Australia sees rush of Hong Kong millionaires as unrest rumbles on

The New South Wales state migration department said there is a rise in applicants for the millionaires-only visa programme

China’s largest international property website has also seen ‘some increase’ in demand for Sydney property by Hong Kong buyers

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There has been a rise in applicants for Australia’s SIV programme from Hong Kong. Photo: Alamy

Published: 5:48pm, 22 Aug 2019Updated: 10:02am, 19 Dec 2019

Australia is seeing an increase in interest in its millionaires-only visa programme from wealthy Hong Kong residents, who are eyeing a safety net amid political turmoil in the international financial centre, migration lawyers said.

The New South Wales state migration department “has noticed a significant increase in applications” from Hong Kong in recent months, it said in a letter to agents this week.

The interest has coincided with the “beginning of the current unrest in Hong Kong”, the department said, referring to a A$5 million (US$3.4 million) Significant Investor Visa (SIV) programme that provides direct residency to applicants.

Bill Fuggle, Sydney-based partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie, said there had been a rise in applicants for the A$5 million SIV programme.

“What I am hearing from my clients is there definitely has been an uptick in the number of SIV applications from Hong Kong,” Fuggle said.

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