The new Australian business immigration policy has been in effect since its announcement in 2003, and it has been nearly 7 years since its implementation. With the tightening of business immigration policies, what information should those intending to immigrate pay attention to? Experts say that the New South Wales Immigration Department and the Victoria Immigration Department made slight adjustments to the state government sponsorship application policies in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and it is expected that other states will follow suit. "Although the Australian Federal Immigration Department has not made any changes to the overall immigration policy, many applicants have likely felt that the processing speed is gradually slowing down." The tightening of immigration policies reflects Australia's desire and trend to attract more outstanding international investors.
The review of executives is more rigorous.
In March 2009, the Australian Federal Immigration Department announced that it had exhausted the immigration quota for the entire year of 2008/09, and the processing of some clients' applications would be delayed until the new fiscal year. Recently, the Australian Federal Immigration Department announced that the quota for the 2009/10 fiscal year is 6,530 people, and once the quota is filled, the review and approval will again be postponed until July 2010, the start of Australia's new fiscal year, which will undoubtedly increase the waiting time for applicants.
On the other hand, the Australian Immigration Department is also more rigorous in reviewing executives. The applications from Chinese executives mainly fall under categories 163B and 164. Currently, the requirements for applicants under category 163B at the Hong Kong visa office have been raised in various aspects, from the materials required to the questions asked during interviews. This means that applicants who cannot prove their equity or have less than 10% equity will need to provide more supporting materials and perform better in interviews during the application process.
Business immigration remains a focal point.
Although the policy is facing tightening, Australia's business immigration is still a hot topic worth attention. It is reported that Australian business immigration has different characteristics compared to investment immigration in the United States and Canada. It is relatively lenient regarding the applicant's assets and business operations. The 163A category, which is most suitable for Chinese entrepreneurs, only requires the applicant to demonstrate assets of around 2 million RMB; there is no need to submit information on all companies owned by the applicant; after a successful application, either spouse must reside in Australia for a cumulative total of one year within two years; after success, the investment does not require passive investment of a specified amount, and the funds can be fully controlled by the applicant, only requiring the acquisition or establishment of a company in Australia with an annual turnover of around 1.2 million RMB.
