Changes to the Business Innovation and Investment Program Announced
On 17 December 2020, Acting Minister Tudge announced changes to Business Innovation and Investment Program which will come into effect from 1 July 2021.
The New Business Innovation and Investment program will be reduced from nine to four stream as follows
Business Innovation
Entrepreneur
Investor
Significant Investor
Provisional visa holders in all four streams will be able to apply for permanent residency if they meet the requirements after three years. However, the provisional visa will now be valid for five years, meaning they have additional time to meet the requirements.
Business Innovation Stream
The visa holders in the Business Innovation stream will continue to be able to extend their provisional visas if they do not meet the business and residence threshold in the required timeframe.
They can apply for a single two-year extension but need to demonstrate a realistic commitment to continuing to manage a business that has been actively operating in Australia for the previous two years.
The visa holders in this stream will need to hold business assets of $1.25 million (up from $800,000) and have an annual turnover of $750,000 (up from $500,000) to prove their busines acumen.
Significant Investor Stream
The visa holders in the Significant Investor stream will continue to be able to extend their provisional visas if they do not meet the business and residence threshold in the required timeframe.
They can apply for two x two-year (total four years) extension but need to demonstrate they continue to maintain their complying significant investment.
Entrepreneur Stream
The $200,000 funding threshold required for Entrepreneur visa applicants will be scrapped.
Entrepreneur visa applicants will need to be endorsed by a State or Territory government.
From 01 July 2021 onwards, the following Business Innovation and Investment streams will be closed for new applications
Premium Investor Stream
Significant Business History
Venture Capital Entrepreneur
The closure of Significant Business History and Venture Capital Entrepreneur which are both under subclass 132 (Business Talent (Permanent) Visa), would mean that the direct permanent visa entry would no longer be offered.
The Government will also be consulting widely with the industry to inform any further changes to the Complying Investment Framework. Any changes to the framework will be announced in the early half of next year, with sufficient time for businesses and investors to adjust.
The full media release can be found at Media Release from The Hon Alan Tudge MP.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You
If you want to find out more about your eligibility for the Business Innovation and Investment program or need advice on your current Business visa application, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can book a Migration Planning Session with one of our immigration lawyers to seek professional advice by calling 02-7200 2700 or email us to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Burmese and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
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