Hong Kong HNWI turn to Australian Investor Visas

Christopher Zenios11/09/20192min
Due to political turmoil, wealthy residents of Hong Kong are looking for a safety net with many turning to Australia’s Significant Investor Visa program (SIV).

The SIV program in Australia provides full residency to foreigners who invest a minimum of $5m ($3.4m) into Australian start-up businesses. Recently the treasury department of one state, New South Wales, has circulated a letter to notify migration agents of a “significant increase in applications” from Hong Kong, with actual numbers remaining modest.

Sydney based partner at Baker & McKenzie law firm Bill Fuggle stated there is a noticeable rise in applications for the $5m SIV program.

“What I am hearing from my clients is there definitely has been an uptick in the number of SIV applications from Hong Kong,” Fuggle told Reuters. Adding “Anybody who can make an alternate plan is trying to do so.”

Prior to this, the SIV program usually received the majority of applications from mainland China. It is reported that 87% of the SIV visas granted between November 2012 and June 2018 have gone to Chinese residents with Hong Kong making up roughly 3.2% (65 individuals).

Fuggle later went on to say “Money is also moving out but Australia is probably not your first choice to park wealth…it’s a high tax jurisdiction. I suspect we’ll get more people than money here,”

In the letter, the department stated their intentions of committing to providing appropriate support in helping clients discuss migration options.

Christopher Zenios

Christopher has always been a pioneer, a first adopter when it comes to technological advancements. Over the years, his expertise surrounded the real estate and digital markets and their evolution in today's society. After being the editor to various professional business news portals and blogs, he was selected to become the chief editor for HWC. Contact Christopher at +357-22029786 ext: 6110 or by email at [email protected] for editorial related questions.



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