188C Significant Investment Visa (SIV)

Significant Investment visa stream (SIV) is one of the four streams within the Australian Government’s Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) subclass 188 visas and Business innovation and Investment subclass 888 visa. This stream is referred as subclass 188C.

This stream of visa is designed to attract those overseas high-net worth individuals who are willing to invest and migrate to Australia and want to maintain business and investment activity in Australia. SIV is intended as a way to boost Australian economy and a drive to innovation through effectively high calibre personnel who are seeking investment migration to Australia.

Features of SIV 188C visa

• Compared with other 188 streams 188A and 188B, this SIV visa does not have an “upper” age limit. This means any person over 18 years of age can apply subject to meeting the criteria and eligibilities.
• Applicants do not have to meet the points test requirement of 65 points as required by other streams.
• Source of funds are flexible, as long as these funds can be proved to have been sourced legally.
• Residential requirement is easy to meet. During the 4 years of provisional visa period, and to be eligible for grant of permanent visa 888, applicants must also live in Australia for at least 40 days per year for the duration of the provisional visa. Or the spouse or de facto partner must live in Australia for at least 180 days per year for the duration of the provisional visa. These days do not have to be consecutive.

How much money to be invested?

Under the complying investment framework, SIV visa applicants will be required to invest at least A$5 million into complying investments for a minimum of four years before they are eligible to apply for a permanent visa subclass 888.

The invested amount should include:

• At least AUD$500,000 in eligible Australian venture capital or growth private equity fund(s) investing in start-up and small private companies.
• At least AU$1.5million in an eligible managed fund(s) or Listed Investment Companies (LICs) that invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
• A “balanced investment” of up to AU$3 million in managed fund(s) or LICs that invest in a combination of eligible assets that include other ASX listed companies, eligible corporate bonds or notes, annuities and real property (subject to the 10 percent limit on residential estate).

Please note each state or territory in Australia may have their own investment requirements for their nomination approval.

Criteria to be eligible for this visa

In order to be eligible for this visa stream, applicants need to meet the following criteria:

• You and your spouse together need to prove that you have assets of at least AU$5 million and are willing to invest in the complying investment projects in Australia.
• You must seek and get approval of a nomination by an Australian State or Territory government or Austrade before being invited for this visa.
• You and your partner must have no history of involvement in business or investment activities that are of a nature that is not acceptable in Australia.
• Better to have functional English. If not, you can alternatively pay for English course fees at your second instalment of the visa application charge;
• You and family also have to meet health and character requirements before the visa can be granted.
• You should maintain a good record of visa history, not to have had a visa cancelled or refused before while you were in Australia.

Acceptable Sources of Funds

At the time of visa application, applicants need to provide their asset portfolio’s source of funds. The sources of the funds for their asset portfolio must be declared to have been lawfully acquired.

It’s important to note that the source of funds for making the complying significant investment must:

• be unencumbered. Visa applicant can’t use the investment as a basis for security or collateral for a loan.
• be lawfully acquired. Visa applicant must demonstrate that these funds were obtained through acceptable business activities.

The following types of funds are acceptable by the Australian government:

• Business income
  You may have run your own business with company registration, ownership of interest as a shareholder, ongoing business performance or taxation records.
• Investment income
  You may have investment activities, such as real estates, stocks, property leasing etc. You may be required to provide evidence of these investment activities.
• Gifted or Inherited assets
  Your assets can be in the form of gifts or inheritance from your family members of other people.  You will be required to provide evidence of how you got these inherited assets or gifts. Also you may be required to provide other evidence demonstrating how the original owner (family member) accumulated the assets.
• Historical accumulation of wealth       
  If you can’t get access  to the official verifiable evidence for those assets,  you will be required to provide bank records demonstrating continuous ownership of funds over a substantial period.
• Assets held in Australia
  Your previous investment in Australia can be counted towards your personal assets. You will be required to provide evidence to prove you have the assets to the declared sources.

Check with Korrylink for your eligibility or for a visa option.