Search the Community

I know that B.E. has their parent visa thread......why dont we have one? All parent visa applicants.....here is your own thread in order to ask questions, chat, moan and groan....whatever you wish! Good Luck to you all and looking fwd to hearing from you x

I was on a 457, in Australia for 7 years, returned to UK 2 years ago because of family illness. Our neighbours in Brisbane had their 92 yr old mum with them on an 804 non contributory visa. We want to go back on that visa if we can. The 804 is taking 30 years. In reality, the grant time is immaterial. What I want to ask is - is there a limit to the yearly applications. Do they limit the queue? Based on our friends their mum will pass away long before visa grant. Agents are vague about the 804. Like it doesn’t exist. Is this because they charge more for the 884/864 route? We have the balance of family in QLD with PR. So, my wife will be 66.5 years in May 2023 and we plan to come in on a visitor visa and apply for an 804 - or are there restrictions or quotas on joining the queue? All information talks about award time only. There’s a giant difference in cost as I am sure you all know. Anyone with experience of this Visa. Thanks

The Australian government will scrap its controversial changes to parent visa sponsorship rules. The climbdown follows weeks of backlash from migrant communities and will completely reverse the changes, less than a month after they were introduced by Social Services Minister Dan Tehan. Mr Tehan sent a letter to Greens senator Nick McKim on Wednesday, confirming the government would undo the regulation rather than face a narrow defeat on the floor of the upper house. Labor and a group of key crossbenchers had agreed to back a Greens disallowance motion to torpedo the change. The changes, which took effect in April, meant residents needed much higher salaries to bring their parents to Australia on a visa. An individual trying to sponsor their two parents would need to prove they earn an annual income of $86,607, up from $35,793 under the previous rules. The government will revert to the old rules and will “reassess” any migrants who applied since the April change. Mr Tehan plans to rewrite the legislative instrument before May 23, the letter confirms, and will “replicate the circumstances as they were prior to April 1”. “Any individual that has had an assessment under the new provisions will be reassessed,” Mr Tehan writes. The backflip represents a substantial departure from Mr Tehan’s previous argument. Last month, the minister said changes were needed to ensure migrant parents did not become a drain on the welfare system. “The Australian Government wants to ensure newly-arrived migrants have the financial capacity to support themselves, while also ensuring the social security system remains sustainable,” Mr Tehan said at the time. The change would have impacted thousands of migrants on Australia’s long waiting list for visas, who were yet to have their sponsors in Australia submit their proof-of-income documents to Centrelink. Discuss Parent Visas at https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/50481-the-brand-new-pio-parents-visa-thread/

2018 will see the implementation of Temporary Skill Shortage Visas, changes to the Occupation Lists, plans to introduce mandatory provisional visas before permanent residency and changes to Parent and Partner Visas. The Temporary Work (Skilled) Visa (subclass 457) will be replaced with Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa From March 2018, the current 457 visa program will be abolished and replaced with the completely new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa. The TSS visa will be comprised of a Short-Term stream allowing stays of up to two years, and a Medium-Term stream allowing stays of up to four years. The Short-Term stream visa is renewable only once. The STSOL occupation list will apply for Short-Term Stream applicants. The Medium-Stream visa holders may renew their visas onshore and may apply for permanent residence pathway after working for three years in Australia. The MLTSSL occupation list will apply for Medium-Stream visa applicants. This stream is relatively similar to the current 457 visa. Tighter Regulations for both streams: Increased Work Experience Requirements Higher English Language Levels Requirements Mandatory Labour Market Testing Set Australian Market Salary Rates Additional Character, Anti-Discrimination and Training Requirements More information: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/WorkinginAustralia/Documents/abolition-replacement-457.pdf Discuss Temporary Skilled Visas on our forum Changes to Occupation lists in 2018 A number of changes were made to the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) in April 2017 and again in July 2017. CHECK IF YOUR OCCUPATION IS IN THE MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIC SKILLS LIST (MLTSSL) HERE Though the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skill List (MLTSSL) is likely to remain the same, the STSOL which is a list of occupations nominated for temporary and short-term visas is likely to see some changes. Some of the occupations flagged for removal from the Short-term Skilled Occupation List are Accommodation and Hospitality manager, Hair or Beauty Salon Manager, Recruitment Consultant and Building Associate.. University Tutor, Psychotherapist, Property Manager, Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Representative may be added to the list. It is also likely that Skilled Occupations List will include Airline Pilots in 2018 to address the shortage of pilots in Australia. Following lobbying from the peak body for regional airlines, it has been reported that the Skilled Occupations List will be revised to allow foreign pilots to come to the country on a two-year work visa. Discuss Skilled Visas on our forum Plans to introduce mandatory provisional visas before permanent residency in Australia and reducing the number of visas from 99 to 10 The Government undertook public consultation to transform Australia’s visa system in 2017. The Australian government discussed plans to introduce mandatory provisional visas where migrants may need to spend a certain period of time before they are granted permanent residency and also to reduce the number of visas from 99 to 10 to simplify the process. The Department received 255 submissions and approximately 184 representatives of industry, academia, community and government participated in roundtables across the country, with an additional 60 industry representatives participating in immigration reform workshops. In December 2017, the department in a consultation summary said while approximately 55% opposed a provisional period, among those who supported the principle of provisional residence, a provisional period of a minimum of two years was most popular. 88% of the submissions supported visa simplification with suggestions that importance be given to transparency around decision making, reduced processing times and a system that was easier to understand and navigate. The department though has not set a timeline for its implementation and says, ‘This is a long-term programme of improvement to the way we deliver our services. There is no immediate impact for visa applicants or holders. The first step will be broad consultation with the market on the design and build of a new visa processing platform.’ We are likely to hear more about these plans in 2018. Discuss Visas, Residency & Citizenship on our forum Temporary sponsored parent visa In the 2017-18 federal budget, a new temporary sponsored parent visa was announced - to be available from November 2017. However, the new visa which will allow migrants’ parents to stay in the country for extended periods has been delayed. The Bill enabling the new visa to come into effect has not yet been approved by the Senate. Here are the six must know facts about the new long stay visa for parents: 3-year-visa will cost $5000, a 5-year-visa will cost $10,000 and a 10-year-visa will cost $20,000, with the opportunity of a single renewal for another five years at the same price. 15,000 people each year will be granted this long stay parent visa. Children/Sponsors will be required to pay for their parents' private health insurance. The children will also need to act as financial guarantor on any extra healthcare costs their parents rack up in Australia. Those on the new visa will not be allowed to work, however, the government hopes they will take on family roles which would see “reduced pressure on childcare facilities.” Those sponsoring their parents for the new visa need to be Australian citizens or permanent residents, or “eligible New Zealand citizens”. The visa-holders would not be allowed to reapply beyond the 10 years and would have no pathway to permanent residency. Discuss Parent Visas on our forum Partner Visa Proposed changes to Partner Visa were expected in 2017 but it has been deferred to 2018. This is because the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016(Cth) (“the Bill”) is still before the Senate and has not been enacted. If the Bill is enacted, it will establish a sponsorship framework for partner visas, placing more focus on the assessment of sponsors. In particular: The sponsorship assessment would be separated from the visa application process Sponsors would need to be approved before visa applications are made Legal obligations would be imposed on approved sponsors If sponsors fail to meet their obligations, sanctions may be imposed In certain circumstances sponsors can be barred from sponsorship The new regulations propose partner visa sponsorship applications would need to be lodged under stricter criteria and approved before the overseas partner visa application could be lodged. The new two-step process is expected to delay the lodgement of the overseas partner application and require the overseas partner to have a valid visa until a visa application for the overseas partner can be lodged. Discuss Partner Visas on our forum

Ahead of the official announcement next week, it has been revealed the the government plans to introduce a new Parent Visa scheme which would commence in November. Applicants would be able to apply for a 3 year visa at a cost of $5,000 AUD or a 5 year visa at a cost of $10,000 AUD. The 5 year visa would have the option to be renewed once for another $10,000 AUD. In addition to the sizable initial cost, visa holders would not be permitted to work and the healthcare costs of visa holder would have to be met by their children with the sponsors being legally required to pay for private health insurance cover for the parents. It is expected there would be a quota of 15,000 places a year for the new visa. By Robert Williams 05/05/2017

Hi Can anyone out there help me? I have been a Australian Citizen for almost 20 years now and married with a daughter and grandchild, My parents applied for a contributary parent visa 2 years ago, they got accepted recently like in september but my father passed away in the August so a hard decision for mum who is 75 but she is going to come. I have 1 sister left over in the U.K who also would like to come and be with us all she is 42 not married no children so she qualifies for a 835 on shore visa then being able to apply for last remaining whilst being in Australia with us all together. Can anyone tell me how soon she can apply for this visa? Does mum have to be here actually living then she applies? How quick does that 835 bridging visa take? As we will all be in Australia we dont want her being over in the UK on her own for too long especially with the age of mum we want as much time altogether as a family as possible. Appeciate any info or experiences many thanks in advance:xmas23:Merry Chrismtmas to you all

Hi All, first post on here so please bear with me.....I’m actually looking for some advice regarding my parents, Quick overview...my sister and I are both Oz Permanent residency visa holders, my sister emigrated to Perth in October, I will emigrate also to Perth in April this year (cant wait). My parents would like to emigrate with me, but we believe the rules have changed re CPV ‘settlement period’ times and the Oz immigration are holding fast on the 2 year rule….we were intitially told (about 3 years ago..) by our migration agent that this 2 year rule was open to interpretation. Anyway, my sister emigrated in October 2012 to Perth (there is only me and my sister in the family) therefore it looks like we’d need to wait until October 2014 before my parents could apply for their CPV, would I be correct in my assumption there? In the meantime we’d like to have our parents with us in Oz for the maximum period allowed, we have been told that the 676 visa was the way to go but that they are now based on a 2/3 in 1/3 out rule…so… (apologies for the long windedness of this…)…..could my parents go in April this year with me on a 6 month long stay tourist visa, come home for 3 months, then go back out in January 2014 on a 12 month long stay tourist visa? The 12 month visa would take them to January 2015, and we’re hoping they could apply for their CPV in October 2014, and bridge their visa so they could stay with us in Oz for good? Is all that possible? Any advice is much appreciated Cheers

Thanks a lot for the forum, Just wanted to post some information that might come in handy for people who are waiting for their Contributory parent visas or for normal parent visas. What's New for Tourist and Visitor Visas Longer Tourist visas for parents of Australians From 24 November 2012, parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to apply for Tourist visas to visit Australia for longer. The department will grant on a case-by-case basis: Tourist visas of up to five years validity which provide a stay of up to 12 months on each entry to those parents who are outside Australia and are in the Parent (subclass 103) visa queue. Tourist visas of up to three years validity with 12 months stay on each entry will be considered for parents who are outside Australia and are not in the Parent visa queue. These changes allow parents who meet the criteria for a Tourist visa to have regular extended visits with their family in Australia without needing to apply for a new visa on each visit. Under these more flexible arrangements, in addition to meeting all other Tourist visa requirements, parents will be expected to hold health insurance to cover any healthcare costs during their stay and will have a visa condition limiting applications for further visas while they are in Australia. Like all tourists, parents granted Tourist visas are expected to maintain extended periods of absence between visits to Australia. See: About This Visa Sponsored Family Visitor (subclass 679) – Cut off date for December holiday period To ensure we can process your application so you can travel to Australia during the December holiday period, you will need to submit a complete application to the department by 2 November 2012.

This is just in: GENERAL INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORY PARENT VISA APPLICANTS AS AT 1 OCTOBER 2008 POPC and STOs Prior to 1 October 2008 all offshore and WA onshore parent visa applications were processed at POPC, and all other onshore parent visa applications were processed at the relevant State and Territory Office (STO). From 1 October all parent visa applications (onshore and offshore) will be processed at POPC. STOs are finalising any existing applications where possible. If an application is not finalised it will be transferred to POPC. Planning Levels In the 2008-09 Migration Program year, there are a total of 8500 visa places allocated to parent visas, comprising: •· 2000 Parent category visa places, of which approximately: •o 1400 will be allocated to applicants applying from outside Australia •o 600 will be allocated to applicants applying in Australia •· 6500 Contributory Parent category visa places, of which approximately: •o 5900 will be allocated to applicants applying from outside Australia and •o 600 will be allocated to applicants applying in Australia. The final proportion of places allocated between applicants applying in and outside Australia in both parent visa categories is dependent on a number of factors, but roughly reflects the proportion of applications for each visa subclass. Queuing To ensure an equitable approach, POPC/STOs usually process all parent visa applications in lodgement date order (see Priority Processing below). If applicants are found to meet the initial criteria for the grant of the visa, applicants are allocated a queue date and then placed in the queue. The queue date is the date that the application was assessed as meeting the initial criteria. Applicants are notified in writing of their queue date. Once a queue date has been assigned to a visa applicant, it is a fixed date and the applicant cannot be given priority ahead of other applicants. Applications are considered for visa grant in order of their queue date as visa places become available under the Migration Program. The criteria required for the queuing of an application has recently changed for offshore parent visa applicants. Previously all parent visa applicants were required to satisfy (in addition to other criteria) the health and character criteria of their visa subclass prior to being queued. Offshore parent visa applicants are now only required to satisfy the health and character criteria prior to visa grant and not prior to being queued. The new criteria required for the queuing of an application is detailed in Ministerial Direction No 39 Order for Consideration or Disposal of Applications for Visas under Section 91 of the Migration Act 1958, and the changes are outlined on the Agents Gateway at: Agents Gateway - Health and Character requirements for parent visa applicants outside Australia Concerns are occasionally raised that some CPV applicants are "by-passing" queuing. POPC/STOs started assigning queue dates to CPV applicants in the second half of 2007 when it became evident that the number of visa applicants was going to exceed the number of visa grants available in the Migration Program year (MPY). This was to ensure that visas were and continue to be granted in an equitable order. It should also be noted that queuing is a mandatory step in processing CPVs and cannot be by-passed. We are in the process of clarifying the information available on the Department's website with regards to queuing. Details regarding the queuing process are available on the Department's website at: www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/parent-visa-processing-priorities.htm Priority processing While POPC/STOs usually process applications in lodgement date order, a level of priority can be given to the order in which applications are processed from lodgement to queued stage. For example, applications remitted following successful review through the merits review tribunals and/or courts are given processing priority, and Contributory Parent category visa applicants who previously had a Parent category visa application are given processing priority. Priority cannot and is not given to an application once it is queued. Applications are considered for visa grant in order of their queue date as visa places become available under the Migration Program. Queue calculator The Department's online queue calculator enables queued applicants to determine how many people are ahead of them in the queue and hence, approximately how long they will wait before visa grant consideration. Applicants will need to enter their queue date and select the parent visa subclass which they have applied for. The parent visa queue calculator will give them the approximate number of persons ahead of them in the queue. Applicants can then estimate the approximate time it will take them to be considered for visa grant based on the number of visa grants available for their visa subclass in any one Migration Program Year. The queue calculator information includes all parent visa applicants who have been queued. Please note that the queue calculator cannot assist parent visa applicants who are not queued and who are still being processed in determining how long they are likely to wait until visa grant consideration. Processing As at 30 September 2008, 3190 CPVs had been granted and there were a further 9000 CPV applicants in the processing pipeline. These applicants are at various stages of processing, with some applicants queued and others not yet allocated to a case officer. There are almost enough CPV applicants in the processing pipeline to fill the remaining places in the 2008-09 and the 2009-10 Migration Program years (assuming the government provides the same number of CPV places in 2009-10). POPC is currently focussed on granting the remaining Contributory Parent category visas allocated for 2008-09 as soon as possible. Applicants that will be considered for visa grant in 2008-09 will be contacted by POPC to complete any outstanding requirements. Once the visa grants for 2008-09 have been exhausted, POPC will then focus on processing CPV applications to queue stage, ready for visa grant in the 2009-10 Migration Program year. Currently the time between lodgement and allocation to a case officer for offshore applications is about 15 months (Parent) and 12 months (CPV). The Department is committed to meeting the planning levels set by the Government, so allocation to a case officer should not affect when an applicant will be considered for visa grant. Assuming the Migration Program size remains the same for the coming years, the following estimates will apply for a CPV applicant: •· Where applicants have a offshore CPV application currently being processed that was lodged with POPC before 1 October 2007 then it is highly likely their visa will be granted during the 2008-09 Migration Program year (assuming all requirements are met for the grant of the visa). •· Where applicants have a offshore CPV application that was lodged with POPC during the period 1 October 2007 and 30 September 2008, then their application will be assessed and given a queue date as the first processing step. It is then highly likely that following further processing at a later date their visa will be granted during the 2009-10 Migration Program year (assuming all requirements are met for the grant of the visa). Note that the above advice is current as at 1 October 2008 and it is not possible to be absolutely definitive about how long applicants will have to wait until a visa can be granted where queuing operates. It depends on a number of factors including the level of demand for places compared to the number of places made available under successive annual migration programs (as discussed above) and the date an application was queued." Cheers, George Lombard