Deloitte: New visa for Australia

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Professional services firm Deloitte says the introduction of the Significant Investment Visa when it launches tomorrow will mark the real beginning of Australia’s ‘Asian Century’.

“A recent Wall Street Journal analysis suggested that approximately US$225 billion left China in the 12 months to September 2012. According to a Boston Consulting Group survey, China has 1.4 million millionaires – only the United States of America and Japan have more,” says Mark Wright, Deloitte’s Immigration Leader. He points out the new visa will allow ultra-high-net-worth foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence if they are able to invest at least A$5million (US$5.2million) in complying investments for a minimum of four years.

Despite the evident benefits the visa would deliver to Australia, Mr Wright acknowledged the potential for some sections of the community to view it with cynicism.

“For some, this will be perceived simply as a vehicle to allow wealthy foreigners to buy residences here. However, that’s a shallow view of a policy that has the potential to deliver billions of dollars of investment to our economy that will have an intergenerational impact on our prosperity.”