The 90% plunge in significant investor visa applications has prompted calls to Trade Minister Andrew Robb to review the program or risk losing an estimated $5 billion to $7b investments a year.

Last year’s changes to the SIV program required investors under the SIV program to put funds into venture capital and technology. This change has led to a dramatic fall in the SIV applications from 128 a month to between just eight and 12 a month this financial year, according to a report in The Australian.

West Australian Liberal backbencher Ian Goodenough has told parliament that the decision to exclude property development and established companies from the program “has proved problematic in practice”.

“This is very serious, and as a nation we could be forgoing up to $7.2bn in investment through the business migration program each year due to the recent changes in the program,” Mr Goodenough said.

James Clarke from the Australian China Business Council of West Australia told The Australian that there were concerns that the crash in applications from Chinese investors since July 1 last year meant Australia was “forfeiting more than $5bn per year to competitor markets such as Europe and the UK”.

Obtain SIV visa programme updates and insights at the 'Migration Conference 2016' delivered by two SIV experts: David Chin, Basis Point & Stacey Martin, NAB Private Wealth

Friday 26^th February 10:15am – 10:45am as part of the $220 10CPD one-day Migration Conference 2016 in Sydney.

The Significant Investor Visa (SIV) migration program was launched in November, 2012.

Migration Agents are travelling internationally to win SIV business in Asia.  One example is a recent trip to Hong Kong for the Asian Financial Forum by RMA delegates of Think Global's 'Invest in Australia' Mission.

Australian permanent residency in nine months was promised to unsuspecting foreigners who seemed to have readily fallen for the scammers advertisement which promoted a training program as "The Quick and Easy Way to get PR".

A Melbourne man and his company that duped almost a hundred people of some $800,000 in the scam, are now expected to be ordered to refund the money to their former clients and pay penalties in excess of $1 million dollars, according to a report on Channel 7 News.

The court heard that between 2012 and 2013, Radovan Laski and his company Clinica International operated an elaborate scheme promising to provide clients with Certificate III cleaning training that would lead to a job in regional Australia and qualify them for a permanent residence visa.

Educating international students has earned Australia a record $20 billion last year, spiking 13% from the previous year. The latest figures firm up education's position as Australia's third-largest export after coal and iron ore, as well as its position as the largest services export, well ahead of tourism, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review.

The lower Australian dollar together with a relatively easier student visa processing program has made an enormous impact on Australia’s education export sector. The total spending by international students in Australia – including course fees, accommodation, living expenses and recreation – was $19.2 billion in 2015, up from $17 billion the previous year, according to figures released by Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier this month.

At the moment there are about 650,000 international students in Australia, 10% more than the previous years. Over 270,000 such students are enrolled in higher education courses and the number of undertaking vocational education is shot-up 14% to 170,000 in 2015.

The Migration Conference 2016 in Sydney is shaping up to be a great day for RMAs who enjoy networking whilst learning and obtaining 10 CPD.  The one day event starts at 9am on the 26th of February at Sydney TAFE, Ultimo.

Today I would like to focus on one of the key-note speakers for the conference, from the Australian Federal Police, Agent Gus McLean (pic inset).

Gus McLean is a Detective/Federal Agent with the Australian Federal Police, with a background in the investigation of serious transnational organized crime.