding this provisional visa for 3 years, you may be eligible to apply for the permanent residency (subclass 888 visa). The 188 – Significant Investor stream can be extended up to 2 times.

Application process

Step 1

Review your eligibility criteria, visa conditions, and document checklist on the Department of Home Affairs website and the Migration Queensland website. Ensure that you meet both the Home Affairs criteria and Migration Queensland criteria and that you have all your documentation ready before you apply.

Step 2

For Queensland state nomination, submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) with SkillSelect. Ensure that all information is included in your EOI. Preference will be given to applicants who select “Queensland” as their nominating state of choice over applicants who select “Any” state.

Step 3

Migration Queensland assesses all EOIs that meet the above Home Affairs and Migration Queensland criteria. If you are successful, you will receive an email invitation to lodge an application and be requested to provide the following documents.

• Queensland State Nomination Application form
• Home Affairs Form 1139A
• Passport Bio-page

Note: You must upload these documents digitally through the Document Portal link in your invitation email. Migration Queensland no longer accepts documents sent by email or post. You can only upload one document per file. If you have multiple documents, please merge, and save them as one file.

Step 4

When you have received your invitation from Migration Queensland:

1. upload the required documents, and
2. pay the non-refundable application fee to finalise your application. Do not pay the fee until you have been invited to apply and all your documents have been uploaded.

Migration Queensland will then review your application and may contact you if further information is required.

Note: You will be given 14 days to finalise your application from the date of invitation. If you are unable to provide the relevant information within this time frame, you must seek an extension from Migration Queensland. Applications not finalised within the time frame will be closed and you will need to submit a new EOI if you wish to seek Queensland nomination again.

Step 5

Once Migration Queensland has received and approved your completed application, you will receive a confirmation of Queensland nomination and an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs to lodge your visa application. You will be given 60 days to lodge your visa application

Note: If you realise that you have made a mistake on your submitted EOI after receiving a nomination, or if you miss the visa application lodgement date, you may have to wait 6 months before applying for Queensland nomination again.

Nomination for the 188 visa extension

You can apply to extend this visa for an extra 2 years under a Significant Investor Extension stream. You can apply for this extension stream twice.

As per the Home Affairs criteria for the extension stream, you must:

• already hold a visa in the Significant Investor stream, and either:
  • have had it for at least 3 years, or
  • have not held more than 1 visa in the Significant Investor Extension stream;
• have a current nomination from Queensland,
• have a genuine intention to live in Queensland, and
• have maintained your complying investment or complying significant investment in accordance with the complying investment framework in place at the time you applied for your original 188 visa.

To request a nomination application for your 188 visa extension, please email Migration Queensland, providing reasons for an extension of your visa. You will need to include your full name, date of birth, and a copy of your 188 visa grant notification letter.

Migration Queensland will assess your current circumstances and decide whether you are eligible to apply for an extension. If you are eligible, we will send an email requesting further information. An application processing fee will apply.

If your extension visa is granted, this gives you extra time to meet the criteria for the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888).