Retirement Visas for Australia

The Australia temporary residence program includes a category for those wanting to live in Australia in retirement.

A Retirement Visa allows retirees to spend some of their retirement years in Australia.

You may apply for an investor Retirement Visa if you meet the following criteria:

• are 55 years of age or older
• are sponsored by an Australian State or Territory Government agency
• have no dependent children or other dependent family members other than a spouse
• are married or in a de facto relationship, your partner has no dependent children or other dependent family members
• have a minimum assets legally owned and lawfully acquired by yourself, or yourself and your spouse, capable of and available to transfer to Australia of:



• A$500,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia; OR
• A$750,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia
• have a minimum net income stream (for example, pension rights) that can be accessed for yourself or yourself and your spouse of:



• A$50,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia
• A$65,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia
• are able to make a minimum designated investment of:



• A$500,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia
• A$750,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia
• you must have held all of the assists listed above for 2 years prior to lodging your application, unless the assists are related to superannuation and/or inheritance
• have evidence that you, and your spouse if applicable, hold a private health insurance package that meets Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DHA) guidelines during the period of the intended stay in Australia
• have no intention of working full-time in Australia (you, and your spouse if applicable, will only be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week while in Australia)
• are of good health and character

IMPORTANT:
Assets should not be sold until you are advised to do so by your immigration case officer. You will only be asked to sell assets once the Department of Immigration are confident that you meet all requirements to be granted a visa under this category.


Designated investments are offered by State and Territory Treasury Corporations as:

• Primary-issue government securities with a maturity of no less than 4 years from the date of purchase
• limited to investments of a minimum listed above for the Investor Retirement visa with interest paid every 6 months
• non-transferable and non-redeemable (that is, the security cannot be sold to another investor or sold back to the issuing authority before maturity)

Repayment of the principle on maturity is guaranteed by the State or Territory government.

The Investor Retirement visa is a complex application involving a lot of paper submissions with detailed explanations of how the assets involved were acquired.

The Investor Retirement visa is also a three stage visa. Skillclear can guide you through all three stages of this particular visa and provide those crucial contact details for information on buying property in Australia, taxation obligations and information on visa extensions.

If your application is approved, you will be given a visa that will allow multiple travel in and out of Australia initially for 4 years. Before your visa expires, you may apply to remain for further stay of 4 years, however, you will need to satisfy particular criteria for this further visa. There is no maximum period for which you can remain in Australia as the holder of consecutive Investor Retirement visas.

Investor retirement visa holders are subject to the 8104 'limited work rights' condition and will be valid until the expiry of your current visa allowing you to work for up to 20 hours per week.

There are no concessions if you have any family or children in Australia.

Applicants applying for Investor Retirement visa (subclass 405 - Temporary) may wish to consider living in regional Australia or a low population growth metropolitan area when nominating your intended residence as these attract a lower level of annual income, designated investment and settlement funds required from applicants. Living in regional Australia or low population growth metropolitan area means that Investor Retirement visa holders can live anywhere in Australia except in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne or the ACT.