Australia commences 5 year temporary visa for parents

The Australian government announced on 1^st March 2019, that the Australian citizens or permanent migrants can now apply for their parents to stay for a longer period with them in Australia compared to a visitor visa. The subclass ‘870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa will help the parents ‘reunite’ with their children and grandchildren in Australia.

With this temporary visa, the parents can now stay for a period of five years without leaving Australia. However, after completing five years, the parent must be outside of Australia for at least 90 days before reapplying for the same visa.

The government has set a cap of 15,000 visas to be granted in each program year (from 1 July to 30 June). The applications for this visa can be lodged from 17^th April 2019. The fee for a visa of up to 3 years is AUD $5,000, and AUD $10,000 (Australian dollars) for a visa of up to five years’ duration. The sponsorship application fee is $420.

No specific processing times have been made available by the Home Affairs department, but several factors have been told to affect processing including the number of applications lodged and whether an applicant provides all required information with their application.

Sponsor requirements/eligibility

Following requirements have to be met by the sponsors who wish to apply for their parent’s visa;

·       be an Australian citizen/permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who has been living in Australia for four years

·       proof of sponsor/parent relationship (i.e: a parent must be the biological, adoptive, or step-parent of the sponsor)

·       be at least 18 years of age at the time of application

·       have met any prior sponsorship obligations

·       must not have any debts to the Commonwealth or public health debts unless appropriate arrangements have been made for payment

·       meet the minimum household income threshold (the income could be of the sponsor, or the combined income of the sponsor and their spouse/partner and/or another child of the parent)

·       provide police clearances for any country where they have spent more than 12 months cumulatively during the past 10 years

·       share authorized information with the visa applicant.

It has to be noted that the visa does not entitle any ‘working rights’ to the parents who will come to Australia.