By our economics editors
Jan 22, 2024 at 3:25 PM Update: 17 minutes ago
Australia’s golden visas for foreign investors are a thing of the past. The scheme was intended to attract major investment and innovation to Australia. But the visas were mainly bought by corrupt officials to siphon off illegal money.
The Australian golden visa has been in existence since 2012. Foreign candidates could obtain a visa for 5 million Australian dollars (more than 3 million euros) in investments. This allowed the business people to come and live in Australia.
Thousands of these types of visas have now been granted, 85 percent of them to Chinese. But the government is not happy with the results. “It has been clear for years that this visa does not deliver what our country and our economy need,” Home Secretary Clare O’Neil said in a statement on Monday.
Volgens ngo Transparency International Australia the scheme was abused by corrupt officials to siphon off illegal funds, writes BBC. The United Kingdom abolished a similar program in 2022 due to illicit Russian money flowing into the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
Australia is replacing the visa scheme for the wealthy with a visa for workers who can make a special contribution to the country. A person’s education is then taken into account.
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2024-01-22 14:25:29
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