The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

[AMP]

10 hours ago, HarrisL16 said:

Hi yes we had a visitor visa (class FA) subclass 600 to give it its full title. We left Australia for 2 weeks mainly because we had return tickets and then re-entered on the same visa for another 12 months, there was a date of expiry . I did ring the immigration dept. Whilst in Australia to make sure I could return. I had to have a medical for this visa but my husband didn't , and we had to show immigration our insurance for the time of our stay . Hope this helps. Lorraine ?

Yes, it does help, thanks Lorraine.  Your experience confirms what others have said, just that I keep needing reassurances!  Just a further question about the insurance.  You said you had to show it to immigration (presumably on arrival?) so did you set it all up and pay for it in the UK before you left?  Which company did you use?  Did you do arrange for 12 months initially and then have to renew for a further 12 months or were you able to do it on a rolling direct debit arrangement?

Apologies for all the questions. 

[nyorksgrannie]

32 minutes ago, AMP said:

Yes, it does help, thanks Lorraine.  Your experience confirms what others have said, just that I keep needing reassurances!  Just a further question about the insurance.  You said you had to show it to immigration (presumably on arrival?) so did you set it all up and pay for it in the UK before you left?  Which company did you use?  Did you do arrange for 12 months initially and then have to renew for a further 12 months or were you able to do it on a rolling direct debit arrangement?

Apologies for all the questions. 

Hi Angela, sorry to but in, but we have organised BUPA cover for when we arrive.  My husband did it on line quoting 600 visa and paid with credit card, you can pay a year in advance or monthly.  Our previous annual travel insurance wouldn't have covered it. Sue

[Fisher1]

10 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

I also don’t think we were ever told 173/143s would be 18 months, I just (foolishly) made the assumption based on the processing times before we applied.

I had not realised you had switched yourselves, and if you don’t mind me asking, were you in the original queue before it closed in 2014? I imagine that must have been a dreadful experience to be suddenly told your visa stream was ending.    

As Alan has said, we were unaffected. Funnily enough, I persuaded my husband to apply for that visa when we were in no way ready to go, because I pointed out that the government could change the rules at any time - never really thought they would though! We changed to the 143 because our daughter had a baby ...   I got s lot of stick for the waste of the first vac on the 103 but I think it was worth it for my sanity.  We have waited, one way and another, since 2013 because family circumstances prevented us leaving when the visa came through last year. We have now sold our house (fingers crossed) and will Finally move out at the end of August if all goes well.   It does happen in the end :-)

[Alan Collett]

53 minutes ago, AMP said:

Yes, it does help, thanks Lorraine.  Your experience confirms what others have said, just that I keep needing reassurances!  Just a further question about the insurance.  You said you had to show it to immigration (presumably on arrival?) so did you set it all up and pay for it in the UK before you left?  Which company did you use?  Did you do arrange for 12 months initially and then have to renew for a further 12 months or were you able to do it on a rolling direct debit arrangement?

Apologies for all the questions. 

If you would like a link for BUPA and Australian Unity (two of the few companies that offer Visitors Cover) where you can also check premiums for cover please feel able to send a message to me (click on my name to the left of this post).

Best regards.

[AMP]

30 minutes ago, nyorksgrannie said:

Hi Angela, sorry to but in, but we have organised BUPA cover for when we arrive.  My husband did it on line quoting 600 visa and paid with credit card, you can pay a year in advance or monthly.  Our previous annual travel insurance wouldn't have covered it. Sue

Thanks Sue.  Were you able to pay in £ sterling or did it have to be arranged with the Australian "branch" of BUPA and therefore with payment in AUD?

[nyorksgrannie]

Hi Angela, My husband went on to Australian Bupa website and it cost us oldies Aus$ 3,268 for 12 months cover for both of us, hope this helps, they would take Amex for payment. Sue

 

[SusieRoo]

9 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

The 103 and 804 visa subclasses were closed to new applicants at the end of May 2014 (re-opened in Sept 2014); applications already lodged were unaffected by that hiatus.

Best regards.

Thank you for the explanation,

The big question I’m always asking myself, is – ‘When will we get our visas?’

So I’m trying to work out the potential for further delays, due to cessation of non-contributory’s and parents swapping visa streams. (I fully understand this is fair and legitimate and do not want to cause any bad feelings) But from a personal perspective, it helps with our planning if we are able to anticipate any changes.

It appears IMMI are scaling-up efforts to encourage swapping N-CPV to CPVs without being disadvantaged. Which makes me think 103/804 visas are soon to be scrapped.

The 2016 ‘Productivity Commission Inquiry Report’ showed the pipeline for non-contributory PVs at June 2015 to be 51,191. So with 1500 places per year, it’s now probable 48,000+ applicants pre-date people already queuing for 173/143 visas.

Clearly financial constraints will be the main limiting factor, but if just 15% switched to CPV, it would add 12 months onto existing processing times.

I expect this will be mitigated somewhat by the New Parent Visas, but I do feel for us, it is now reasonable to expect a 40 to 48 month total wait. I know this is not what I want to hear, but we need some stability back in our lives. Working to this new timetable will help my family regain some perspective.

Please someone tell me I’m wrong!

Edited June 24, 2017 by SusieRoo

[Alan Collett]

I don't see any specific efforts being made by the PVC to encourage the 103 and 804 visa applicants to switch to Contributory Parent visa applications, save for advertising an extended processing time for the non Contributory Parent cases and only making available sufficient visas annually as to achieve the expected outcome.

Best regards.

[gafuk]

2 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

I don't see any specific efforts being made by the PVC to encourage the 103 and 804 visa applicants to switch to Contributory Parent visa applications, save for advertising an extended processing time for the non Contributory Parent cases and only making available sufficient visas annually as to achieve the expected outcome.

Best regards.

Hi Alan, I know your not God but with your knowledge of the system, do you feel this latest bit of news of possible switching of 103  and 804 applicants is likely to have an immediate effect on us 143 applicants. We applied Dec 2014 and thought we were ready to start packing boxes !  There's worse things that can happen but it's  Sooo difficult to plan anything . Your opinion please ?. 

[SusieRoo]

2 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

I don't see any specific efforts being made by the PVC to encourage the 103 and 804 visa applicants to switch to Contributory Parent visa applications, save for advertising an extended processing time for the non Contributory Parent cases and only making available sufficient visas annually as to achieve the expected outcome.

Best regards.

I hope you are right

But, you have yourself commented on the likelihood of 103/804 visas being replaced by the new parent visa.

And for the last two months IMMI has added to ‘new’ message to their email updates. Which says-

“Note that if switching from a 103 to a 173 or 143 visa your original application lodgement date will be taken into account for your new application thus ensuring that you are not disadvantaged.”

We have also seen IMMI’s global processing page updated this month, to add significantly to CPV processing times.

I hope these things are unconnected, but ‘Sod’ and ‘Murphy’ sit ever-present in this waiting room.  

Edited June 25, 2017 by SusieRoo

[Alan Collett]

27 minutes ago, gafuk said:

Hi Alan, I know your not God but with your knowledge of the system, do you feel this latest bit of news of possible switching of 103  and 804 applicants is likely to have an immediate effect on us 143 applicants. We applied Dec 2014 and thought we were ready to start packing boxes !  There's worse things that can happen but it's  Sooo difficult to plan anything . Your opinion please ?. 

I can only go by my client caseload: I see very few 804 visa applicants transitioning across to 864s.

Because of the absence of bridging visas for 103 visa applicants there may be more of this cohort switching to 143s, but I have only a handful of 103 visa applicant clients.

Best regards.

[Alan Collett]

9 minutes ago, SusieRoo said:

I hope you are right

But, you have yourself commented on the likelihood of 103/804 visas being replaced by the new parent visa.

And for the last two months IMMI has added to ‘new’ message to their email updates. Which says-

“Note that if switching from a 103 to a 173 or 143 visa your original application lodgement date will be taken into account for your new application thus ensuring that you are not disadvantaged.”

We have also seen IMMI’s global processing page updated this month, to add significantly to CPV processing times.

I hope these things are unconnected, but ‘Sod’ and ‘Murphy’ sit ever-present in this waiting room.  

 

Hi again SusieRoo.

The introduction of a new temporary parent visa would (probably) not have an impact on already lodged 103 and 804 visa applications - so I don't quite follow this point.

Noted re the additional narrative in the PVC auto email, though I'm not sure 103 and 804 visa applicants are seeking out this auto email update quite so frequently as those on this forum.   I may of course be wrong though ...

Best regards.

[SusieRoo]

1 hour ago, Alan Collett said:

 

Hi again SusieRoo.

The introduction of a new temporary parent visa would (probably) not have an impact on already lodged 103 and 804 visa applications - so I don't quite follow this point.

Noted re the additional narrative in the PVC auto email, though I'm not sure 103 and 804 visa applicants are seeking out this auto email update quite so frequently as those on this forum.   I may of course be wrong though ...

Best regards.

 

Thanks Alan, very constructive comments as always.

I think the point I’m trying to make, is – I speculate there is a link between –

      1) Introduction of New Parent Visas

      2) Likelihood of scrapping Non-Contributory Visas

      3) And increased processing times for 143/173’s

I know I am a guessing amateur with too much time on my hands, but it’s hard not to ‘join the dots’ when we have so much at stake.

We just need to understand why processing times have shot up so much in the last month (nearly a year for 173’s).

Shame IMMI can’t make a simple statement.

Edited June 25, 2017 by SusieRoo

[clarkesville1]

1 hour ago, Alan Collett said:

 

Hi again SusieRoo.

The introduction of a new temporary parent visa would (probably) not have an impact on already lodged 103 and 804 visa applications - so I don't quite follow this point.

Noted re the additional narrative in the PVC auto email, though I'm not sure 103 and 804 visa applicants are seeking out this auto email update quite so frequently as those on this forum.   I may of course be wrong though ...

Best regards.

Has anyone gone out on an investment visa.  I was told by someone that her parents did and paid about 60k?   

[SusieRoo]

2 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

 

Hi again SusieRoo.

The introduction of a new temporary parent visa would (probably) not have an impact on already lodged 103 and 804 visa applications - so I don't quite follow this point.

Noted re the additional narrative in the PVC auto email, though I'm not sure 103 and 804 visa applicants are seeking out this auto email update quite so frequently as those on this forum.   I may of course be wrong though ...

Best regards.

 

1 hour ago, SusieRoo said:

 

Thanks Alan, very constructive comments as always.

I think the point I’m trying to make, is – I speculate there is a link between –

      1) Introduction of New Parent Visas

      2) Likelihood of scrapping Non-Contributory Visas

      3) And increased processing times for 143/173’s

I know I am a guessing amateur with too much time on my hands, but it’s hard not to ‘join the dots’ when we have so much at stake.

We just need to understand why processing times have shot up so much in the last month (nearly a year for 173’s).

Shame IMMI can’t make a simple statement.

My apologies Alan, I think I may have misinterpreted your original message.

I was assuming, if non-contributory streams were scrapped, all applicants would be left to find alternatives. But I can see you are saying (probably) the stream would close to new applicants, but existing candidates will be allowed to complete their process.

This makes sense and would of course make a significant difference to how 143/173’s would be impacted.

So, I have now a couple of new questions (sorry to ask but you are the Oracle of the this forum).

If someone applies for an on-shore 103, and then gets a bridging visa. Can they buy a house and work in Australia while waiting? Are there any disadvantages in waiting for years on a bridging visa?

I’m just wondering if there is any benefit in switching (other than saving $100k).

[Fisher1]

2 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

 

My apologies Alan, I think I may have misinterpreted your original message.

I was assuming, if non-contributory streams were scrapped, all applicants would be left to find alternatives. But I can see you are saying (probably) the stream would close to new applicants, but existing candidates will be allowed to complete their process.

This makes sense and would of course make a significant difference to how 143/173’s would be impacted.

So, I have now a couple of new questions (sorry to ask but you are the Oracle of the this forum).

If someone applies for an on-shore 103, and then gets a bridging visa. Can they buy a house and work in Australia while waiting? Are there any disadvantages in waiting for years on a bridging visa?

I’m just wondering if there is any benefit in switching (other than saving $100k).

The 103 is an offshore visa. 

[SusieRoo]

1 hour ago, Fisher1 said:

The 103 is an offshore visa. 

Thank you Fisher1 for the info.

I thought this looked too good to be true.

So it's just the aged 804 that's 'on-shore' and qualifies for the bridging visa. Still sounds like a good option for any over 65’s (in fact, there would be little point applying for any other visa). We may still have to consider this if our 173 queue grows much longer.

I would also be interested to hear more about clakesville1’s 60k investment visa.

Hope your move is all going smoothly.

Edited June 25, 2017 by SusieRoo

[bry45]

1 hour ago, SusieRoo said:

Thank you Fisher1 for the info.

I thought this looked too good to be true.

So it's just the aged 804 that's 'on-shore' and qualifies for the bridging visa. Still sounds like a good option for any over 65’s (in fact, there would be little point applying for any other visa). We may still have to consider this if our 173 queue grows much longer.

I would also be interested to hear more about clakesville1’s 60k investment visa.

Hope your move is all going smoothly.

I'm also interested in this 60K investment visa if anyone has any info

[Fisher1]

2 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

Thank you Fisher1 for the info.

I thought this looked too good to be true.

So it's just the aged 804 that's 'on-shore' and qualifies for the bridging visa. Still sounds like a good option for any over 65’s (in fact, there would be little point applying for any other visa). We may still have to consider this if our 173 queue grows much longer.

I would also be interested to hear more about clakesville1’s 60k investment visa.

Hope your move is all going smoothly.

Fingers crossed we are looking at a moving date of mid August, I just hope the buyers don't change their minds ... the stupid system in the UK means they can pull out without penalty any time before exchange of contracts ...      About the visas - there used to be a lot more info on the parent's thread, people used to exchange information about different kinds of visa and what the pros and cons were. If you search the archives for 804 visa you might find some more information. I really don't know anything about it, but there will be more information on the Oz govt. website.  I believe there is a difficulty leaving Australia while you are waiting for the 804 to come through but I may be mistaken. Whatever you decide, good luck!

[HarrisL16]

On 24 June 2017 at 07:54, AMP said:

Yes, it does help, thanks Lorraine.  Your experience confirms what others have said, just that I keep needing reassurances!  Just a further question about the insurance.  You said you had to show it to immigration (presumably on arrival?) so did you set it all up and pay for it in the UK before you left?  Which company did you use?  Did you do arrange for 12 months initially and then have to renew for a further 12 months or were you able to do it on a rolling direct debit arrangement?

Apologies for all the questions. 

Hi, we just had a travel single trip insurance that I sent a copy of to immi for both our entries into Australia. Lorraine

[Bear2015]

I think the attraction for those 'switching' to the CPV is this part of the auto reply: 

"As an alternative, you may wish to 'switch' to a faster visa processing path, the Contributory Parent visa.  This has significantly higher application charges, but no queue and is therefore, a much quicker pathway to permanent residence."

When they say 'No que' obviously the NCP applicants will want to switch to CPV only to know the length of the que.  Not only that They have to pay the application charges twice , at this rate, the 103s may move faster if everyone starts 'switching' to 143. The heads of the DIBP is  sending  the wrong message and complicating things for themselves (their overworked staff) and everyone else.

[Alan Collett]

10 hours ago, clarkesville1 said:

Has anyone gone out on an investment visa.  I was told by someone that her parents did and paid about 60k?   

There is no such visa.

The alternative to a parent visa is an Investor Retirement visa, subclass 405 - but you must invest somewhat more than $60k to be granted this visa.

And the 405 visa is a temporary residency visa.

Best regards.

[SusieRoo]

Anyone seeing movement?

Online is showing the last 173/143 'case officer' appointed around January. 

Have there been any new 'case officers' allocations in the last 5 months?

 

 

Edited June 26, 2017 by MaggieMay24
Removed reference to external site

[Alan Collett]

12 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

Anyone seeing movement?

Online is showing the last 173/143 'case officer' appointed around January. 

Have there been any new 'case officers' allocations in the last 5 months?

 

 

Yes, we had a request on 16 June 2017 for a subclass 143 applicant client to undertake health and character, as well as the AoS.

The application was lodged on 22 Oct 2014.

Best regards.

[SusieRoo]

13 hours ago, Bear2015 said:

I think the attraction for those 'switching' to the CPV is this part of the auto reply: 

"As an alternative, you may wish to 'switch' to a faster visa processing path, the Contributory Parent visa.  This has significantly higher application charges, but no queue and is therefore, a much quicker pathway to permanent residence."

When they say 'No que' obviously the NCP applicants will want to switch to CPV only to know the length of the que.  Not only that They have to pay the application charges twice , at this rate, the 103s may move faster if everyone starts 'switching' to 143. The heads of the DIBP is  sending  the wrong message and complicating things for themselves (their overworked staff) and everyone else.

Your right Bear2015, it's just a pack of lies to make money. There is no point in swapping from a 103 now, best to stay put and save your $100k, then see what happens in November with the new visas.