The Business Innovation and Investment (888) is a permanent residency visa for those who hold the provisional subclass 188 innovation, extension and or investor visa.
The following residency requirement must be met for each of the below mentioned 188 provisional streams to be granted the 888:
Investor stream
At the time of the 888 application, the applicant must have been in Australia as an EC188 visa holder for a total of at least 2 years in the 4 years immediately prior to submitting the 88 visa application.
Innovation stream
At the time of application, the applicant must have been in Australia as an EB188 visa holder for a total of at least 1 year in the 2 years immediately prior to visa application.
Continuous or shorter stays
There is no requirement of continuous stay on any one visit and the aggregate residency period may be composed of any number of shorter visits.
Role swapping
An applicant who met the primary criteria for the grant of their 188 provisional visa in the Business Innovation stream or extension or the Investor stream can swap roles with their spouse or de facto partner by becoming the primary applicant when applying for the 888 permanent visa. This is known as “role swapping”. Role swapping could also be used to overcome the residency requirements in certain scenarios.
Written by Farhan Rehman
Principal Partner at RSG Lawyers and Associates
Email: farhan@rsglaw.com.au
Ph: (03) 9350 4440
