Business & Investor Migration to Australia (2026)

If you have been told you can move to Australia by investing money or buying into a business, that information is out of date. The Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) - the umbrella for the subclass 188 (provisional) and subclass 888 (permanent) business and investor visas - closed permanently to new applications on 31 July 2024.

That includes the streams people most often ask about: Business Innovation, Investor, the Significant Investor visa (the AUD $5 million 'golden visa'), and Entrepreneur. None of them accept new applications. On the way out, the government cut the number of these visas it would grant from 1,900 in 2023-24 to just 1,000 in 2024-25.

The Business Talent (subclass 132) permanent visa and the Significant Investor pathway were already wound back from 1 July 2021 and are now closed too. So as of 2026 there is no straightforward 'invest and migrate' or 'start a business and migrate' permanent visa open to new applicants.

• Applications lodged before 31 July 2024 are still being processed, but processing times have grown. If you have an old 188 or 132 application in the queue, you can withdraw it and request a refund of the Visa Application Charge through your ImmiAccount (refunds apply to the main BIIP streams, not the extension streams). Get advice before withdrawing, especially if you are onshore, because it can affect your current visa status.

The government's answer to 'how do we attract investment and talent now' is the National Innovation visa (subclass 858). It commenced on 7 December 2024, the day after the old Global Talent visa (also subclass 858) closed to new applications on 6 December 2024.

This is a very different animal to the old BIIP. It is not about how much money you bring. It is a permanent visa (granted straight to permanent residence) for 'established and emerging leaders with high-calibre talent and skills' - global researchers, entrepreneurs, innovative investors, athletes and creatives - who have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in their field.

So investors are explicitly welcome, but only as part of 'innovative investors' with a genuinely exceptional track record - think people backing and building globally significant ventures, not passive capital. Buying a fund unit or parking money in government bonds no longer gets you a visa.

• It is permanent from day one (no provisional stage). - It is invitation-only and free to express interest. - It is highly selective and aimed at a small number of genuinely world-class people each year.

You cannot just lodge a National Innovation visa. The Department must invite you first. The process runs in this order:

• Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) online, in English, setting out your achievements and evidence. The EOI itself is free. - If your case is strong enough, Home Affairs invites you. If you are not invited within 2 years, your EOI simply expires and you would need to start again. - Once invited, you have 60 days to lodge the full visa application and pay the charge. - A nominator (for example, an Australian who can attest to your record, or a government agency) completes Form 1000 to support your application.

Invitations are issued in a published priority order, highest first: Priority 1 - exceptional candidates from any sector who are global experts and recipients of international 'top-of-field' awards (think Nobel Prize, Breakthrough Prize level). Priority 2 - candidates from any sector nominated on an approved Form 1000 by an expert Australian Commonwealth, State or Territory government agency. Priority 3 - exceptional achievers in a Tier One priority sector. Priority 4 - exceptional achievers in a Tier Two priority sector.

Be realistic: this is a visa for the top of your field internationally, evidenced by major awards, senior leadership, patents, publications, or a venture of real global standing. Most ordinary business owners and investors will not meet that bar - and that is by design.

Home Affairs publishes the sectors it most wants. If your achievements sit in a Tier One sector you are higher in the invitation queue.

Tier One: Critical Technologies (AI, advanced robotics, cyber security, quantum, biotechnology, clean-energy generation and storage, photonics, autonomous systems); Health Industries (precision medicine, genomics, medical-science manufacturing, implantable/wearable devices, infectious-disease prevention, AI in health); and Renewables and low-emission technologies (renewable hydrogen, clean energy tech, emission reduction and carbon storage, green metals, critical-minerals processing).

Tier Two: Agri-food and AgTech; Defence Capabilities and Space; Education (senior academics/researchers at Australian academic level D or E or international equivalent, and university senior management); Financial Services and FinTech; Infrastructure and Transport; and Resources.

• If you are an investor, the visa rewards investing your expertise and capital into these future-focused sectors at a serious level, not generic property or share investment.

The Expression of Interest is free. If you are invited and lodge, the main applicant's base Visa Application Charge for the 858 is roughly AUD $4,985-$5,040, with lower additional-applicant charges for a partner (around $2,495) and dependent children under 18 (around $1,250).

Treat these numbers as a guide only. Australian visa application charges rose on 1 July 2025 and are adjusted regularly, and different sources quote slightly different 858 figures. Always confirm the exact, current charge using the official Visa Pricing Estimator on homeaffairs.gov.au before you budget or pay.

On top of the charge, budget for the things every permanent visa applicant pays for: health examinations, police certificates for character checks, document translations, and (if you use one) professional fees for a migration agent or lawyer.

• There is no 'investment amount' you pay to the government for the 858. If anyone tells you to wire a large sum to 'secure' an Australian investor visa, that is a red flag - the BIIP investor visas that worked that way are closed.

The honest reality is that most people who used to consider business or investor migration will not meet the 858's 'exceptional and outstanding' bar. Here is where they usually look instead.

Points-tested skilled visas (subclasses 189, 190 and 491). These are the workhorses of permanent skilled migration. You need a positive skills assessment in an eligible occupation, at least Competent English (IELTS 6 in each band, or equivalent), and you must score enough points - the legislated pass mark is 65, though in practice you usually need well above that to be invited. The base Visa Application Charge for these is $4,910 (from 1 July 2025). A business owner with strong skills, qualifications and English often does better here than chasing an investor pathway.

Employer-sponsored visas (such as the Skills in Demand visa) if an Australian business will sponsor you, and state/territory nomination programs, which sometimes have business or investment-linked streams of their own - check the relevant state migration website (for example migration.sa.gov.au, business.vic.gov.au, act.gov.au).

• A genuine entrepreneur with backing can sometimes still build a case, but the days of a guaranteed 'invest X dollars, get residency' route are over. Map your real options before you commit money or time.

Immigration is a magnet for scams, and the closure of the old investor visas has created a wave of misinformation. Be careful.

• Only an OMARA-registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner (lawyer) can lawfully give you Australian immigration assistance for a fee. It is an offence for anyone else to do so. Before you pay anyone, check they are on the register at mara.gov.au. - Ignore anyone advertising a still-open 'Australian Significant Investor / golden visa' - it is closed. - Never pay for a Tax File Number (TFN); applying for a TFN is free at ato.gov.au. - Be wary of unsolicited 'guaranteed job offer' or 'guaranteed visa' messages, especially ones asking for large upfront payments or to send money overseas. No one can guarantee a visa outcome.

Because the 858 is a high-stakes, evidence-heavy, invitation-only visa - and because the rules in this area change often - a complex business or investor case is genuinely worth professional help from a registered agent or immigration lawyer. They can assess honestly whether you have a case at all, which is worth knowing before you spend a cent.

Rules, charges, age limits and sector priorities in this guide were verified against official Australian government sources in 2026, but immigration policy moves fast. Always confirm the current position on homeaffairs.gov.au (and immi.homeaffairs.gov.au) before you act.