China Daily recently reported that the Australian government announced on April 24 that it had put the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program on hold. It will review the program and adjust it in the next two months. The SIV program is to grant permanent residency to significant investors who meet certain government established financial criteria. According to the numbers that the Australian Bureau of Immigration published, among the SIV immigrants who applied and have already been approved, 89.1 percent are from China. The SIV program started in 2012. So far, 1,600 applications have been filed and 751 visas have been granted. Australian media reported that the revised program will be shifting the investment focus to venture capital and start-up companies. Some reports also indicated that the government may be trying to cool down the real estate market, since the housing market is now considered a high risk field associated with money laundering. Based on the recent 100-person red international warrant that the Chinese authorities recently issued, North America and Australia have become the top destination countries for the Chinese who have amassed a large amount of money through corruption.
Source: China Daily, April 24, 2015
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/interface/toutiao/1138561/2015-4-24/cd_20532311.html