Parent Visa 143

[MLHumphrey]

Hi, 

New to this forum and done and quick search but I'm wondering if anyone has general suggestions an thoughts on 

Parent Visa 143,  we are just about to apply ( husband and myself) , being sponsored by my son and his wife. I know the wait is approx 4 years. I'm 55 and OH is 60 so we can wait 

I'm thinking an agent would be a good way to go, any suggestions as to who are good, as I have contacted one and never received  a reply, and what others offer seem to be very variable 

What questions they will want to know besides have we go t the money etc, we plan to live with our son. 

Really any experiences thoughts etc would be great 

[Tulip1]

23 minutes ago, MLHumphrey said:

Hi, 

New to this forum and done and quick search but I'm wondering if anyone has general suggestions an thoughts on 

Parent Visa 143,  we are just about to apply ( husband and myself) , being sponsored by my son and his wife. I know the wait is approx 4 years. I'm 55 and OH is 60 so we can wait 

I'm thinking an agent would be a good way to go, any suggestions as to who are good, as I have contacted one and never received  a reply, and what others offer seem to be very variable 

What questions they will want to know besides have we go t the money etc, we plan to live with our son. 

Really any experiences thoughts etc would be great 

Unfortunately you have the wait time very wrong.  You are looking at about a 10 year wait if applying now.  There are over 50,000 in the queue waiting and around 4000 are given out each year. The immigration website states a wait time of around 4 years but it’s talking about those about to get their visas now, those that applied when the queue was much smaller and the annual quota much higher. It is a very sore point for many who have applied believing they have such a wait only to find out it’s a lot longer.  Some have even taken it to the Australian senate to complain as it’s an unfair statement.  I don’t think the agent will need to know where you intend to live and how much money you have. Assume you have checked that you pass the balance of family criteria.  Several highly regarded agents on here - Alan from Go Matilda,  Paul Hand from Suncoast and Raul from Ozimmigration.  All these agents regularly post on here and are very helpful.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Tulip1

[Marisawright]

33 minutes ago, MLHumphrey said:

Hi, 

New to this forum and done and quick search but I'm wondering if anyone has general suggestions an thoughts on 

Parent Visa 143,  we are just about to apply ( husband and myself) , being sponsored by my son and his wife. I know the wait is approx 4 years.

As Tulip1 says, I'm afraid that figure, which you see on the Immigration website, is NOT a prediction of how long it will take to get your visa.  All it says is, "right now we are processing visas received 4 years ago".   The waiting list has ballooned since then.  You're looking at 8 years certainly, very possibly 10 to 12. 

There are options, which an agent can tell you about, whereby you can go to Australia on a tourist visa and then apply in Australia for a parent visa.  You'll then get a bridging visa which will let you stay in Australia as long as it takes to get your full visa - 30 years if necessary!  

There are downsides to that strategy and it's not the agent's job to tell you all of them (they're not financial advisors).  It means that for many years, you'll be living as a temporary resident of Australia, which means you're not entitled to any benefits (aged care, pensioner prescriptions, pensions etc).  Meanwhile you've lost your residency in the UK which means you've lost access to the NHS and benefits there, too, and your British pension is frozen at the rate it was when you moved (that is true for the 143 visa too, but after a qualifying period, you'd be able to claim the Australian pension to make up for it).

On the bridging visa, you need to apply for special permission if you wish to buy a home to live in, and will be charged hefty extra fees when you do.  You also can't leave the country (you need to apply for permission to do so). So it's not necessarily an easy option.

[Tulip1]

39 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

As Tulip1 says, I'm afraid that figure, which you see on the Immigration website, is NOT a prediction of how long it will take to get your visa.  All it says is, "right now we are processing visas received 4 years ago".   The waiting list has ballooned since then.  You're looking at 8 years certainly, very possibly 10 to 12. 

There are options, which an agent can tell you about, whereby you can go to Australia on a tourist visa and then apply in Australia for a parent visa.  You'll then get a bridging visa which will let you stay in Australia as long as it takes to get your full visa - 30 years if necessary!  

There are downsides to that strategy and it's not the agent's job to tell you all of them (they're not financial advisors).  It means that for many years, you'll be living as a temporary resident of Australia, which means you're not entitled to any benefits (aged care, pensioner prescriptions, pensions etc).  Meanwhile you've lost your residency in the UK which means you've lost access to the NHS and benefits there, too, and your British pension is frozen at the rate it was when you moved (that is true for the 143 visa too, but after a qualifying period, you'd be able to claim the Australian pension to make up for it).

On the bridging visa, you need to apply for special permission if you wish to buy a home to live in, and will be charged hefty extra fees when you do.  You also can't leave the country (you need to apply for permission to do so). So it's not necessarily an easy option.

I think they’re too young to apply for the aged visa, they’re 55 and 60.  Perhaps once one of them reaches 65 maybe. Problem is that visa may not even be an option in five years time.  There’s no easy options. 

[JennyLeigh]

Hi, I’m also new to this forum. Has there been ANY movement on the 143’s offshore..  We applied July ‘16 and it doesn’t look like there is any movement at all on the visas for over a year.  All info would be greatly appreciated

 

[LindaH27]

@JennyLeigh It’s been stuck on May 2016 since last September! 

A big increase in applications in May and June 2016 plus a reduction in annual quota allowed to just 3600 per year means wait times have spiralled out. I’m sure I read somewhere that around 3460 have been granted  this financial year to end June so won’t  be many left till after 1 July 

Edited May 20, 2021 by LindaH27