Australia announces the discontinuation of the "Gold Visa" program

Australia has announced its decision to end a visa program aimed at attracting wealthy investors. Wealthy foreign investors were granted the right to live in the country under the Golden Visa system. The Australian government decided to end the program as part of immigration reform after it was found that it was not producing the desired economic results.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neill released a statement saying that the visa was not meeting the needs of the country and the economy.

In December, Australia's center-left Labor government unveiled a new immigration plan that was designed to reduce the number of new arrivals to the country. It also emphasized creating more visas for skilled migrants who can "make a significant contribution to Australia" and fill growing gaps in the economy of the world's sixth-largest country. Unlike other visa programs, the golden visa did not require knowledge or learning of English and had no age limit. However, for people seeking permanent residency, a total investment of $5 million in Australia was mandatory.

The visa scheme provided a fast track to the country for Chinese millionaires, who accounted for more than 85 percent of approved applications. First launched in 2012 by then Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Bowen, the business innovation and investment program was initially divided into two categories: the business innovation stream and the investor stream.

Since 2012, more than 100,000 migrants from overseas have used the program to gain residency in the country, according to the Department of the Interior. O'Neill in 2022 hinted at plans to review the visa scheme as investors were mostly people of retirement age ending their careers.