contributary parent visa

[june coates]

hi lizq,
i retired before i left uk but you are not allowed to work untill you have your visa.its the same for permanent as it is for temp.visa.i go to bali in october to have my visa granted,stay for 1week and validate it when i re-enter oz.i stayed with my daughter at first,hoping i would be able to buy a house,but with the house prices going up and the exchange rate going down,i couldnt.the solution to that was,i gave them some money for deposit and they baught a second property which i rent from them at a nominal rent.i love it and my son in law does all my little jobs that need doing.the down side of the cpv is that you dont get any concessions untill you have been a permanent resident for 2 years.after that,i will get help with prescriptions,rent and utilities.i find that money is tighter than it was in uk but it is worth it as i am so happy here.if i can help with anything else,just let me know.good luck with yours

[Scardycat]

Hi June, glad you are enjoying life over there, I am hoping to move over in Jan on a 676, my daughter is leaving here on 6th Sept. so I still have a long wait before I can apply for CPV.

Would be interested to know about the concessions as I know money is going to be tight for me, I thought if you were on a CPV you couldnt claim anything for 10 years, would be most grateful for any info you can give me on that.

regards

Cat

[OldiesRUs]

Originally Posted by Where'sTheWind

Hi Jean

just to let you know, since your timeline is almost identical to mum and dad's, that they got their request for the 2nd VAC yesterday, so hopefully yours should be just around the corner. Mind you, theirs did come in response to a an email they sent to their CO requesting an update on progress, so firing off a quick email to your CO might help move things along a bit.

For the record they got their CO allocated 12 June and the AoS bond was posted around the first week of July.

good luck

rick

Thanks for that Rick. It looks like we should only be a day behind your parents. Emailed CO two weeks ago and they said we should have the request for 2nd VAC within 4 weeks, so there is a big red ring round 4 September on my calendar as the final day before I start to badger again.

Sooooo frustrating to be so close and still waiting...............

Jean

[Gollywobbler]

Originally Posted by Where'sTheWind

Hi Jean

just to let you know, since your timeline is almost identical to mum and dad's, that they got their request for the 2nd VAC yesterday, so hopefully yours should be just around the corner. Mind you, theirs did come in response to a an email they sent to their CO requesting an update on progress, so firing off a quick email to your CO might help move things along a bit.

For the record they got their CO allocated 12 June and the AoS bond was posted around the first week of July.

good luck

rick

Hi Rick

Great news!! I nearly PM'd you yesterday evening because I felt it was time that there was some news of further progress with your parents' application. Good job I didn't badger you in the circs.

Hopefully your Parents' CO will act swiftly to get the visas granted once the money is received.

There is something of a "pecking order" with the final stages of CPV applications, plus quite a bit depends on the discretion of the individual CO:

Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 37. Processing Priorities

My Mum was 85 and widowed. My sister has been an Australian Citizen for many years. However the balance of family was only 50/50 for my Mum. Mum was level-pegging with my friend Anne H's Mum. Anne's Mum was 80 and also widowed, plus Anne is her only child, Anne also has Australian Citizenship but had only been in Oz for 4 years at the time and I think she had had Citizenship for around a year only. My sister lives in Perth. Anne lives in Bunbury which as you know is only about 2 hours from Perth.

Anne's Mum's application was more complete than ours. An Agent had prepared it and it was "decision ready" on the date of lodgement. Plus they had lodged a couple of weeks before us. So it seemed to me that they would hear from a CO first.

Scouring all the available info, other people's timelines etc, it seemed to Anne & I that both Mums would hear from COs around mid-September 2006. I was wrong. We suddenly heard from a CO in mid-July, out of the blue. There was more left to do with my Mum's application than with Ane's Mum's. We had not gotten round to obtaining an Australian police check, which my Mum needed, plus a couple of Stat Decs were needed to explain a couple of things, plus we had not done Form 80. I don't know whether the realisation that more was outstanding from us when nothing was still needed from Anne's Mum made a difference.

Our CO told my sister that the reason was nothing exotic. My Mum's application had made it into a pile that was earmarked for processing by our particular CO. Anne's Mum's application was earmarked for a different CO. Our CO had applied for and had secured a new job managing the DIAC team at Perth Airport and was due to leave the POPC at the end of September but had booked a week or ten days of annual leave between jobs.

She said she had looked through the pile of files allocated to her and had decided to pull Mum's application out of the pile early. She felt there was time for her to see Mum's application through to the end, she had noted Mum's age, and she felt that if she didn't do Mum's visa herself, delay would be likely whilst it sat in a new CO's pile. Mum's was one of the last CPVs that the lady granted

Anne's Mum did not hear from a CO until the end of August, about 6 weeks after us and that was only after a lot of pushing by Anne's husband and their Agent. There was actually more urgency with Anne's Mum because she had had to give a Health Undertaking, which had not been required from my Mum. My Mum did not have to validate till 16th Feb 2007. Anne's Mum needed to do so by 6th August 2006. The POPC extended the validation deadline for Anne's Mum to 6th November 2006 for Anne's Mum but the timing was still becomeing far too tight for comfort in their case since Anne's Mum was on her own in the UK. Chris & Anne needed to come to the UK for 3 weeks to pack up the old lady's flat, deal with the paperwork of closing her utility & bank accounts etc plus fly back to Perth with her. We had no such pressure. Mum was back in the UK but there was no great rush and no "must do by" deadlines.

The POPC arranged to speed up the processing with Anne's Mum and did the whole thing at a much faster pace than with my Mum. Centrelink were much faster with them than they had been with us and so on. My Mum's visa was granted on Friday 15th September 2006, after 2 months in the final processing stages. Anne's Mum's CPV was granted on Tuesday 19th Sept after only 2.5 weeks in the final processing stages.

Chris (Anne's Hubby) literally drove from Bunbury to Perth on the evening of Monday 18th September in order to take the bank draft for his M-i-L's 2nd Instalment to their Agent's house somewhere in Perth. The next morning, the POPC faxed the Agent with the request for the 2nd Instalment. The Agent leapt into her car and drove to the POPC with the draft. The visa was granted a couple of hours later.

I had the distinct impression that our CO had deliberately decided to set a slower, more relaxed, more methodical pace with my Mum, possibly feeling that an old dear of 85 would not welcome an anxiety-provoking pace with a stack of tasks all to be done at the same time. Less was outstanding with Anne's Mum, plus Chris (son-in-law) really did push the pace because of the meds deadline, plus everyone was concerned to try to avoid a situation where Anne's Mum's meds (or at any rate her chest x-rays) might have to be re-done.

So my conclusion is that even Factsheet 37 does not tell the whole story. I suspect that they leave a lot of things to the individual CO to decide, such as prioritising his/her workload, whether to ask for everything that is still outstanding in one go or whether to adopt a slower, more structured approach and so on. Plus at the minute they still seem to be finalising some of the cases where the meds etc were done on request either late last year or early this year. Some of the affected Parents will have had to give Health Undertakings but if they contribute to the forums at all they will not necessarily be willing to disclose that bit and so forth. I think that a LOT goes on "behind the scenes" at the POPC that is simply not seen by the various families involved at the time.

Best wishes

Gill

[Gollywobbler]

Originally Posted by Scardycat

Hi June, glad you are enjoying life over there, I am hoping to move over in Jan on a 676, my daughter is leaving here on 6th Sept. so I still have a long wait before I can apply for CPV.

Would be interested to know about the concessions as I know money is going to be tight for me, I thought if you were on a CPV you couldnt claim anything for 10 years, would be most grateful for any info you can give me on that.

regards

Cat

Hi Cat

We have been investigating possible concessions for my Mum who, like June, is feeling the pinch a bit from the exchange rate, the fact that Mum's capital is in the UK and is therefore producing a lower yield than it might do in WA and so forth. Mum wouldn't be eligible to apply for any concessions for another couple of months yet, but obviously it is not too soon to start looking into it all for her.

From what Centrelink have told my sister, and from my own reading of the Centrelink website, the main and possibly only Federal Government concession for now is the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card:

Concession and Health Care Cards

Nothing marked "health" is recoverable from the CPV Bond. The 2nd Instalment of the CPV fee is the Contribution to "health" so there would be uproar if the Government then failed to play the white man as far as "health" is subsequently concerned.

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/interne...ite_help/c.htm

Mum doesn't need help with rent, utilities etc because she doesn't pay any of those. However she does take a lot of pills every day and the cost of the prescriptions mounts up. I reckon that the $5 a time concessionary charge for pills will be where the benefit of the CSHC lies for my Mum. Another Parent's situation will be more comparable to June's. Probably far less - if anything - going out on prescription charges but payments of rent and the other things mentioned at the foot of the Centrelink page.

The CSHC is subject to the two year residence requirement, however, and I don't think there is any way around that.

I have not found anything else that looks as if it might be useful to Mum except for the ordinary Seniors Card, which has nothing to do with Centrelink and therefore has no impact at all on the CPV Bond:

Welcome to Seniors Card

You do NOT necessarily have to have PR in order to be able to get a Seniors Card. Seniors Card consider the facts of your lifestyle and plans, not which visa you hold. I know of a British couple (friends of friends) who are living in Adelaide on Bridging Visas whilst they wait for their Aged Parent visa application to get somewhere near close to the front of the Queue. I am told that they both have Seniors Cards because the Card people recognise that the couple have de facto moved to Australia.

The "410 visa" as it is called is the old Retirement Visa. It has been discontinued for new applicants and replaced by the sc 405 Investor Retirement Visa. Both of these visas only give Temporary Residency in Oz. The visas are valid for 4 years at a time and then there are rollover arrangements for renewing them every four years.

BERIA 410 is a group that caters mainly for 410 holders. AIR is more general and I think it includes Australian Citizens, CPV holders, Parent visa holders, holders of 410s and 405s and just about anything else visa-wise. Both they and BERIA 410 have been able to arrange for their members to have Seniors Cards because these people do all "live in Australia" regardless of the assortment of visas etc.

BERIA 410 - HOME PAGE & NEWS

Australian Independent - Website of the Association of Independent Retirees

Some of them also have Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards, though that is to do with the Reciprocal Health Care Agreements between Australia and other countries including the UK and is therefore a different issue.

I don't think you or June would have to prove that you hold Permanent Residency visas in order to get ordinary Seniors Cards, Cat. I think your ages would be more of a deciding factor, and the facts of your plans would be the other. I think the actual visas would come trailing in a long way behind the first two considerations assuming that neither of you work for more than 20 hours a week. (I've been told that the age threshold for Seniors Cards is 55, not 60, in NSW.) People who have Seniors Cards reckon that they are particularly good for public transport concessions and also for discounts in shops, cinemas, restaurants etc. Well worth investigating, I reckon.

After 10 years with PR in Oz, the possible entitlement to the Australian Age Pension kicks in. That would bring the possibility of Pensioner Cards into play, but it is so far in the future that I haven't read any of the bumph about Pensioner Cards.

Best wishes

Gill

[Where'sTheWind]

Hey Gill

Geat news indeed - they've over the moon, plus a kindly relative might be buying their house, so fingers crossed they could be out for Christmas!

As for what's going on behind the scenes - yep it's all a bit of a black box, but funnily enough when they emailed their CO on Monday they got an automated response saying he was on extended leave (since the end of June and until Feb next year), so they promptly emailed the generic email address, and got a swift reply giving them the name of their new CO. Without having to email their new CO, they then got the request for the 2nd VAC the next day, so I think it's likely the 'nudge' didn't do any harm.

[Scardycat]

Gill, thanks so much for that, am just trying to gather all info that I can at the moment, it still seems such a long way off, but times has a habit of slipping by without you noticing.

Thanks again, luv Cat

[Gollywobbler]

Originally Posted by Where'sTheWind

Hey Gill

Geat news indeed - they've over the moon, plus a kindly relative might be buying their house, so fingers crossed they could be out for Christmas!

As for what's going on behind the scenes - yep it's all a bit of a black box, but funnily enough when they emailed their CO on Monday they got an automated response saying he was on extended leave (since the end of June and until Feb next year), so they promptly emailed the generic email address, and got a swift reply giving them the name of their new CO. Without having to email their new CO, they then got the request for the 2nd VAC the next day, so I think it's likely the 'nudge' didn't do any harm.

Hi Rick

I completely agree with you about the nudge! New CO realises that the names are on the list he is now dealing with. Not knowing the answer to the question, New CO has a glance at the file. Realises s/he can give it a jog towards completion in two minutes flat and so does exactly that.

Not so easy when the CO has not changed, has all the anxious applicant's details in mind, knows where that applicant's file stands in the CO's own list of priorities and so forth.

I think that if you are able to tell your CO about the patter of tiny feet etc and say how good it would be if your Parents can be with you in plenty of time for Christmas, the visa could well be along quite promptly after the 2nd Instalment has been paid.

Fingers crossed for your Parents, for you and for the rest of your family.

Best wishes

Gill

[lizg]

Hi June

It's at times like these when I read these posts that I actually wish I was a little older and retired!!! I've got a long wait yet for CPV - not likely to come through until December 2009 (if I'm lucky) but time will fly by and I will need until then to get organised.

Keep hinting at work for an early retirement package as there is a restructure coming up so you never know - I might be able to follow your example after all!

Many thanks

Liz

[jewatt]

Originally Posted by OldiesRUs

Thanks for that Rick. It looks like we should only be a day behind your parents. Emailed CO two weeks ago and they said we should have the request for 2nd VAC within 4 weeks, so there is a big red ring round 4 September on my calendar as the final day before I start to badger again.

Sooooo frustrating to be so close and still waiting...............

Jean

Hi Jean
We also have a big ring round 1st week in Sept it is good to hear some people are being asked for 2nd instalment I think we all just want to know that we have it then we can at least make some kind of plan of action, We got word the other day that we have another new agent this is the 3rd so getting a bit fed up of that,
Whenever we phone to ask obout our CO we always get told to see our agent which does annoy me as we have been told sometimes it helps to badger them,
Anyway we will just have to wait it out.
Stll no interest in the house which is also very depressing don't want to see it all slipping away.
Keep me informed of your progress
Evelyn