A&T

Does anyone have information regarding the Australian Investment Scheme for retirees or been through/ going through this process?

I may be over simplifying this but it appears that with this visa you need to invest $645,000 (£350,000) for 4 years, which I gather is in shares.You can sell your shares after a minimum 4 years at the market rate.
It allows you Permanent Residency on arrival,no restriction on the purchasing of property, No Death, Inheritance Taxes, No Taxation on World Wide Income.
Dual Citizenship permitted, no minimum or maximum age limit and access to Medicare.
Thanks,
Angela

spouse of scouse

Hi Angela, can you tell us what visa subclass you're referring to? Is it the Investor Retirement Visa (visa subclass 405)?

A&T

Hi, Yes. I believe it is a relatively new one. I have been in contact with an agency who allegedly arranges everything for you...??? However they said they find the investment for you and after the 4 yrs you could reap 3 fold your money. They cannot guarantee this of course but endeavour to find a project that will work, a business with potential to grow. I wondered if anyone on the forum had actually done this type of visa and how they had secured it.
Thanks, Angela .

Pulaski

If it's anything like the US investor visa, and it sounds like it is, then you should consider yourself lucky to get anything back, at least any time soon. A number of the US "investments" have gone bust, or are dubious in the extreme, where the visa "investors" returns are subordinate to various other investors, such as private equity investment firms, insurance companies, and pension funds. This leads to the paradox that the business being invested in can be a success, and profitable, but with little if anything left to pay off the visa investors after the other "senior" investors have taken their slice of the cake.

In the US if the investment goes bust or is a fraud, the investors don't even get a visa, because the visa requires that the investment actually creates jobs, or saves imperiled jobs, and so no jobs, no visa!

One such scheme to build a ski resort and leisure complex in Vermont was last heard of "paying off" visa investors after the initial five years by giving them bonds in exchange for the face value of their original investment, and then only allowing them to actually redeem for cash 5% of the face value each year. Think about that - 5% is a fairly low interest rate for a corporation to borrow cash, and repay it after say 10 years, but in this case they are paying investors 5% a year, and after 20 years you get back …. nothing extra. It's like them taking your investment and in exchange giving you a 5%, 20 year annuity deferred for 5 years, and I don't think anyone would consider that to be a good "investment".

And some investments are just snake oil - like one I saw where the visa investors were being recruited to funds a third "pilot plant" to turn tyres into petroleum oil. Ten years later there has been no significant progress on the supposedly sound theory of turning tyres into oil …. and the original marketing bumff had the gall to describe the investment as being "as good as solid gold". If it had been that good an investment opportunity Wall St would have been all over it, rather than it being sold to gullible wanna-be-immigrants to the US.

In short - be careful, very careful!

A&T

Thanks, I am being careful as although it's alot of money to invest it does sound too good to be true! It would involve the equity in my home to pay for and I am not willing to gamble with it

rammygirl

spouse of scouse

A&T, I was afraid that the 405 was the visa you were looking at as it's no longer open to new applicants. Rammygirl's given you excellent advice.

I'd also be interested to know which company has promised you a visa with the conditions you've listed. If you can name them I'd like to have a look at their website.

Pollyana

I've not come across a visa promising PR just for a small investment, and even if one exists there is no way the ATO would make it exempt from tax on worldwide income - that applies to all on PR. Likewise access to Medicare, that is a standard with PR.
Dual citizenship is nothing to do ith investments, its down to whether the two countries of which you hold citizenship allow you to be a dual citizen (UK and Aus both do)

Be very interesting to know what alleged visa number this is, and also which (possibly dodgy) company. OP if you can ask the company for the visa number we can all do some more digging for you

Personally I thinkit sounds too good to be true and thus possibly dodgy. If it existed as desribed I think one of us would know about it.

Alan Collett

Hi Angela.

Permanent residency and no tax on worldwide income - that's also a wrong assertion.

Sounds questionable - maybe post a link here to the visa that is being recommended?

Best regards.

A&T

https://haskewlaw.com/immigrate-aust...irement-visas/ is the company giving me the details

A&T

https://haskewlaw.com/immigrate-aust...irement-visas/
This is the company giving the information

Alan Collett

Noted - thanks.

I am aware of the 132B visa.

Treat the tax advice with caution.

Best regards.

A&T

Thanks Alan, I will.

spouse of scouse

I can't find a 132B visa on the DoHA website, just two streams of the 132. Is the visa the OP is referring to the Business Talent visa (subclass 132) Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream?
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...-permanent-132

Alan Collett

Yes, that is the 132B pathway.

Best regards.