Business Skills Visa 888 for Entrepreneurs – How much your ownership interest in the main business must be

The 888 (Business Innovation Stream) visa is a permanent visa available for those who hold an 188 (Business Innovation Stream) visa to apply after they have successfully owned and managed on daily basis the main business in Australia for at least two years and met a range of requirements pertaining to the primary visa applicant’s management role in the main business, financial performance of the main business and net assets owned by the primary visa applicant (or with spouse jointly) in Australia.

The Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994 have specific requirements on the primary applicant’s ownership interest in a business which they intend to use for permanent residency application.

It is defined in the Migration Act 1958 that ownership interest in relation to a business means:

• an interest in the business as a shareholder in a company that carries on the business, or
• a partner in a partnership that carries on the business, or
• the sole proprietor of the business.

Further, ownership interest includes such an interest held indirectly through one or more interposed companies, partnership or trusts.

Migration Regulations 1994 also stipulate total value of ownership interest in the main business that the primary applicant (or with spouse) must have.  In this regard, annual turnover of the main business is relevant.  In summary, the value of the applicant’s ownership interest, or the total value of the ownership interests of the applicant and the applicant’s spouse, in the business should be:

• at least 10% of the total value of the business if the business is operated by a publicly listed company; or
• at least 30% of the total value of the business if the business is a private business and its annual turnover is at least $400,000;
• at least 51% of the total value of the business if the business is a private business and its turnover is less than $400,000.