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Australia has decided to scrap a major visa program that provided overseas wealthy investors with the right to live in the country. According to BBC, the scheme dubbed 'golden visa' was halted after the Australian government found that the visa program was not delivering the desired economic outcomes. Introduced in 2012, the 'golden visa' offered High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) a way to gain permanent residency in Australia.
''It has been obvious for years that this visa is not delivering what our country and economy needs,'' Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil said in a statement on Monday.
After scrapping this programme, the Australian Government will be focusing on issuing more visas to skilled workers instead, capable ''of making outsized contributions to Australia.''
What is the Golden Visa scheme?
As per News.com.au, the visa allowed foreign nationals to stay in Australia for up to five years if they invest at least $5m in approved investments. It was designed to attract more foreign business and investors into the country. Canberra has approved thousands of such ‘golden visas' since 2012. Of these, 85 percent are Chinese millionaires.
However, critics argued that the scheme only allowed wealthy foreign nationals to park illegal funds in Australia. A review in 2016 showed that the policy had ''potential for money laundering and other nefarious activities.''
An inquiry by the Australian government also revealed that not only the 'golden visa' programme was misused, but it also allowed people with 'less business acumen' to reside in the country.
Clancy Moore, the chief executive of Transparency International Australia, told the BBC: "For far too long corrupt officials and kleptocrats have used golden visas as a vehicle to park their illicit funds in Australia and arguably hide their proceeds of crime."
English (US) ·