Removal of Australia ‘golden visa’ scheme favoured by mainland Chinese, Hong Kong buyers likely to impact luxury property market Down Under, analyst says

Wealthy Chinese ‘will seek another way to obtain Australian residency’, Juwai IQI’s Daniel Ho says

There was a noticeable increase in activity when the scheme was first launched in 2012, but ‘not so much recently’: Sydney-based luxury property agent

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Residential buildings in Sydney. The BIIP programme sought to attract high-net-worth individuals to Australia. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:00pm, 23 Jan 2024Updated: 7:17pm, 23 Jan 2024

Australia’s surprise move to scrap a visa programme that allowed wealthy mainland Chinese and Hong Kong property buyers to gain residency is likely to impact its high-end real estate market, according to an analyst.

The scale and extent of the impact, however, remains to be seen, even as half of those who availed visas under the Business Innovation and Investment Programme (BIIP) last year were from the mainland and Hong Kong, said Daniel Ho, co-founder and group managing director of Juwai IQI, which operates a portal with property listings from across the world worth US$4 trillion.

“The ‘golden visa’ programme is important to those taking part in it, without a doubt,” Ho said.

“The visa does channel high-end buyers into Australia’s most exclusive property markets, where homes cost A$5 million [US$3.29 million], A$10 million or even A$40 million.”

The programme, launched in 2012, sought to attract high-net-worth individuals Down Under. Various schemes under BIIP required A$2.5 million and A$5 million in investments in venture capital and growth private-equity funds that support start-ups, as well as managed funds that buy shares in companies listed on the Australian stock exchange.

Canberra scuppered the programme as part of an initiative to overhaul the country’s migration system, as Australia seeks to ease a critical shortage of skilled workers. The revamp will involve a new strategy that will prioritise highly skilled migrants in fields that are experiencing labour shortages.