Australian Investment Immigration - 188C Investor Visa

About Australia

There have always been a large number of Hong Kong people who choose to immigrate to Australia. However, in addition to Australian immigration, Australia is also an ideal place for studying, traveling, and investing. The combination of various factors makes Australian immigration the top three immigration options for Hong Kong residents. Moreover, in line with the hot immigration trend and the Australian immigration policy that favors Hong Kong people, the popularity of Australian immigration applications continues to increase. Among all Australian immigration applications, applications for the Australian Investment Immigration Program account for 70%.

The numerous Australian immigration programs can be roughly divided into Australian investment immigration and skilled immigration. Whether it is Australian investment immigration or skilled immigration, there are different Australian immigration plans and different Australian immigration conditions. Starting from July 1, 2021, the Australian Immigration Department announced that it will reduce the business innovation and Australian investment immigration visas to 4 categories, and cancel the 188D visa and business talent visa (category 132). Since then, the main Australian investment immigration programs include188A (Investor Innovation Visa)、188B (investor visa)and 188C (Significant Investor Visa). To successfully immigrate to Australia, applicants must understand the Australian immigration conditions of different plans and develop the most suitable Australian immigration plan based on their own circumstances. The following are the details of the Australian Investment Immigration 188C plan.188Aand188BInformation can be browsed by clicking on the relevant page. You can also sign up directly for ourAustralian Immigration Lecture, or contact our Australian immigration consultants at any time to obtain professional Australian immigration consultant advice.

The Australian government announced the cancellation of business innovation and investment visas on May 14, 2024, and would stop accepting new applications from July 2024. This visa program is no longer accepting applications for the Business Innovation, Investor, Significant Investor, Senior Investor and Entrepreneur categories. If a visa application has been submitted, the Ministry of Home Affairs will continue to process it according to the fiscal year quota.

188C - Australia Significant Investor Visa

As long as you make a complying significant investment of AUD 5 million specified by the government, you are eligible to apply for 888 permanent residence after 5 years.

Application conditions:

1. Obtain state government sponsorship;
2. Obtain government invitation (EOI);
3. No age limit, no English requirement, no point-tested system;
4. In 5 years, the main applicant has lived in Australia for 200 days;
5. SIV can be renewed twice, each for a period of 2 years;
6. Invest 5 million AUD into prescribed investment products:
   • Invest at least AUD 500,000 in venture capital and growth private equity funds which invest in start-ups and small private companies
   • Invest at least AUD 1 million in approved managed funds. The managed funds must invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
   • A ‘balancing investment’ of at least AUD 2.5 million in managed funds, which includes other listed companies on the Australian Securities Exchange, Australian corporate bonds or notes from qualified companies, annuities and commercial real estate (Note: the upper limit of the proportion of investment in residential real estate is 10%)
7. There are 3 options for permanent residence after 4 years:
   • Apply for 888 visa, which is the so-called green card;
   • Can be renewed twice, each for a period of 2 years, each extension requires an extra 80 days of stay. After 6 or 8 years, if residence requirements are met, you can switch to 888 green card at any time.
   • After 6 or 8 years, if residence requirements are met, you can switch to 888 green card at any time.
8. Children under 18 years old or full-time students between 18 and 23 years old are allowed to be included in an application.

888 Visa-Permanent residence (green card):

• The applicant must have stayed in Australia for at least 200 days out of the last 5 years, or the spouse of the applicant must have stayed in Australia for 180 days each year out of the last 5 years.
• The applicant must hold a complying significant investment of AUD 5 millioncontinuously for the life of the provisional visa, i.e. at least 5 years.

188C - Point test

• Applicant’s age based on the day being invited to apply.
• The IELTS must be demonstrated within the 2 years before applicants are invited to apply for this visa.
• Net business and personal assets were held by applicant and applicant’s partner, excluding children.

188C - Documents Required

(A) Personal information:

1. Chinese ID card
2. Passport (with a photo page and all Australian visas and entry and exit dates)
3. Birth certificate issued by the hospital (certified)
4. Marriage certificate
5. Household register
6. Chinese no-criminal certificate (for applicants who are 16 years old and above)
7. Address in the past 10 years
8. Names of parents and siblings, dates of birth, current country of residence and marital status
9. Details of work and study history of yourself and your spouse
10. 4 passport photos of each person

(B) Personal property:

1. Bank deposit
2. Stock
3. Real estate: Valuation report issued by qualified surveyor

(C) Company information:

1. Business registration certificate (with annual verification stamp)
2. Tax registration certificate
3. Capital verification report and bank deposit receipt (to be confirmed by the Department of Industry and Commerce).
4. Recent company search by the Bureau of Industry and Commerce
5. Photos of the company. Approximately ten company’s employee structure diagrams. Any company’s promotional documents
6. Accounting statements for the past 2 years
7. Company’s monthly value-added tax payment certificate
8. Audit report issued by qualified CPA for the past 2 years

188C - Procedures

• Free consultation(1 day)
• Collect and process client documents
  Sign service agreement and letter of attorney. Pay advanced deposit (70%)
• Submit Expression of Interest (VISA 188)/Prepare business plan and apply state or territory government nomination
• Compile financial statement by Australian accountant
  Pay accountant fee
• Submit application
• Interview
• Body check
• Visa application

If you want to have a more comprehensive understanding of the latest Australian immigration and Australian investment immigration information, please sign up.Australian Immigration Lecture, or contact our Australian immigration consultants directly.