Northern Territory nomination Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment visa (Provisional)

Update: Closure of the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) nominations

Unexpectedly, the Australian Government has not provided states and territories with BIIP nomination allocations for the 2023-24 program year.

Therefore, the Northern Territory is not able to accept any application for nomination under BIIP and is not able to issue any nominations under BIIP at this stage. Existing applicants will receive correspondence with respect to their applications.

The Northern Territory Government continues to advocate for migration settings that suit the needs of the Territory.

Australia's Northern Territory (NT) Government has broad guidelines for applicants who wish to be nominated for a Business Innovation and Investment visa (BIIP).

Although the NT’s nomination guidelines are broad, only applications with activities and investments that demonstrate a clear benefit to the NT economy will be approved.

Entrepreneur stream

NT nomination guidelines for the entrepreneur stream are as follows:

  • must meet baseline criteria as set by the Australian Government
  • must demonstrate a genuine intention to reside within the NT
  • the applicant is proposing to undertake a complying entrepreneurial activity*
  • the applicant has a genuine intention to undertake the complying entrepreneurial activity in the NT
  • applicant must have sufficient financial capacity and/or access to financial resources to undertake the proposed entrepreneurial activity, and to fund resettlement
  • the proposed activity has received endorsement by a recognised industry/subject matter expert based in the NT. The expert must, in the assessment of MigrationNT, be an individual or organisation with a recognised reputation in the field relevant to the proposed activity**.

* Complying entrepreneurial activity must relate to an innovative idea that will lead to:

  • the commercialisation of a product or service, or
  • the development of an enterprise or business in Australia.

The following related activities are not permitted within the complying entrepreneurial activity regime:

  • residential real estate
  • labour hire
  • purchase of an existing enterprise or a franchise in Australia.

** If you are unable to obtain the required endorsement but believe that your proposed activity will be of exceptional benefit to the NT, email migration@nt.gov.au with the following information prior to making an application:

  • the reason you are unable to obtain endorsement
  • detailed proposal of the entrepreneurial activity and potential benefit to the NT.

If your proposal meets the standard for nomination, you will be provided with an invitation to make an application. You will need to quote the invitation reference number to make an application without industry endorsement.

Get the nomination form and document checklist:

Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - entrepreneur stream PDF (1.63MB)
Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - entrepreneur stream DOCX (62KB)

Business innovation stream

NT nomination guidelines for the business innovation stream are as follows:

  • must meet baseline criteria as set by the Australian Government
  • must demonstrate a genuine intention to establish or participate in a business or investment activity located within the NT
  • must demonstrate a genuine intention to reside within the NT
  • the proposed business or investment activity is assessed to be of benefit to the NT economy
  • applicant must have sufficient financial capacity to undertake the proposed investment, and to fund resettlement
  • priority will be given to any proposals of business and investment activities that create local employment
  • priority will be given to any proposals of business and investment activities that encourage growth within any key sectors of the NT economy.

Get the nomination form and document checklist:

Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - business innovation stream PDF (1.47MB)
Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - business innovation stream DOCX (63KB)

Investor stream

NT nomination guidelines for the investor stream are as follows:

  • must meet baseline criteria as set by the Australian Government
  • must demonstrate a genuine intention to reside within the NT
  • must demonstrate sufficient financial capacity to undertake the proposed investment, and to fund resettlement
  • a clear economic benefit to the NT can be identified.

Get the nomination form and document checklist:

Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - investor stream PDF (1.63MB)
Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - investor stream DOCX (62KB)

Significant investor stream

NT nomination guidelines for the significant investor stream are as follows:

  • must meet baseline criteria as set by the Australian Government
  • must demonstrate a genuine intention to reside within the NT
  • must demonstrate sufficient financial capacity to undertake the proposed investment, and to fund resettlement
  • a clear economic benefit to the NT can be identified.

Get the nomination form and document checklist:

Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - significant investor stream PDF (1.62MB)
Subclass 188 BIIP visa nomination form - significant investor stream DOCX (62KB)

Page last updated 26 September 2023