According to Mr Bowen, the significant investor visa will be put in to place to provide a boost to the local economy and to compete effectively for high net worth individuals seeking investment immigration on an international scale.

'The AUD 5 million minimum is considered to be sufficient for a meaningful investment contribution, justifying eligibility for visa concessions such as not having to meet the points test, no upper age limit and access to reduced residence requirements,' Mr Bowen said.

'Importantly, significant investors will be required to make complying investments in Australia which include state and territory government bonds, Australian Security Investment Commission-regulated managed funds that invest in Australian assets, and direct investment into private Australian companies not listed on the stock exchange.

'Where visa holders choose to invest directly into Australian companies, these companies will need to meet certain qualifying business standards.'

Mr Bowen said visa holders would have the flexibility to extend their initial four year visa by additional two year periods. They would also be able to satisfy the residence requirement of 160 days in Australia at any time throughout their four year visa.

To read the full details of Mr Bowen's announcement, click here.

For expert assistance and advice on your Australia visa application or expression of interest, contact Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers to discuss your needs with one of our friendly and professional Registered Migration Agents.

Comments ((Disabled))

The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Defence Families) Bill 2012 on Thursday [last week] passed the upper house with the support of the coalition and the Greens.

Lateral recruits and their family members can now become Australian citizens together.

Comments ((Disabled))

Earlier this month the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) announced that it had sent out its first round of SkillSelect invitations to intending migrants to apply for an Australia skilled visa. In total 100 invitations were sent, 90 for skilled independent visas and 10 for skilled regional family-sponsored visas.

Amongst the 100 invitations sent in the first round by DIAC, doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, accountants and IT workers received the lion share, all of which were the highest scoring candidates from the initial expressions of interest (EOI).

Interestingly, the lowest points score invited was 75 points, significantly higher than the 60 point pass mark required for an EOI. According to DIAC, the highest score across the two subclasses was 85 points. These numbers demonstrate DIAC’s selection methods and suggest that settling for only 60 points when submitting an EOI could mean long waiting periods for an invitation, if you receive one at all.

The next invitation round conducted by DIAC is expected sometime in September, with a larger portion of invitations due to be sent, however with more than 10,000 EOIs submitted since 1 July it’s clear that there will be significant competition for invitations.

So what does this mean for you? It means that you need to carefully assess whether you are putting forward your best possible EOI against the DIAC criteria, keeping in mind that if you get an invitation, you need to be able to deliver an application that reflects your EOI! It’s all about understanding the criteria, and we can assist with that optimization process.
Comments ((Disabled))