For the purposes of the 188 B Investor Stream, a designated investment is an investment in a security specified by legislative instrument.

The relevant legislative instrument specifies government securities:

•      in primary stock

•      with maturity of not less than 4 years

•      with repayment of principal explicitly guaranteed on maturity and

•      that do not expose the Commonwealth Government to any financial liability.

Period of Investment

The period of investment must be for 4 (four) years.

As also stated in Department of Home Affairs (Department) policy, for an applicant’s investment to be a designated investment the terms of the investment must be for not less than 4 years.

In practice, the investment terms should not be for less than 4 years and will be for no more than 4 years and 30 days.

Timing of Investment

The applicant is required to make the investment before the visa is granted.

The Department will request for the investment to be made within 70 days from the date of the request letter and the request letter will generally specify that the applicant provide evidence of:

•      the transfer of funds to the relevant State/Territory

•      what assets have been liquidated:

•      if the assets used to fund the investment were those originally nominated and that these assets have been liquidated to fund the designated investment or

•      if a different source of funds was used to make the investment, that those funds were personally and legally owned by the applicant and/or their spouse or de facto partner, were unencumbered and derived from qualifying business and/or eligible investment activities.

Once the investment has been made by the applicant, the Treasury Corporation will complete relevant documentation and return it to the Department.

Treasury Corporation Conditions

Each State Treasury Corporation will have conditions on the investment made.

The following conditions will (generally) apply to an applicant’s investment when transferred to the relevant Treasury Corporation:

1. the investment cannot be processed if the full investment amount is not received into the relevant Treasury Corporations bank account;
   
2. any fees relating to the bank transfer must be paid separately;

3. the paying bank must not deduct any charges from the investment amount;
   
4. the bank account(s) used to transfer funds to the Treasury Corporation bank account must match the bank account name and account number details provided on the applicant’s application form;
   
5. the Treasury Corporation may request certified evidence of the applicant’s funds transfer;
   
6. the total investment amount must not be transferred in more than 5 separate transactions;

By Farhan Rehman
Director at RSG Lawyers and Associates

Footnotes are available upon request.

Contact:
03 9350 4440
Farhan@rsglaw.com.au
http://www.rsglaw.com.au