A New Parent Visa Has Been Unveiled | The Migration Place

On 09 May 2017 the government announced a new visa that will allow migrants the option of paying for and supporting their parents financially if they wish to bring them to Australia. This visa does not replace the existing Parent category visas and seeks to address long-standing community concerns about wait times under existing parent visa arrangements. Implementation of this new arrangement is subject to passage of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 through Parliament. If the Bill passes, the new visa will be introduced in late 2017.

Under this new visa arrangement, Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand Citizens can sponsor their parents or step-parents. Furthermore, only one set of parents (maximum two people) per household can be sponsored for this visa at a time. It is important to mention that there is no English language requirement for applicants.

Children of foreign parents can pay up to AU$ 20,000 to bring their parents to Australia. A three-year visa costs AU$ 5,000, while a five-year visa costs AU$ 10,000 and is renewable once, for the same cost. There will be no financial bond for this visa.

To be granted a temporary sponsored parent visa, the applicant must satisfy a number of requirements including:

  • The Australian child should be approved as a sponsor.
  • The applicant must meet identity, health and character requirements.
  • The applicant must not have an outstanding public health debt in Australia.
  • Applicants will be required to hold and maintain health insurance, from an Australian provider valid for their intended period of stay in Australia.

Some differences between existing parent visa and the new temporary sponsored parent visa are listed below:

  • The sponsorship and visa applications will be assessed separately.
  • The sponsor must be approved before a visa application can be made.
  • Prospective sponsors and visa applicants will be subject to a number of assessable criteria which must be met before an application can be approved or granted.

Visa holders would not be allowed to work however; they may assist with family childcare or undertake unpaid volunteer activities. Sponsored visa holders will be able to undertake short term, informal study on this visa. To study a formal full-time course, they will need to apply for a Student Visa.

More information about sponsorship requirements and how to apply will be made available on our website and Facebook page closer to the commencement of this visa.