The Australian Government introduced the SIV to provide a boost the economy and drive innovation through competing effectively for high net worth individuals seeking investment migration to Australia. The SIV requires investment of at least $5million AUD into complying significant investments for the duration of the provisional visa to be eligible for the permanent visa. The Significant Investor Visa (SIV) is a stream within the Australian Government’s Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (Subclass 188) visa and the Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (Subclass 888) visa. This visa is Intended for applicants who can invest at least $5million AUD in a Complying Significant Investment Fund in Australia for at least the full duration of your visa. This visa subclass carries age and English exemptions and is not points tested. Residence requirements are also reduced for maintaining permanent residency and acquiring citizenship. You can lodge this visa whilst in Australia and/or outside Australia.
This visa allows you to do the following:

• carry out business and investment activity in Australia
• travel to, enter and remain in Australia for the validity of your visa grant i.e. 5 years
• bring eligible dependent members of your family unit only with you
• apply for a permanent Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) Significant Investment stream

KEY CRITERIA – [All of the following must apply]
At the time that you are invited to apply for this visa:

• you must be nominated either by Austrade, or by an Australian State or Territory government agency (in which case either you or your spouse/de facto partner must intend to reside in that State/Territory)
• you (or you and your spouse/de facto partner, if applicable) must have net assets of at least AU$5 million, which are legally acquired, unencumbered, and can be used to make your complying investment in Australia
• you (and your spouse/de facto partner, if applicable) must not have been involved in unacceptable business or investment activities

COMPLYING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS AFTER 1 JULY 2021

• at least AUD$1Million (20% of your total investment) invested in venture capital funds or growth private equity funds that invest in start-ups and small private companies AND
• at least AUD$1.5 million (30% of your total investment) invested in approved managed funds that invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) AND
• a ‘balancing investment’ of up to AUD $2.5million (remainder of your investment) invested in managed funds that may invest in a range of eligible assets, including:
• commercial real estate investment, companies listed on the ASX (or another Australian securities exchange), Australian Corporate bonds or notes, annuities

COMPLYING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS BEFORE 1 JULY 2021

• at least AUD$500,000 (10% of your total investment) invested in venture capital funds or growth private equity funds that invest in start-ups and small private companies AND
• at least AUD$1.5 million (30% of your total investment) invested in eligible managed funds or Listed Investment Companies (LICs) that invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) AND
• a ‘balancing investment’ of up to AUD $3million (remainder of your investment) invested in funds or LICs that may invest in a range of eligible assets, including:
• securities of a company, a real estate investment trust or an infrastructure trust quoted on the ASX (or another Australian securities exchange)
• bonds or notes issued by a company that is quoted on the ASX; or by a wholly-owned subsidiary thereof, if incorporated in Australia; or by a company incorporated in Australia (or a registered foreign company), if the bonds or notes are rated as investment grade by an accredited Australian financial services agency
• annuities issued by Australian-registered life companies that do not repay capital during the period of the visa
• Australian real property, (excluding direct investment in residential property, and limited to 10% indirect investment in residential real estate as part of the fund’s net assets)
• cashheld by Australian authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), including certificates of deposit, bank bills and other cash-like instruments (limited to 20% of the fund’s net assets)
• derivatives (if the investment is made for risk management purposes and is not a speculative investment)

You may hold investments in each of these options, and you may also change between complying significant investments, provided you meet the reinvestment requirements.
All funds used to make an investment must be unencumbered and lawfully acquired. The investment must be lawful and CANNOT form the security or collateral for a loan

• State Government or Territory Nomination approval is required
• English exemptions are available for main applicant if competent English requirements cannot be met
• No Skills Assessment Required and No Employment offer required

WHAT WE DO FOR YOU

• You complete our contact form to discuss further through an initial in person meet or through zoom video meeting and discuss your specific needs
• We send you our initial Investment Visa Assessment form to complete and provide to us for a scheduled meeting to which we will discuss the source of investment funds meeting the Australia regulations

Additional areas of discussions will involve the complying investment and requirements

• Mygration will assist to prepare and lodge Austrade/ State nomination & Visa applications
• We will assist with Bridging Visa applications if required for onshore lodgments
• Processing times vary and change continuously. Our current Subclass 188C Significant Investment Visas are taking 8 weeks to prepare from engagement and a further 6-18 months to be finalized by Department of Home Affairs Processing Centre. Factors affecting the processing times are backlogs related to Covid restrictions.

SC888 C – Permanent Significant Investment Visa

POST VISA GRANT CRITERIA

Once the SC188C Significant Investment visa for Australia is granted – Applicants who have maintained their Australian Investment and other criteria are eligible to apply for SC888C Significant Investment Permanent visa after 4 years or the full duration of their visa post 1 July 2021 of holding the SC188C and meeting other main requirements such as:

• Continuously maintaining your Complying Significant Investment of AUD$5 million using unencumbered funds
• Have not been involved in unacceptable activities
• The nominating State or Territory government agency or the CEO of Austrade has not withdrawn the nomination
• The applicant genuinely has demonstrated a realistic commitment to maintain business or investment activities in Australia

Maintaining the business Investment
For the full period immediately before you apply for the permanent visa, you or your spouse/de facto partner together must have held the complying investment continuously
Residence Requirement
The main applicant must have resided in Australia for (before 1/7/2021) at least a total of 40 days per year within the 4 years or (after 1/7/2021) at least a total of 40 days per year you held the provisional subclass 188C SIV or 188C SIV extension visa before you apply as the holder of an SC888C Significant Investment visa. The required number of days do not have to be divided equally over each visa year period. They can be accumulated over the full period of which you held those respective provisional visas. 

If the main applicant/significant investor is unable to meet the required day residence period but was able to maintain the investment for the visa duration period, then the applicant’s spouse or de-facto partner may also be eligible to meet the residence requirement by demonstrating they have resided in Australia (before 1/7/2021) at least a total of 180 days per year within the 4 years or ( after 1/7/2021) at least a total of 180 days per year you held the provisional subclass 188C SIV or 188C SIV extension visa before you apply as the holder of an SC888C Significant Investment visa. The required number of days do not have to be divided equally over each visa year period. They can be accumulated over the full period of which you held those respective provisional visas. 

INVESTOR AND COMPLYING INVESTMENTS
The investor must be an individual and the complying significant investments must be made personally by the primary applicant OR with their spouse or de facto partner together OR through a company for which all issued shares are owned either by the primary applicant (or the primary applicant and their spouse or de facto partner together) OR through a valid trust for which the trustee is the primary applicant (or the primary applicant and their spouse or de facto partner together) and the beneficiary is the primary applicant (or the primary applicant and their spouse or de facto partner together).
If the investor is the sole trustee of the trust, the investor and the investor’s spouse or de facto partner must be the sole beneficiaries. If the investor is the sole beneficiary, the investor and the investor’s spouse or de facto partner must be the sole trustees. 

The minimum investment amounts may include investment management fees (if any). The investment must be made on or after the SC188 SIV Visa application is made because no investments that existed before that date would be accepted as complying significant investments. An organisation issuing the interests in the venture capital fund or the managed investment fund (the issuer) central management and control must be an authorised Australian Financial Services Licensed Fund Manager and operating in Australia. The SIV applicant, the SIV applicant’s spouse or de facto partner, and any associate of the SIV applicant or of the SIV applicant’s spouse or de facto partner must not be involved whatsoever or associated in the management or control of, or in partnership with the SIV Complying Fund Manager.After your visa is lodged and before a positive decision is made on your application, you will be requested to transfer the $5million AUD Funds to the Complying SIV Investment Fund you have engaged with. The funds you prepare to transfer must be from the exact source you confirmed in your application of funds already provided to the DHA at the time of application.

Applicants who are in Australia at the time of lodgement, will receive a bridging visa A after lodging their visa applications. This bridging visa will come into effect after the visa you have arrived with expires. Once the bridging visa takes effect (and as long as it has not conditions or restrictions) you can commence your business and/or investment activities.
After your investment has been made to SIV Fund and your visa is granted, you are able to conduct other business and investment activities which can be sustained beyond the designated investment term of 4 years.
During the 4 years of investment and holding the SC188 SIV Provisional visa, investor applicants may request to switch their investment (or a portion thereof) to a different complying significant investment, provided the switch complies with maximum switching period of 30 calendar days, being the time from which the funds are withdrawn or cancelled from the first investment until the time the funds are invested into the second investment. If funds reinvested into a complying significant investment or transferred between complying significant investments have occurred within 30 days, then the criteria of investments held continuously from the original investment date will still apply.
At the time of application for the permanent visa, the criterion of:
The applicant genuinely has demonstrated a realistic commitment to maintain business or investment activities in Australia can be evidenced by:

• Continuing various kinds of investments of your choice
• Real Estate Property you have invested into for residential or investment purposes. The evidence of the property acquisition used for (e.g. residential/commercial investment) will satisfy the evidence that you have demonstrated to continue investment activities after achieving permanent residence.

POST 1 JULY 2021 – THE COMPLYING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT

The source of funds used to make the investment must be unencumbered and lawfully acquired and must not form the basis for a security or collateral for a loan and must meet complying significant investment criteria found in the legislative instrument. Investors must make the investment by either the main applicant or together with the main applicants de facto partner or spouse. If the investment will be made by a company, that company must be wholely owned by the investors. The ownership structures of the company will be accepted if the company is the trustee of a discretionary trust as long as the investors are either sole trustees of the trust or full beneficiaries of the trust.