As part of the May 2018 Budget announcement the government announced that they would create a pathway to permanent residence for holders of the subclass 405 and 410 Investor Retirement visas. This change in legislation responds to concerns about the difficulties faced by retirees, including lack of access to health and other Government and community services, and disadvantage in relation to taxation and property issues. To enable this the government will make a portion of the planned parent permanent migration places available to retirement visa holders each year.

This piece of legislation is to come into effect on 17 November 2018 allowing Retirees who held either a Subclass 405 (Investor Retirement) visa or a Subclass 410 (Retirement) visa on the 8th May 2018 to apply for a Permanent Resident visa. This will enable Investor Retirement visa holders in Australia to apply onshore for a permanent visa through the Parent (subclass 103) or Contributory Parent (subclass 143) visa streams.

Eligibility Criteri include:

• Having held an appropriate visa (405 / 410) on, and since, the 8th May 2018
• Be located in Australia at the Time of Application
• Meet the relevant Health criteria and Character criteria
• Meet the other public interest criteria for this visa
• Maintain adequate health insurance until the permanent visa is granted

Investor Retirement visa holders that are eligible for this pathway will be exempted from some of the current Parent Visa eligibility criteria, such as having family members in Australia, that Parent visa applicants would typically need to satisfy.

As part of the establishment of the pathway, the Government will close the subclass 405 visa to new applicants as of the 1st July 2018. The subclass 410 visa is already closed to new applicants.