By Uglobal Staff
Australian Angela Julian-Armitage has been a practicing Barrister-at-Law for 23 years and serves as the National President of the Migration Institute of Australia. She is skilled in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Family Law, Succession and Migration Law.
“My passion has always been in Migration Law as it is an area that provides great satisfaction to a practitioner,” she said. “Being able to help people who are in hopeless situations, often coming from war torn countries makes one feel like one can make a huge difference.”
What is the role of the institute and what does it hope to achieve?
The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) is the peak professional body for close to 3,000 Registered Migration Agents, which includes lawyers who are also RMAs. We provide education for our members and non-members to cater for newly registered RMAs through Advanced level CPDs and everything in between.
In addition, we advocate strongly to the government and the crossbenchers/opposition in relation to a myriad of matters, including proposed changes to the Migration program and Bills before the parliament.
Through our professional support branch, we also assist our members with complex issues and act as a conduit with government in the form of a triage system in order to get results and/or answers for the members. The MIA also encourages the community to use our member RMAs with the comfort of knowing that we have our own disciplinary system and have zero tolerance for RMAs who do not abide by the highest professional standards.
What services does MIA offer for investors and service professionals?
In addition to the above, amongst our membership are highly experienced and competent practitioners who exclusively deal with applicants who are high net worth investors and service professionals. These practitioners operate with a support team of highly trained professionals such as accountants, who have firsthand knowledge of the applicants’ regional and cultural practices making the applications seamlessly simple for the visa applicants.
What do you see as the biggest issues facing migration agents and investors to Australia today?
The current government’s constant and retrospective changes to the legislative provisions, which in turn causes uncertainty amongst prospective applicants globally and not just in the investor and service professional stream of visas.
Do you think the Australian program and other international immigration investment programs have benefited from the retrogression issues of the EB5 program when it comes to the Chinese?
It may well make little difference when it comes to the Chinese as, in my view, Australia is the destination of choice for this group due to endless business opportunities coupled with excellent education opportunities for their families and envied environmentally clean lifestyles throughout the country.
What benefits do the Australian program offer investors?
The program offers a large number of business opportunities with state and territory incentives. The goal is to attract the greatest and smartest. Hence, the government is looking at attracting investment, not just in well-established areas of investment, but also ones within the innovative and future industries.
How long is the process from applying to receiving citizenship or residency in Australia?
The Premium Investment Visa ($15 million) is an investor visa, which brings with it permanent residence from the get-go. After two years on permanent residency, an investor can apply for citizenship.
What are some things investors should be aware of when applying for this program?
The main issue to concern a great deal of investors is the rigorous vetting on the source of funds being invested in line with the country’s anti money laundering laws.
Any new trends you have seen when it comes to applicants to Australia and in the global immigration investment industry?
The quantum sought to be invested is larger than it used to be and the emergence of source countries of applicant for these types of visas now include such areas as Vietnam and India.
