Australia significant investor visa (SIV) scheme provides a path to migrate to Australia as permanent residents under the Business Innovation and Investment visa program.
Australia received $9.5 billion under the SIV scheme and 87.3% of investor visas granted to Chinese nationals, according to latest statistics from Australia Government. Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria are the most popular states for SIV investments.
Significant Investor Visa (SIV) holders are required to invest AUD 5,000,000 into complying significant investments for a minimum of four years before being eligible to apply for a permanent visa.
A Total of 1891 SIV visas issued in total issued since the commencement of the program on 24 Nov 2012. (1641Â visas issued subject to regulations prior to 1 July 2015 and 250 visas issued subject to regulations post 1 July 2015)
The purpose of the SIV visa is to provide a boost to the Australian economy and to compete effectively for high net worth individuals seeking investment migration.  Direct investments in residential real estate, will not be considered a complying significant investment for a Significant Investor visa. Australia also offers cheaper version investor visa (subclass 891) for AUD 1.5 million, which is a permanent residence visa for those who want to travel in and out of Australia for five years.
The table below shows the distribution of primary visa applications and visa grants for the top five source countries from the commencement of the program from 24 November 2012 to 31 October 2017 for the SIV.
| Applicants for top five source countries | Percentage of total visa applications | Grants for top five source countries | Percentage of total visas granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 88.1 | China | 87.3 |
| Hong Kong | 3.2 | Hong Kong | 3.1 |
| Malaysia | 1.1 | Malaysia | 1.5 |
| South Africa | 0.8 | South Africa | 1.2 |
| Macao | 0.8 | Vietnam | 1.0 |
Significant Investor visa: Government sponsor distribution from 1 July 2017 to 31 October 2017.
| State | Expressions of Interest (EOI) submitted through SkillSelect | Invitation | Applications lodged | Visas granted (application lodged prior to 1 July 2015) | Visas granted (application lodged on or after 1 July 2015) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 58 | 49 | 50 | < 5 | 17 |
| Queensland | 10 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| South Australia | < 5 | < 5 | < 5 | < 5 | 0 |
| Tasmani | < 5 | < 5 | < 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Victoria | 53 | 48 | 43 | < 5 | 27 |
| Western Australia | < 5 | < 5 | < 5 | 0 | < 5 |
| Total | 132 | 111 | 109 | 6 | 46 |
