[Gollywobbler]

If one is considering an onshore CAPV application for Parents who are currently outside Oz, one has to consider how to get them into Oz in the first place, and this is where I think you could come upon an obstacle that might well prevent any thoughts of an onshore visa for your Parents anyway.

If your Parents apply for a standard subclass 676 tourist visa that would permit them to spend 6 months or more in Australia (they could request a stay of up to 12 unbroken months) the drill is as follows:

First they would need to get their own GP to complete the tourist visa medical certificate for each of them, which is here:

http://www.uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/health.html

NHS GPs tend to charge between £30 & £60 per person for completing this forim.

Then they would need to apply for the subclass 676 tourist visa, which is here:

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/676/index.htm

The burble says that they would need medical insurance, implying private medical insurance, but your can ignore that because the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement counts as medical insurance for the purpose of this visa. Since they are British, there should be no query about this and in the event of a query, just send them the link to the RHCA and remind them that it is not age-restricted.

The catch is that if your Parents apply for a stay of 6 months or longer in Oz, in view of their age there is a substantial chance that DIAC will give them the duration of stay that they request, but DIAC will almost certainly impose Condition 8503 on the visas as well. Please see here:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/52cImposition_of_visa_condition.htm

If Condition 8503 is imposed, the effect of it would be to prevent your Parents from being able to make a valid application for any other visas for as long as they are on Australian soil. Since they cannot apply for Contributory Aged Parent visas unless they are in Australia when the application is made, that would be the end of the plans for the onshore Contributory Aged Parent visa.

Condition 8503 would force them to make an application for an offshore Contributory Parent visa before they leave the UK in effect.

The only way to be absolutely certain of defeating Condition 8503 would be if your Parents are able to obtain 90-day ETA visas instead. Please see here:

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/976/index.htm

Condition 8503 cannot be imposed on this visa. However if it is granted and they enter Australia on it, you would then have a maximum of 90 days in which to get the Contributory Aged Parent visa application ready and delivered to DIAC’s general office in Oerthm which is here:

http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/australia/wa-perth.htm

Be in no doubt that your Parents would have to stick to the script until they are safely clear of Perth Airport. If you use this visa, you cannot have them gabbling about an intention to apply for CAP visas once they get to Oz. A 90-day ETA can ONLY be granted if the applicant states an intention to make a short visit to Australia only. They have to state this in the application and then again on the plane, where the passenger disembarkation card asks what the purpose of the trip to Oz is and how long the person plans to stay in Oz for. It would be prudent if they travelled light too. Nobody needs the kitchen sink with them for a 90 day visit, and too much luggage would make even the doziest DIAC aort official smell a rat, to which s/he might or might not turn a blind eye.

In practice, DIAC know this particular game of cat & mouse better than anyone else does, and the ordinary (poorly-paid) local officials are human. They do tend to know all about elderly Parents and blind eyes, but nobody can guarantee that your Parents world not be the unlucky ones who manage to cop Godzilla in a Vile Mood at Passport Control on the day……