Australia mulls scrapping Significant Investor Visa, to benefit skilled migrants
PremiumSignificant Investor visa has been highly criticized as providing a fast track for wealthy Chinese
The Australia government has announced that it is planning to review a visa for people who invest at least A$5 million ($3.4 million) in the country. The home minister cited that this visa category, which has been highly criticized as providing a fast track for wealthy Chinese, has ‘little reason to retain be retained.’
What is the Significant Investor visa?
The Significant Investor visa is designed to attract funds into the country, with holders required to maintain their investment for the term of the visa, which can be up to five years.
After it has been criticised, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neill told Sky News Australia Sunday that there weren’t a lot of benefits to continuing the scheme. “I can’t see a lot of reasons to keep it," she said in an interview.
Why people are calling for it to be scrapped?
The Grattan Institute, an Australian public policy think tank, has called for the Business Investment and Innovation visa program, under which the Significant Investor falls, to be scrapped, saying it leads to projects being financed that wouldn’t normally be green lit, and that holders provide relatively little tax income for the government.
They tend to be aged over 45, with limited English language skills, and cost A$120,000 more in public services than they pay in taxes over their lifetimes, the institute said in a report last year, citing calculations from the Australian Treasury.
News Corp.’s The Australian newspaper, has been a vocal critic of the Significant Investor scheme, saying that at least 600 wealthy Chinese had used the visa as a pathway to Australian citizenship.
(With inputs from agencies)
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