890, 892 and 888: Which Business Skills PR Path Applies in 2026?
Which permanent visa follows a legacy Business Skills visa or a subclass 188: how 890, 892 and 888 diverge in 2026.
If your provisional visa is one of the old Business Skills visas in Class UR (subclass 160–165), the permanent route runs through subclass 890; if you hold a subclass 188, the route runs through subclass 892, which requires the applicant to already hold a visa specified in clause 1104B(3)(f), or subclass 888, decided by stream. This article works along that fork using the criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department of Home Affairs' PAM3 guidance, read against the Department's official Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (Subclass 888) page as at October 2026. It is general information for readers comparing pathways, not an assessment of any one person's case, and this is an area that changes — confirm the current text of the rules on the official pages, or with a registered practitioner, before you rely on them.
Which visa do you hold now, and what does it unlock?
The provisional visa you hold determines which permanent visa you can apply for, so this is the first question to settle.
Subclass 890 is the path for holders of a Business Skills provisional visa in Class UR, subclass 160–165. Schedule 1 item 1104B requires the main applicant to hold one of those visas, to lodge in Australia, and to be outside immigration clearance at the time of lodgement. Forms 47BU and 1217 accompany the application.
Subclass 892 sits under the same Schedule 1 item but takes a different entry point: clause 1104B(3)(f) requires the applicant to hold one of the specified visas, and the PAM3 material gives subclass 188 as the example. That holds whether the 188 was granted to you on the primary criteria or as a secondary applicant on someone else's — which matters for partners who were listed on a spouse's business visa rather than applying as main applicants themselves.
Subclass 888 is stream-based. Per the Department's official page as at October 2026, you must hold the relevant stream of the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) visa. For the Business Innovation stream only, the same page also lists two alternatives: a Special Category (subclass 444) visa, or a Business (Long Stay) (subclass 457) visa granted in certain circumstances. Nominating bodies for 888 are state and territory government agencies or Austrade, and applications are lodged online.
What do subclass 890 and 892 have in common?
Both are Business Skills residence visas tested against the same core business-owner pattern, and both depend on state or territory sponsorship that survives to the decision.
Shared requirements include:
- 24 months of ownership — continuous ownership of at least one main business in the 24 months before applying (clauses 890.211 and 892.211(1)).
- Ownership share — set by regulation 1.11: at least 51% where turnover is under AUD 400,000, at least 30% where turnover is AUD 400,000 or more, and at least 10% for a listed company. A business purchased before 19 April 2010 can qualify at 10%.
- Management — direct and continuous involvement in day-to-day management and in decisions affecting the business's overall direction and performance.
- Tax compliance — an ABN, GST registration where annual turnover is AUD 75,000 or more, and at least two years of BAS (clauses 890.211(2) and 892.211(2)).
- Business history — neither the applicant nor their spouse or de facto partner may have a history of involvement in business activities of a kind not generally accepted in Australia (clauses 890.216 and 892.214).
- Residence — 365 days in Australia in the two years before applying.
- Sponsorship in force — a valid, unwithdrawn form 949 state or territory sponsorship at decision (clauses 890.222 and 892.222). Withdrawal has no prescribed form; any written notice will do.
Both also apply the "one fails, all fail" rule on the public interest criteria: if the main applicant or any family member fails health or character, the application cannot be granted. And both treat the criteria as still met where there is no contrary evidence and the decision is made within 18 months of lodgement — the policy marker for a "significant delay" that would prompt a fresh look at your circumstances.
Where do 890 and 892 part company?
The difference is in how the business thresholds are framed, and in what happens when one of them is out of reach.
For subclass 890, the PAM3 material sets net business assets (clause 890.212), turnover (clause 890.213) and net business and personal assets (clause 890.215) as separate criteria, each required to be held across the 12 months before application. Employment records form part of the evidence package under the general guide.
For subclass 892, clause 892.212 works as a "two out of three" test: full-time employees (or their pro-rata equivalent), net business and personal assets, and net business assets — meet any two. A turnover requirement then applies separately under clause 892.213(2) for the 12 months before applying. A full-time employee is generally taken as at least 30 hours per week; pro-rata arrangements are accepted, so two people working full time for six months can equate to one full-time employee for a year, and paid leave counts.
Where turnover cannot be met, clause 892.213(3) allows a fallback, but only where an Appropriate Regional Authority (ARA) has determined that exceptional circumstances exist. The ARA may waive all or part of the two-of-three test or the turnover test. Exceptional circumstances as defined in policy include force majeure events such as death, serious injury or natural disaster, and crop or related businesses needing more time to realise their turnover potential — the latter requiring significant investment of AUD 500,000 or more. An ARA determination used for the turnover fallback cannot also be used for the two-of-three test, and where such a determination exists, the case officer is expected to consult the National Office policy area before refusing.
One smaller difference worth noting: 892 counts residence days spent holding a specified visa or a bridging visa A or B, while 890 counts days holding the temporary visas listed in Schedule 1 item 1104B(3)(d). Days spent holding some other visa do not count toward either.
| Subclass 890 | Subclass 892 | Subclass 888 (Business Innovation) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional visa held | Class UR, subclass 160–165 | A visa specified in clause 1104B(3)(f), including subclass 188 | Relevant subclass 188 stream; also subclass 444 or, in certain circumstances, subclass 457 |
| Sponsor or nominator | State or territory, form 949 | State or territory, form 949 | State or territory agency or Austrade; nomination must be unwithdrawn |
| Ownership period | 24 months before applying | 24 months before applying | 24 months before applying |
| Residence | 365 days in the previous 2 years | 365 days in the previous 2 years | At least 1 year in the previous 2 years |
| Business criteria | Net business assets, turnover, and net business and personal assets each held for 12 months | Two of three: employees, net business and personal assets, net business assets — plus turnover | Two of three: net business assets, employees, combined net assets — plus turnover |
| Relief valve | Officer discretion on short ownership gaps | ARA exceptional circumstances | State or territory exceptional circumstances |
Which subclass 888 stream applies to a 188 holder?
Subclass 888 has five streams, and the stream you are in sets the residence and holding period, not a single shared test.
| Stream | Residence | Holding or investment requirement | Key thresholds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Innovation | At least 1 year in the previous 2 years | Ownership of an active main business for the 2 years before applying | Two of three: AUD 300,000 net business assets; at least 2 full-time local employees in the previous 12 months; AUD 900,000 net personal and business assets — plus turnover |
| Investor | At least 2 years in the previous 4 years | Designated investment held for 3 years 11 months (applications before 1 July 2015) or at least 4 years (after) | State or territory treasury securities |
| Significant Investor | 40 days a year for the main applicant, or 180 days a year for the spouse | Complying significant investment held for 4 years, with any switch between investments made within 30 days | At least AUD 5,000,000 |
| Premium Investor | No residence requirement | Complying premium investment held for a continuous 12 months | At least AUD 15,000,000 |
| Entrepreneur | At least 2 years in Australia | 188 Entrepreneur stream held continuously for 3 or 4 years depending on when you were invited; reduced from 4 to 3 years for applicants invited after 1 July 2021 | Entrepreneurial activity assessed on employment, funding, turnover and incubator or accelerator endorsement |
For the Business Innovation stream, the two full-time employees must be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, and cannot be the applicant or their family members. If the nominating state or territory determines that exceptional circumstances exist, the turnover requirement can be met in place of the two-of-three test — the decision-maker here is the nominating government agency, not an ARA as under 892.
For the Business Innovation stream, the anti-circular rule in clause 888.222(2) excludes buying a main business from another subclass 888 or DF applicant unless you held it jointly for at least a year and your share was not less than 30%. Across every stream, the second instalment of the visa application charge is payable before the visa can be granted; once granted, the visa carries a five-year travel facility.
How are ownership, turnover and BAS actually measured?
These counting rules are where applications are most often won or lost, and they are broadly shared across the three visas.
Turnover is calculated net of GST: where the BAS total sales figure includes GST, 10% is deducted. The 12-month period does not have to be a financial year — a special-purpose report covering any 12 months, or two financial years' statements apportioned, is acceptable. Net business assets can be drawn from up to two main businesses; assets in other businesses count only toward personal assets.
On BAS evidence, certified copies or ATO portal printouts are expected, and where the original has already been lodged with the ATO, decision-makers are directed to allow a copy obtained from the ATO at no cost. A BAS still showing "New" — meaning not yet lodged — will prompt a request for proof of lodgement, and if you claim no BAS is required, an ATO statement to that effect is expected.
Where one business closed and another was established, a very short gap between the two can be treated with discretion. Assets, meanwhile, must be lawfully acquired; bank statements, balance sheets and share certificates are the usual evidence, and doubts about the source of funds invite further requests and can reach the character assessment.
What most often goes wrong across all three?
The recurring refusal grounds cluster around evidence rather than eligibility in principle:
- Ownership that was not continuous for the full 24 months, or that fell below the required share.
- No documentary trail of direct and continuous involvement in management and decisions.
- BAS that is missing, or that was never lodged with the ATO.
- Net assets that fall short, or that were not held across the entire 12-month window.
- Turnover calculated on gross sales without removing GST.
- Residence days miscounted, or counted while holding a visa that does not qualify.
- A business history involving activities not generally accepted in Australia.
- Sponsorship or nomination withdrawn, or expired without being extended.
- A family member failing health or character under the one-fails-all-fail rule, or a custody issue affecting a minor child.
- For 888 specifically: a genuine commitment to continuing business or investment activity that is not demonstrated, or a poor record of tax, superannuation and workplace relations compliance.
Where an application is lodged after the sponsorship's validity period has ended, the PAM3 material directs the case officer to ask the sponsoring body whether it will amend the validity period or withdraw the sponsorship, so the practical risk is delay rather than an automatic refusal.
Frequently Asked Questions
I hold a subclass 163 or 165 visa. Can I apply for subclass 888 instead of 890 or 892?
The Department's official Subclass 888 page requires you to hold the relevant stream of a subclass 188 visa, with the Business Innovation stream also open to holders of a subclass 444 visa or, in certain circumstances, a subclass 457 visa. A Business Skills provisional visa in Class UR points to the subclass 890 route instead; subclass 892 takes its starting point from a visa specified in clause 1104B(3)(f), with subclass 188 given as the example. Which of those two applies turns on the visa you hold and the criteria set out above.
Do I need state or territory sponsorship for all three visas?
Subclass 890 and 892 both require a form 949 state or territory sponsorship that remains in force at the time of decision. Subclass 888 requires nomination by a state or territory government agency or Austrade, and clause 888.212 requires that the nomination has not been withdrawn; evidence that it remains current, such as a still-valid form 1414, forms part of the file.
How long do I need to have owned the business before applying?
All three expect continuous ownership of a main business for the 24 months before you apply. The share you need depends on turnover under regulation 1.11 — at least 51% below AUD 400,000, at least 30% at or above that, and at least 10% for a listed company. For subclass 890 and 892, a business purchased before 19 April 2010 can qualify at 10%. A very short gap between one business ending and another beginning can be treated with discretion.
Do I have to satisfy every business test, or only some of them?
It depends on the visa. Subclass 890's net business assets, turnover and net business and personal assets are set out as separate 12-month criteria. Subclass 892 and the Business Innovation stream of 888 both use a two-out-of-three structure — employees, net business assets, and combined net assets — with a separate turnover requirement layered on top.
Can my spouse's time in Australia count toward the Significant Investor stream?
Yes. Clause 888.242 sets the residence expectation at 40 days a year for the main applicant or 180 days a year for the spouse, and the PAM3 material notes that the calculation allows the spouse to substitute, subject to those specific day counts.
What happens if I buy a business from someone else who is applying for a subclass 888?
In the Business Innovation stream, clause 888.222(2) excludes a main business purchased from another subclass 888 or DF applicant. The exclusion does not apply if you held the business jointly with that person for at least a year and your share was not less than 30%.