I have read the list of several potential complying investments but cannot find information on whether a certain amount has to be in bonds, or in residential property as required in citizenship by investment programs in countries like Cyprus or Malta. What are the guidelines governing how much of my investment can be in real property (excluding residential property)?
Answers
Direct investment in residential real estate is excluded and indirect exposure through managed funds is to be restricted to less than 10% of a vehicle's net assets.
Please note that Direct Real Estate investment is not a complying investment for the Premium Investor Visa. The indirect Real Estate Investment part of the AUD15 million will be invested into projects here in Australia.
The Premium Investor Visa is an invitation-only visa run by Austrade. To date, there has not been a single invitation or grant of this visa category. The investment framework of the PIV AUD$15 million investment is broader than the AUD$5 million Significant Investor Visa. There is not a specific quantum as to how much of the AUD$15m is to be invested in different asset classes. Austrade has stated on numerous occasions at migration events that the PIV is not so much about the $15 million investment. It is more about what benefits the applicant is bringing to Australia (e.g. Will they be transferring the domicile of their company to Australia and creating a large number of jobs?). The $15 million investment is only a part of the pie. I receive many inquiries from interested applicants and their migration agents. In most cases, applicants settle for the AUD$5 million SIV as it is not an invitation-only visa and there is a clear-cut framework as to how the money is to be invested. The SIV provides much of the same benefits of the PIV, except the provisional visa is a 4-year visa (ability to extend 2x2 years) compared to the PIVs 1 year. The longer provisional visa is not necessarily a bad thing for an applicant, it can be beneficial from a global tax perspective. Under Australia’s Migration Act of 1958, it may be possible for individuals who become Australian residents whilst holding the provisional 188C visa to take advantage of temporary resident rules which would exclude foreign sourced income and gains from the influence of Australian tax.
Guidelines are monitored by Austrade. The Premium Investor Visa (PIV) is a separate visa stream that targets talented entrepreneurs and innovators with a minimum of $15 million to invest. Nominations for the PIV are made by Austrade only. Austrade will not accept unsolicited expressions of interest for the PIV. The SIV and PIV are distinct visa streams with different eligibility criteria. Applications for the visas are assessed on their own independent merits.
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