Australia makes changes to the Business Innovation & Investment Program

The Australian Government has announced changes will be made to reform business and investor visas to maximise the economic benefits for Australia.

Announced by Acting Minister Tudge, the changes to the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) will come into effect from 1 July 2021.

The Migration Program is looking to attract job creators who will bring key skills to Australia and invest in the economy. The changes are designed to maximise the economic contribution of high investors.

Key changes to these streams include:

• Processing fee will increase by 11.3%
• The new BIIP will be reduced from nine to four streams which are:
  1. Business innovation
  2. Entrepreneur
  3. Investor
  4. Significant Investor
• The streams that will be closing on 1 July 2021 are:
  • Premium Investor
  • Significant Business History
  • Venture Capital Entrepreneur
• Number of available places will increase from 6,862 in 2019-20 to 13,500 places for 2020-21.
• The provisional visas will now be valid for five years with provisional visa holders in all four streams able to apply for permanent residence if they meet the requirements after three years.
• There will be a clear path to permanent residency for each category.
• There will be further consultations on changes to the Complying Investment Framework in the first half of 2021.

Business Innovation visas

• Business Innovation visa holders will continue to be able to extend for two years their provisional visas if they do not meet the business and residence thresholds in the required timeframe.
• Business Innovation visa holders will be required to hold increased 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 business acumen.

Significant Investor visas

• Significant Investor visa holders will continue to be able to extend their provisional visas if they do not meet the business and residence thresholds in the required timeframe.
• Significant Investor provisional visa holders can apply for two, two-year extensions provided they continue to maintain their complying significant investment.

Entrepreneur Visas

• 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.

If you’re planning to migrate to Australia, we recommend you get your application ready to submit to the Department before 1 July 2021.

When the new changes come into effect, in addition to losing the opportunity to receive direct permanent residency, you’ll also be subject to an increased requirement investment making it more difficult to meet visa conditions which may impact your immigration pathways for you and your family.

For more information on the BIIP or to further understand any of the changes get in touch with us below.