End of the business innovation and investor visa

“The Business Innovation and Investment visa program (BIIP) will cease,” the Australian government said. Terminating BIIP marks a significant shift in Australia’s migration setup as it previously offered a path to permanent residency via investment.

“We’re addressing the pressures caused by population growth, with net overseas migration next year now expected to be half what it was last year,” Chalmers said in his budget night speech as quoted by media reports.

In January this year, Australia removed its so-called ‘golden visa program’, which allowed wealthy overseas investors to live in the country and get permanent residency over time. The government found that significant investor visas (SIV) were impacting its economy and giving poor economic outcomes. Under BIIP, candidates had to invest 5 million Australian dollars to be eligible for the visa.

The list of such candidates was highly dominated by Chinese investors, with 85 per cent of SIVs granted to applicants from China.

Consequently, Australia is focusing on attracting migrants from the technology sector rather than investors.