Parent Migration to Australia
For individuals who wish to obtain a visa to reside in Australia there may be options to be sponsored if you have a child or children who are settled in Australia.
Eligibility – Permanent Residency visas
In general to be eligible for a Parent visas the applicant(s) are required to:
- be sponsored by a child who is settled in Australia and is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen.
- meet the Balance of Family Test. To meet the test the applicant(s) must have half or more of their children residing in Australia OR have more of their children residing in Australia than any other country
- be of good health and character
- have an Assurance of Support. This is someone who able to assist a migrating family financially if the applicant claims social security before they are eligible.
Permanent Residency visa options
Parent Visas
Applicants who meet the above criteria can consider lodging an application for a Parent Visa. Processing times, however, are significant and applicants face a wait of approximately 30 years until their application is approved.
Applications for this visa can be made outside Australia and in Australia, if the main applicant is of Australian retirement age.
Contributory Parent Visas – Subclass 143 & Subclass 173 (Offshore)
Contributory Parent visas are available to applicant(s) who meet the general criteria and are willing to pay a significantly higher application fee that that of a Parent visa application to cover medical costs.
The Subclass 143 is a permanent residency visa and in addition to the general eligibility requires each applicant to pay a contribution of $43,600 AUD prior to visa approval.
The Subclass 173 is a temporary visa that allows the spread the contribution. It allows the applicant(s) to reside in Australia for 2 years before they apply for the Subclass 143 permanent visa. An initial contribution of $29,130 AUD each is required for the Subclass 173 visa followed by a contribution of a further $18,420 AUD due at the time of finalising the Subclass 143 visa.
Contributory Aged Parent Visa – Subclass 884 & 864 (Onshore)
There are onshore options for applicant who are in Australia and are of Australian pension age. The required age can vary according to your date of birth.
The other criteria for the Subclass 884 & 864 visas is similar to those detailed above.
Assurance of Support (AoS)
An AoS bond is also required prior to finalising a Subclass 143 visa, whether this is applied for directly or after a Subclass 173 visa. The ten-year AoS bond currently* is $10,000 AUD for the principal applicant and $4,000 AUD for each other adult applicant.
Assurer/s – income requirements
The AoS must be provided by an approved Assurer or Assurers (up to 3 people). The assurer/s must meet an income test. The income requirements to be met will vary depending on the number of applicants and the number of family members in the assurers family. The income test currently starts from $30,875 AUD.
At the time of the AoS being requested, the assurer/s must meet the income for the current financial year and the previous two financial years.
Please contact us to discuss what income test will need to met for your application.
Processing times
Processing times for Contributory Parent visas can vary, approximately 5 years. The application fees and contributions are subject to change and are updated annually as of 1st July.
Eligibility – Temporary Residency
Applicants who can be sponsored by a child who is settled in Australia and is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen, may be eligible for the Temporary Residency visa (Subclass 870).
Temporary Residency visa option
In July 2019 the DHA introduced the Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa. This allows applicants to reunite with children in Australia. The visas can initially be granted for either 3 or 5 years. This visa is approved much quicker than the PR visa options.
The key eligibility requirements for the Subclass 870 visa applicant is:
- they have an approved sponsor (child). There is no Balance of Family test required to be met.
- they meet health & character requirements
- they have access to enough money to support yourself
- they maintain health insurance
The applicants child must hold approved Sponsorship before they can submit their visa.
If an individual holds a Subclass 870 visa. there can be limitations to apply for a Permanent Residency Parent visa. If you intend to submit both of these, it is important to understand any limitations there are.
Are you eligible?
If you would like to discuss these visas or your eligibility please get in touch.
Freephone: 0800 772 0570
Email: mark@cargilmigration.com
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