Reforms of Business Innovation and Investment Program Taking Effect from 1 July 2021
Why Apply for a Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)?
The current immigration landscape is favorable to Business Innovation and Investment Program (‘BIIP’) applications as there were only 6,862 BIIP allocations in 2019-20, this doubled to 13,500 allocations for FY2020-2021.
When will the Business Innovation and Investment Program reforms take place?
The consultation paper ‘Business Innovation and Investment Program: Getting a better deal for Australia’ was released by the Department to seek views on whether there are opportunities to streamline the BIIP to maximize the value the program generates. The Government intends to put in place measures aligned with the findings in this review from 1 July 2021.
What Business Innovation and Investment Program reforms will take place?
Key changes (in effect from 1 July 2021) are as follows:
Threshold increase
Business Innovation Stream
Applicants will be required to hold $1.25m of business and personal assets (from $800,000) and the business must have a $750k annual turnover (from $500,000).
Investor Stream & Significant Investor Stream
No changes have been announced but an increase is likely.
Entrepreneur Stream
The current $200,000 funding threshold will be scrapped.
Simplification of Current Streams
The Business Innovation and Investment Program will be simplified from 9 streams to 4 streams.
The following streams will be removed: Premium Investor Stream, Significant Business History Stream, Venture Capital Entrepreneur Stream will be closed to new applications from 1 July 2021.
The following four streams will remain:
Business Innovation Stream,
Investor Stream,
Significant Investor Stream, and
Entrepreneur Stream.
Validity of Provisional Visa
Provisional visa holders in all four streams will be able to apply for permanent residency after 3 years but the provisional visa will be valid for 5 years. This means investors will have additional time to meet the requirements.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You
Agape Henry Crux can help assess your eligibility, prepare your application and lodge your visa before the Business Innovation and Investment Program reform is implemented. Our accredited specialists are able to advise you on the best strategies to meet the requirements and be nominated under the current or reformed laws. Get in touch with us! You can book one of our lawyers or agents to seek professional advice by calling 02-72002700 or email us to book a time at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Burmese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
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