After obtaining a 188 visa, when can I apply for an 888 visa? Do I have to wait until the 188 visa is about to expire or can I start applying for an 888 visa right after my 188 visa is granted?
You need to satisfy the 888 requirements, which usually means staying on the 188 visa for a specific period of time and demonstrating you have fulfilled the conditions of the specific stream you applied for. Unfortunately, you have not described the stream. Each stream has a different requirement. Please take extra care in the information you rely on.
No, you can't apply for your subclass 888 visa straight away. When you can apply depends on which subclass 188 stream you hold. The subclass 188 business innovation stream requires you to prove ownership interest in an Australian business for a minimum two years and you need to be residing in Australia for at least one year in the two most recent years before applying for SC888. If you have already fulfilled all the other SC 888 criteria, you can already start applying for your PR. However, the subclass 188 investor stream, significant investor stream and entrepreneur stream will require you to hold the visa for at least four years and fulfill minimum residential requirements, investment/business obligations before you can start applying for SC888 visa.
You can apply for the 888 after meeting the conditions below: managing a business for minimum of two years in Australia; meet a minimum turnover of $300,000 Australian dollars on the second year; spend at least 50 percent of the time in Australia during the two years of business; meet at least two out of the three conditions (employ two full-time staffers/maintain a total assets of at least $600,000/ maintain a business assets of at least $200,000).
There are different criteria that need to be satisfied for each stream of the 888 visa. You must still be nominated by a state or territory government or Austrade. In the business innovation stream (188A), you can apply for an 888 visa after residing in Australia as the holder of a 188 visa for at least one year in the two years immediately before applying, and held an ownership interest in one or more actively operating main businesses before the application is made. In the investor stream (188B), you can apply for an 888 after your designated investment has been held continuously for four years and you have lived in Australia as the holder of an 188 visa for at least two years in the four years immediately before applying. If you have applied under the significant investor stream (188C), you need to have held the complying significant investment for at least four years and met the residency requirement of 40 days per year. The premium investor stream (188D) has a reduced residency requirement of 12 months and the complying premium investment must have been held continuously for this 12-month period. The last stream is the entrepreneur stream (188E), which has the requirement of having held the 188 visa for four years and having resided in Australia for at least two years in that four-year period.
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