Blog by Joan Cuss

When Bob Dylan first sang ‘Cause The Times They A-changin’ he never thought that an Australian immigration agent, would some 50 years later quote part of his lyrics to introduce her blog on parent visas – but it is very apt (and quoted in great reverence of the 2016 winner of the Nobel prize for literature):

 “As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fading
And the first one now will later be last
Cause the times they are a-changing”

 ‘Slow and cheap’ onshore permanent aged parent visa application:

o   Meet balance of family

o   Older than Australian pensionable age

o   Must be holder of qualifying visa to apply

o   Closed about two years ago and re-opened after a Senate enquiry (my prediction is it will be closed again – likely to be 1 July 2017)

o   Current processing queue of around 30 years

o   May be able to apply for Australian Medicare (subject to further terms and conditions)

o   Will still be able to travel offshore Australia but have to show intention to reside in Australia

o   Costs summary:

• Dept. of Immigration (DIBP) Base Visa Application Charge (VAC) – $3870, and DIBP one secondary applicant VAC over 18 – $1935 = $5805
• Second VAC per applicant payable before visa grant (in 30 years’ time) – $2065 per applicant x 2 = $4138
• Plus Lattice professional fees to advise, assist, draft, lodge and represent with/to the DIBP

Faster contributory permanent parent visa option:

o    Meet balance of family

o    Not only for parents older than Australian pensionable age – again you qualify

o    Also subject to current review – Australian Productivity commission published a report during or about Sept/Oct 2016 – this visa is a net financial loss rather than a net financial gain to Australia – and again my personal prediction is that it is subject to imminent closure (Click here to read more)

o    Currently takes 2 to 3 years to get to assessed by a case officer (may go faster though – bit of a backlog in the Perth Parent Visa Centre at the moment)

o    Can apply for onshore or offshore

o    If applied from onshore must be offshore at time of grant

o    Become entitled to apply for Australian Government pension after 10 years of residence in Australia on this visa (subject to further terms and conditions)

o    Can become citizens after 4 years of residence, of which at least the last 1 year had to be on a permanent visa

o    Can apply for Australian Medicare (subject to further terms and conditions)

o    Costs summary:

• Dept. of Immigration (DIBP) Base Visa Application Charge (VAC) – $3695, and DIBP one secondary applicant VAC over 18 – $1245 = $4940
• Second VAC per applicant payable before visa grant (in 2 to 3 years’ time) – $43600 per applicant, thus x 2 = $87200
• Plus Lattice professional fees to advise, assist, draft, lodge and represent with/to the DIBP

New longer (up to 5 years) parent visitor visa:

o    Subclass not announced as yet – but likely, since it has been in the press and widely reported online.  Again my prediction is that should the Australian Federal Government announce the closure of the above 2 subclasses (or either subclass) – they are politically shrewd enough to introduce the beginning of this new longer term visitor visa subclass just before or at the same time as the closure of the other/s.  They don’t want to appear to be the ‘bad guys’ – if they can prevent it by sugarcoating the closure of either (or both) the other two permanent subclasses by introducing this longer term visitor visa.

o    Up to 5 years – decided on a case-by-case basis

o    No Australian Medicare

o    Visa holders can never apply for Australian Government pension

o    No information re the likely DIBP costs for this visa yet. It is likely to be a two-stage visa (requiring an Australian sponsor and most probably an Assurance of Support)

“[So] [c]ome gather around [parents and contact Lattice now]

For the times they are a-changing””

Give us a call to see how we can help you:

• Australia, Brisbane office: Tel: +61 7 3878 4252, Email: admin@latticecapital.com.au
• South Africa, Johannesburg office: Tel: +27 11 021 5760, Email: jacques.dutoit@latticecapital.com.au