A&J

Does anybody have information on the new streamlined approach to temporary visas and if it benefits the 870? 
In particular the processing time and the requirement for health exam. 

I am aware of the costs and time frame for contributory parent visas, and the fact that on application a BVA will be issued. I would like to know

1. Typically how long after issue of BVA would I expect to have to undergo a health exam, and would there be a health exam close to and before the issue of 864 ( I.e. possibly a second exam)

2. Can you suggest a suitable overseas visitor health insurance policy for the duration of the BVA

3. With regard to tax, is the BVA considered a temporary visa, I.e. is there any tax liability to the Australian government before the 864 is granted.

Thank you in advance for your help. 

Has anyone gone through the 864 experience that I could ask questions of?

Disappointment heaped on dissatisfaction 

Anyone got figures for the number of parent visas allocated to 2021-22?

@AJM22

Excellent research. Thanks for the detail. Do you have any further insight into how things might develop?

Thanks all for the comments.

When applying for the 870 it looks like it is reasonable to refer to the reciprocal agreement as adequate health cover at least for the first few months.

@marisawright

The uncertainty is when British Health Insurance expires for a person on a long term temporary visa such as the 870. I can’t find any clear information on this on NHS or GOV sites. The best I have is from a (authoritative sounding) forum post which suggest this is 3 months.-

How long can a British citizen live in another country without coming back to the UK?You can leave the UK for 3 months and still use the NHS on return but if you settle abroad then you lose the right to use the NHS for free on your return - unless you are returning to settle in the UK. Sounds complicated - it is. If you move abroad to permanently settle abroad then after 3 months you can’t come back to UK just to use the NHS because that is the famous “Health Tourism” that the government says costs the NHS millions every year. But if you go on holiday abroad and maintain the UK as your domicile by returning to the UK for 91 nights each year then you can continue to use NHS for free when you are in the UK. GPs are not supposed to give prescriptions for more than 3 month periods to avoid this problem.

and that provided by New Zealand 

From  NZ (1) When assessing whether a UK citizen is ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, the duration of absence from the UK will be relevant.

(2) Note that the UK interprets ‘temporary stay’ as a stay of up to six months. New Zealanders travelling to the UK for longer than six months will still have access to the National Health Service, but will be required to pay an immigration health surcharge as part of their visa application from 6 April 2016. For more information, please visit the www.gov.uk website.

 (3) New Zealand generally interprets ‘temporary stay’ as being a stay that is less than 2 years duration by a person who does not have permanent residency in New Zealand or hold a work visa for more than 2 years.

Can anyone on a 870 visa from the UK comment on and how long the reciprocal health agreement with Australia lasts as the Australian websites refer to the ‘end of British health insurance’,  but I am not sure what this means or how others understand the arrangement. Thanks.

I am in the process of applying for 870 visa and would like to know if form 80 is required. It suggests so in the visa ‘steps’ but asks for an amazing amount of detail that seems inappropriate for this visa.

As the visa is applied for online I can’t get past the first page to see what information is later required. Knowledge of what needs to be filled in before starting to fill in the form would be useful.

On 04/04/2021 at 23:23, youngfreewild said:

My MIL is in Australia on a 870 visa which expires in Nov 2022. It's looking unlikely that her 143 visa will be granted by then. If it doesn't, are there options for us to keep her in Australia until her 143 is granted, some sort of bridging visa? 

The 870 visa rules say she would have to leave Australia for 90 days before applying for another 870 visa. 

I am UK resident thinking of applying for 870. How long does reciprocal health cover last before needing private medical cover?

Has anyone tried to convert a 143 to 864 (aged parent contributory)?

I have made my submission to the Senate inquiry into parent visas. Check out 

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/FamilyandPartnerVisas

and do yours

Contributory visa lobby group??

I refer to recent data posted and comments regarding wait times for contributory visas. There does not seem to be much evidence of lobbying on this issue.

The Migration Program is starting to plan allocations for 2021/22 and invites public submissions to inform the planning process which must be submitted by 29th January 2021. See details and submission link at

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/reports-and-publications/submissions-and-discussion-papers/australia-2021-22-migration-program?_ga=2.2508084.548448393.1610869697-1485230910.1610869697

I attach my submission below. Do yours today

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I am a parent of a newly conferred Australian citizen and have recently successfully submitted an application for contributory parent visa 143. I wish to bring to your attention the growing wait time for contributory parent visas.

At the time of my application, the wait period was just under 5 years, with applications from May 2016 having just been released for processing. The monthly number of applications awaiting processing from June 2016 to September 2020 total 55,620. On the basis of your annual allocation of parent visas (4,500), even with some attrition, this implies a wait time of over 10 years.

In the recent past the wait time was 2-3 years but has rapidly increased. I hope you will give consideration in your forthcoming Migration Program planning process to reducing the wait time to levels appropriate to the principles underpinning the contributory visas.

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