Residency | Australia
Overview
Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and has an excellent reputation. It is a developed, multi-cultural country with an extremely high Human Development Index ranking and offers its people an excellent quality of life, economic freedom, and good protection of civil liberties and political rights.
Investment: Minimum contribution of AUD 2.5 million under the Investor Stream
Processing time: 12 months
Key benefit: Approximately five years to citizenship
Benefits of Australia Citizenship by Investment:
—–High standard of living
—–Multicultural
—–Political, social, and economic stability
—–Objective, merits-based immigration system with predictable outcomes
The Business Innovation and Investment Program
There are four visa streams under the Business Innovation and Investment Program.
The Business Innovation and Investment Program includes the following:
The Business Innovation Stream — Individuals must pass a points test, have a successful business career with a business turnover of at least AUD 750,000, and have net assets of AUD 1.25 million. They must also obtain and maintain substantial ownership and management of an Australian business and reside in the country for at least one year.
The Investor Stream — Individuals must pass a points test, commit AUD 2.5 million into a complying Australian-managed investment fund for the duration of the provisional visa validity, and reside in the country for at least two years.
The Significant Investor Stream — Individuals must commit at least AUD 5 million into a complying Australian-managed investment fund for the duration of the provisional visa validity and reside in the country for an average of 40 days a year for primary visa holders.
The Entrepreneur Stream — Individuals must receive endorsement by a state or territory government and reside in the country for at least two years.
The above temporary visas offer a direct pathway to permanent residence after three years, subject to meeting certain residence and investment or business turnover requirements. The initial visa will be valid for five years.
Procedures and Time frame of the Australia Citizenship by Investment Program
The Australian visa application process is very structured and based on laws, regulations, policy, and legislative instruments. In addition to visa application legislation, the Department of Home Affairs also has the power to cancel visas, conduct compliance or monitoring exercises, regulate the professional migration agent industry, and allow for the legal review of visa decisions.
Certain visa applications for people outside Australia must be assessed by an immigration attaché at the closest Australian embassy. Other visa applications will be assessed by an immigration office in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs is moving towards electronic online lodgment for all temporary and permanent residence visa applications.
The application processing times differ significantly depending on the visa being applied for but are generally 12 months.
The Department of Home Affairs uses a priority processing tier, whereby visa applications that yield the greatest economic benefit to the country (skilled visas) will be assessed quicker than those with less economic benefit (family visas). The Department of Home Affairs advertises its service standards online for application time frames, which are regularly updated.
Australian visas are attached electronically to passports and physical visa labels are no longer placed into them. Australia has an online portal that allows individuals and employers to check the visa status (and any applicable work conditions) of a visa holder.