This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
Australia has revoked its “golden visa” immigration program targeted at attracting wealthy investors, a move that eliminates a popular option for China’s rich to escape with their assets from an increasingly difficult political and economic climate at home.
Australian media reported this week that the Labor government announced in December plans to scrap the program at the end of last year because it could not bring economic benefits to the country. Also, members of the Australian Values Alliance – a group founded by Australians of Chinese heritage – pointed out that wealthy Chinese people have infiltrated politics.
The program will be replaced by a new immigration plan to provide more visas for skilled immigrants.
“It has been obvious for years that this visa is not delivering what our country and economy needs,” said Australian Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil in a statement Monday.
“The investor visa is one of many aspects of the system which are reforming to create a system which delivers for our country,” she added.
The Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP), commonly known as the “golden visa”, was launched in 2012. Unlike other visa programs, it did not require foreign immigrants to learn or master English, nor did it have age restrictions. It was only mandatory for foreign citizens to invest up to A$5 million (US$3.3 million) to obtain residence for five years.
Research by the Australian government has, however, shown that the average economic value contributed by the immigrants in this program to Australia in their lifetime is $600,000, which is just slightly more than a third of the $1.6 million generated by Australian citizens.
According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, more than 100,000 overseas immigrants have used the program to obtain residency in the country since 2012, with 85% of successful applicants coming from China. Currently, about 26,000 people have successfully obtained permanent residence in Australia.
The visa subclass was even given the number “888”, as eight stands for prosperity and is auspicious in Chinese numerology.
China’s rich – tools of CCP infiltration
Over the years, critics have argued that the plan created not just a fast path for China’s wealthy to immigrate but had served as a conduit for corrupt officials in authoritarian countries to “move illicit funds.”
Australian commentator Huangfu Jing told Radio Free Asia Cantonese that Chinese tycoon Huang Xiangmo, who was permanently banned from entering Australia for political donations in 2019, was a “golden visa” immigrant. The biggest problem with these wealthy Chinese immigrants, therefore, is not their inability to create greater economic value, but that they have become tools for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) infiltration, she said.
“Australia eventually discovered it didn’t earn much [from the program], but lost more, giving the CCP considerable penetration opportunities. A substantial number of these investment immigrants were pushed out and packaged by the CCP for all-round infiltration. Huang Xiangmo’s political donation is a typical example.”
Huangfu Jing believes that the CCP, faced with economic difficulties, has nationalized assets of China’s rich through what it labeled as “public-private partnership” schemes. As a result, she said wealthy Chinese, stripped of their wealth, will certainly flee China but at the same time, Western countries are increasingly aware of the risks and shutting their doors early.
Former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin claimed that wealthy Chinese immigrants who landed in Australia also brought in a legion of unproductive people with no economic contribution to the country. He said they cause social havoc with bad Chinese cultural behavior and habits, including bribery and corruption that influences politics.
Still, Chen believes that the door should remain open for these affluent affluent businessmen.
“Moving their money out will hollow out China’s economy and prompt social change; there’s no downside, in fact only benefits,” Chen said.
Apart from Australia’s “golden visa”, the “golden passport and visa” of some European Union countries are also popular among China’s rich. Countries like Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria have issued “golden passports” to foreign investors, while Greece and Portugal granted “golden visas,” at investment prices ranging €1 million (US$1 million) to €5 million.
As early as January 2019, the European Commission warned countries offering “golden visas” to foreign investors that their schemes may help organized crime groups infiltrate the EU and increase money laundering, corruption and tax evasion and other risks.
In February 2023, Ireland announced the closure of the “golden visa” program. Portugal followed suit and stopped a similar program in March of that year.
