What happens if the value of my investment for the Australian Significant Investor Visa falls below AUD 5 million? - EB5Investors.com

What happens if the value of my investment for the Australian Significant Investor Visa falls below AUD 5 million?

My investment advisor is looking into options for my application to Australia’s Significant Investor Visa, which I hope to file in early 2018. We are both interested in answering this question so that we can know how much risk we can take and what types of investments we can look at.

Answers

Quentin Kuo
Answered on

If your investment falls below $5m, then you will need to prove that it was originally $5m.

Liz Chen CPA CA MMIA
Answered on

My personal view from an accounting consulting perspective is that it would not be ideal to be in the negative (i.e not profitable) after a 4-year investment. However, there is no legal requirement for the investment to be profitable (given this is all subject to market supply and demand). So there is no repercussion if the investment value falls below $5m after the 4 years. The SIV subclass 188 visa is a temporary visa for 4 years, and you would need to have documents that show you have entered into agreements to invest $5m AUD in the following: (1) $3,500,000 AUD in balancing investments (via a managed investment fund); (2) $1,500,000 AUD in emerging companies (via a managed investment fund); (3) $500,000 AUD in venture capital funds. For details, please refer to this legislation: https://www.legislation. gov.au/Details/F2015L01012
The critical thing to remember is that you must enter into agreements and show you have the capital/funds available when you lodge the application as well as the commitment and intent to be in Australia (as previously advised). If you are looking to get PR in the future (i.e. subclass 888), then you can only apply after 4 years of holding the investment (regardless of negative profits or not). In terms of how much risk to take - this will be your personal choice. There is no set requirement for the visa other than documents with the initial investment of $5m. I''ve spoken to a few banks about their SIV approach and they estimate a very conservative approach of approximately 5-7% return p.a. I hope that makes sense.

Lisa De Leon
Answered on

The value of the complying significant investment might fluctuate throughout the duration of the visa. This does not affect compliance if the original investment was made for the amount of AUD 5,000,000. The applicant is required to sign a form which releases the Commonwealth and the Minister from any liabilities in relation to any loss, and must agree to not take any legal action if losses are incurred. When Switching Between Investments: If the value of the complying significant investment has increased as a result of the market, the total sum reinvested in other complying significant investments must be at least the amount initially invested plus the increase. If the value of the complying significant investment has decreased as a result of market exposure, the total sum reinvested must be at least the amount initially invested minus the amount lost.

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