Global Courant
SYDNEY – In 2018, Mr. Paul Wang left his home in Beijing to start a new life in Australia. He invested A$1 million (S$919,800) in a food processing plant in hopes of qualifying for permanent residency under the country’s investment visa scheme.
Five years later, his hopes for his family of three are still on hold as the government put the controversial “Golden Visa” program on hold, inflating processing times, leaving wealthy migrants like Mr. Wang in limbo .
“We didn’t expect it to take this long,” said 44-year-old Mr Wang. “And that makes our lives a mess. With all the uncertainty, we just can’t plan ahead.”
When Australia introduced the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) in 2012, it was hoped that wealthy entrepreneurs, investors and entrepreneurs would stimulate the economy by raising capital and stimulating innovation.
However, the results were disappointing. A government assessment published in March found that BIIP migrants contributed less to the economy than the average Australian as, despite their wealth, the cohort tended to be older and earned lower incomes through capital returns on passive investment.
The review estimated BIIP holders’ lifetime economic contribution at A$600,000, less than half of Australians’ US$1.6 million (S$2.14 million).
After coming to power 13 months ago, the Australian Labor government has shifted its priority to reducing critical skilled labor shortages.
Partly as a result, most BIIP permanent visas take nearly three years to process, compared to a previous average of about 12 months, and in addition to a four to five year investment cycle.
Mr. Wang has been waiting for 21 months.
Similar investment visa schemes have been abolished in Canada and Britain, as governments conclude they do not create jobs and could be a means of speculative money parking.
Every category of Australian visa has experienced a backlog during Covid-19. With the pandemic abating, the government has reduced processing times overall, but the wait for more than 3,000 BIIP holders and their families – many of them Chinese – has only gotten longer.
Some BIIP applicants plan to protest the government’s policy change in Sydney on Friday, a rarity as Chinese migrants largely avoid public dissent.
Asked about the visa delays, the Interior Ministry said in an emailed statement that the government would process all visas in accordance with priority and schedule levels, and declined to comment on BIIP holders’ complaints.
It said a new migration strategy would be released later this year, which would include a “radical overhaul” of the BIIP program.
The delays have raised concerns that the government could scrap the BIIP programme, said Mr Tony Le Nevez, managing director of residency and citizenship planners Henley & Partners Australia, whose clients have each invested at least A$5 million in the country.
“I just don’t think the investor program is on their radar right now – they could review it later. In the meantime, I think maybe they just keep a little window open.”
The government plans to reduce its BIIP allocation from 5,000 visas last fiscal year to 1,900 this year – less than 20 percent from previous years’ levels.
BIIP holders say they are curbing business investment in the face of uncertainty, postponing life decisions and in some cases selling properties in Australia. Some say they need to keep loss-making businesses to keep their visa prospects alive, missing out on higher-yield investments.
“The eternal wait means that even if I run my business at a loss, I can’t just close shop and move on,” said Tan, a Chinese investor who owns a furniture store in Melbourne and has asked to be named by his last name only. due to privacy concerns. He’s been waiting 33 months.
Mr Wang, who last year abandoned plans to buy more land for his factory due to uncertainty over his visa status, said he was ready to sell his assets in Australia and move to the United States next year to his daughter’s education.
“I know that many people will not sympathize with us – we are a small group of people,” Wang said. “But we are not being treated fairly.” REUTERS
