Almost 7,000 invitation places already received by state governments, sitting vacant and waiting to be filled! New financial year, new policies — opportunities for both overseas applicants and international students!

Looking at it from two angles:

1. Although the quota for the new financial year hasn’t increased, in the federal Budget, the Australian Federal Government made clear that investor migration will be a priority program this financial year, playing a major role in the post-pandemic recovery, so it will continue to receive priority processing, and the 13,500 places is still a big increase compared with previous financial years (just over 7,000), which shows that Australia still very much welcomes investor migration.

The figures for previous financial years are as follows:

2. The tightening of investment application requirements: Raising the requirements is also a natural response to the times, faced with ongoing inflation and currency depreciation, and with the global economy badly damaged by the pandemic, Australia needs to keep bringing in foreign investment and entrepreneurs to rebuild its economy — so the current increase in the investment amount is aimed at drawing in overseas investment to help drive Australia’s economic recovery.

So, looking at both of these factors, Australia will continue to welcome investor migration in the years ahead, and the new policy also ensures a period of stability over the coming years, with no further major changes expected.

1. Age requirement: the main applicant must be under 55 years of age, and accompanying children must be under 23 years of age before the visa is granted, unmarried, and studying full-time;

2. Proof of assets: the visa applicant’s net household assets must reach $1.25 million AUD. The original requirement was $800,000 AUD, an increase of $450,000 AUD.

3. Annual turnover: The annual turnover of the business the visa applicant is using to apply for 188A must reach $750,000 AUD, which may be the combined turnover of two businesses. The original requirement was $500,000 AUD, an increase of $250,000 AUD.

4. EOI points: must reach 65 points

5. Visa duration: The visa duration has been changed to a five-year term. It was previously four years and three months, so the visa has been extended by nine months.

1. Age requirement: the main applicant must be under 55 years of age, and accompanying children must be under 23 years of age before the visa is granted, unmarried, and studying full-time;

2. Net household asset requirement: the couple’s combined net household assets must be no less than $2.5 million AUD;

3. In one of the past five financial years, held $1.5 million AUD in investment holdings;

4. Through legitimate investment, earned $2.5 million AUD

5. More than three years of successful investment experience

6. Investment product requirements: $2.5 million AUD invested into compliant products:

$500,000 AUD into venture capital

$750,000 AUD into emerging companies

$1.25 million AUD into balanced investments

7. EOI points no less than 65 points

8. Visa duration: The visa duration has been changed to a five-year term. It was previously four years and three months, so the visa has been extended by nine months.

1. Currently hold $5 million AUD in net household assets

2. Change in investment ratios: the visa applicant invests $5 million AUD into a compliant fund manager:

– $1 million AUD into venture capital

– $1.5 million AUD into emerging companies

– $1.25 million AUD into balanced investments

3. Visa duration: The visa duration has been changed to a five-year term. It was previously four years and three months, so the visa has been extended by nine months.

‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Newstars’ Beijing office ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍has recently received payment notification letters for two 188C clients, and successful payment means the visa has been approved. At present, 188C applications are the fastest-processed among investor migration streams, with applicants receiving a request for further documents after around nine months.

Client one: Mr D, used cash deposits as his 188C investment funds

Client two: Mr P, used proceeds from a property sale as his 188C investment funds

The new Subclass 188E visa will open up, for international students in Australia, a migration pathway via starting their own business to obtain Australian permanent residency.

1. Age under 55

2. Good English proficiency (an IELTS score of 6.0 across all four bands, or an equivalent level of English), with valid evidence able to be provided once approval is given to proceed with the visa application

3. The main applicant must be operating, or newly establishing, a compliant start-up activity in Australia, the compliant start-up activity must have an innovative concept, achieve the commercialisation of an Australian product or service, or help drive growth in Australia’s businesses or economy.

4. Funding threshold: the previous requirement to secure at least $200,000 AUD in venture capital funding has been removed, but applicants still need to obtain an invitation from a state government before they can apply.

5. Must meet Australia’s health requirements and have no criminal record

A compliant start-up activity cannot be any of the following types of business:

1 – Residential real estate

2 – Labour hire/leasing-related industries

3 – Purchasing an existing business or franchise

188E success story:

Newstars’ Beijing office successfully obtained its first Subclass 188E investor migration visa approval in April 2019. At the time, fewer than five 188E visas had been granted worldwide. The whole application took only six months — thanks to careful planning by the Newstars migration team and the client’s full cooperation, it was approved with just one round of Department of Home Affairs requests for further documents and no interview at all!   

Regarding the Subclass 888 visa for converting a 188 to permanent residency, we’ve also recently received state nomination approval letters for two clients, both of whom had their 188A visas approved in 2018 and have since completed the following two years of operating a business in Australia.

Client one: Mr J successfully obtained, on 21/08/10, NSW state government nomination

Client two: Mr F successfully obtained, on 21/07/05, Victorian state government nomination

Study and migration — practical short videos