188 – Investor stream
Queensland welcomes migrants looking to invest in Queensland Treasury Corporation Bonds.
This is a state-nominated 4-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 Immigration Eligibility Criteria.
You must also meet the Migration Queensland criteria below, which is different for each visa stream.
Business Investor stream
To seek Queensland state nomination, you must:
- demonstrate that you have net business and personal assets of at least A$2.25 million, to be transferred to Queensland within 2 years of your visa being granted
- make and maintain your designated investment of at least A$1.5 million in Queensland Treasury Corporation Bonds for at least 4 years
- commit to living in Queensland.
At the end of this visa, you can apply for permanent residency (subclass 888). This visa cannot be extended.
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 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, such as work experience, 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
- Summary of your business and investment background
- Home Affairs Form 1139A (showing the last three financial years)
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, merge, and save them as one file.
Step 4
When you have received your invitation from Migration Queensland:
- upload the required documents, and
- 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 request any further information.
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 an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs to lodge your visa application. You will be given 60 days to lodge your application with them.
Note: If you realise that you have made a mistake on your submitted EOI after receiving a nomination, or if you miss the lodgement date, you will have to wait 6 months before applying again.