Cashed-up foreigners are ‘buying their way’ into Australia through investment visas
FOREIGN millionaires are bypassing lengthy immigration queues to buy their way into Australia via controversial investment visas, which have injected billions into the economy.
National
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THOUSANDS of foreign millionaires are bypassing lengthy immigration queues to effectively buy their way into Australia via exclusive investment visas, which have injected a whopping $11 billion into the economy.
But the visas could be scrapped as the Turnbull Government is reviewing them after the Productivity Commission found they were prone to fraud and had little benefit to Australia.
Hundreds of applicants are also being knocked back because they don’t provide enough evidence about where they obtained their money.
Some applicants had difficulties transferring funds internationally, while others were found to have provided “bogus” documents or there were news reports about them being involved in “unacceptable” activities such as bribery, insider trading or fraud.
Almost 2000 wealthy migrants have been successful in applying for one of the fastest track visas, the Significant Investment Visa — which requires them to stump up $5 million to be eligible — since it launched in 2012.
Collectively, they’ve injected $9.87 billion into the economy through the SIV, which requires applicants to invest the money in Australian shares, venture capital projects or bonds for four years before they can apply for permanent residency.
They only have to spend 40 days per year in Australia over that time but must be nominated by States and Territories to qualify.
Chinese investors account for the overwhelming majority of applicants.
Another 705 investors, who applied under the slower-track Investor visa, have injected $1.057 billion into the economy over five years.
That visa requires them to stump up $1.5 million for “complying investments” and spend two years in Australia prior to seeking permanent residency.
More than 6530 family members of the primary applicants for both visas have also come to Australia in the past five years, Department of Home Affairs figures show.
A further 2025 applicants have been knocked back — mostly because they didn’t provide enough evidence about how they made their money, according to Home Affairs advice provided to Parliament last year.
Other applicants had struggled to transfer funds internationally, were found to have provided “bogus” documents or there were reports about them being involved in “unacceptable” activities.
Home Affairs is currently reviewing the business investment visa program after the Productivity Commission recommended in 2016 that the SIV be abolished, along with the Premium Investor Visa which requires applicants to invest $15 million to be eligible.
No PIVs have been granted to date.
Austrac has also raised concerns about the SIV and the difficulty in determining if applicants’ money was legally obtained.
But Australia China Entrepreneurs Club chairman Richard Yuan told News Corp they had been “great for the country” economically.
He said that, given the US had sparked a trade war with China, it was a good time for the Australian government to consider changes to the visa that would make it easier for wealthy investors to apply.
“We need the funds and it’s a good time to have this discussion,” he said.
“There is so much potential to benefit Australia from the visa program.”
Mr Yuan added that government must also warn applicants they could lose money by investing in Australian funds.
He said, anecdotally, about half of the investors who had been granted visas had lost money through Australian investments that weren’t properly managed.
Liberal MP Jason Wood, chair of the government’s Joint Standing Committee on Migration, also said he fully supported maintaining the investment visas.
“I’m all for streamlining and fast-tracking visas for people who create businesses and jobs for Australians,” he said.
“To me, it’s bringing money into the country. If we don’t do it, other countries will do it.”
He added: “If we’re taking so many people in humanitarian visas, this is a fair and sensible way of balancing that out.”
Mr Wood said the highest priority in changing immigration laws was to be able to deport migrants who commit violent crimes but aren’t given 12 months jail.
Labor’s immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann however accused Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton of ignoring “real problems” in Australia’s migration program, saying it had been more than 600 days since the Productivity Commission released its report and the government had yet to respond.
He highlighted that Home Affairs had admitted it was aware of the potential for “serious economic fraud” in the investment visas in Senate estimates last year.
“This red flag should be cause for concern,” Mr Neumann told News Corp.
Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alan Tudge reserved commenting on the visas until the review was complete.
He said the purpose of the review was to assess whether current visas “enable Australia to target and attract the best business migrants, entrepreneurs, investors and people with distinguished talents”.
Sydney migration agent Phillip Silver said the level of proof applicants had to provide about the source of their money was high — one of his recent clients was required to provide evidence back to 1990.
Mr Silver also said many applicants weren’t actually intending to live in Australia but saw the visa as a “quick pathway” for their children to be educated and live in Australia.
Meanwhile, a handful of Coalition MPs have backed Liberal Senator Dean Smith’s calls for a year-long inquiry into Australia’s population and immigration levels, including Mr Wood and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Originally published as Cashed-up foreigners are ‘buying their way’ into Australia through investment visas
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