The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural and Office Affairs. has today released information on changes to the Business innovation and Investment Program which will come into effect from 1 July 2021.
The new program will be reduced to four instead of nine streams:
Business Innovation
Entrepreneur
Investor
Significant Investor
Changes to these streams include:
The provisional visas will now be valid for five years with provisional visa holders in all four streams able to apply for permanent residence if they meet the requirements after three years.
There will be a clear path to permanent residency or each category.
There will be further consultations on changes to the Complying Investment Framework in the first half of 2021, to give sufficient time for businesses and investors to adjust.
Streams closing 1 July 2021
The following BIIP streams will be closed for new applications from 1 July 2021 are:
Premium Investor
Significant Business History
Venture Capital Entrepreneur
Business Innovation visas
Business Innovation visa holders will continue to be able to extend their provisional visas if they do not meet the business and residence thresholds in the required timeframe.
Business Innovation provisional visa holders can apply for a single two-year extension provided they demonstrate a realistic commitment to continuing to manage a business that has been actively operating in Australia for the previous two years.
Business Innovation visa holders will be required to hold increased business assets of $1.25 million (up from $800,000) and have an annual turnover of $750,000 (up from $500,000) to prove their business acumen.
This means that there will no longer be a direct PR pathway from June 2021 with the highly popular 132(A) visa coming to an end.
Please contact us for further information as we urge all prospective high net-worth individuals to consider applying before the change comes into effect.
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