Aged Parent (Residence) Visa (Subclass 804)

[paulimouse]

Could anyone possibly answer a couple of questions for me. We are looking at applying for a Aged parent (804) visa for my parents soon and was wondering when the Assurance of Support bond is required? Is it paid right in the beginning when the application is submitted? Are there any other costs involved when submitting the initial application other then the fee for the visa.. and the 1st instalment of $2960 - is that per parent or a total amount? Also do the medicals and character checks have to be done when submitting the application or at what stage?

 

Anyone who can assist I really appreciate it… Thanks

[paulimouse]

Any parents out there who can please answer my questions?

[Aerotony]

paulimouse,

I applied for an 804 on behalf of my wife and myself in early September 2011 having entered Australia at the end of August on 3 month 767 visitor visas and have received advise that a bridging visa has been granted.

My understanding is that our bridging visas start at the end of November 2011 when our 3 month visas expire and the $2960 covered both of us as an up-front fee with the application.

We have yet to be assigned a case officer and medical/character checks will take place some time after that when the case officer requires the checks to be done.

It is my understanding that the assurance of support bond is only required when the 804 is granted several years (7?, 10?, 20?) in the future.

 

I am open to correction on any of these points but to the best of my knowledge this is correct, and I trust that it has been of some help,

Tony

[paulimouse]

Thanks Tony, very helpful

[paulimouse]

Tony - do you think there are any other cons to this visa other then not being able to work and paying high private health whilst on a bridging visa?

[Aerotony]

Paulimouse,

Regarding "cons" of the 804 visa, I guess that payments can be made out of income with a view to conserving capital.

 

At my age I have no intention of working but I understand that it is possible to apply for permission to work in the case of extreme hardship.

 

Regarding health cover my wife and I are currently in a good state of health and one course of action is not to take out expensive private insurance, but to set aside the equivalent as a cash reserve in case of emergency.

I am still working on this aspect and will consult with Medibank to see if we can pay only for dental cover ( since we are currently paying for private UK dental cover) and ambulance cover whilst we are on a bridging visa and are eligible for limited cover under the reciprocal health agreement between Australia and the UK.

Could be a risky strategy so it will need more research.

 

Any input from other 804 visa holders would be welcome,

Tony

[NickyNook]

I'd have thought the major 'con' is the risk you have of waiting out the 10-15 years only to find that you fail the medical (because by then you're 10-15 years older and frailer), so get refused the visa and then have to leave the country at an advanced age and return to your home country alone.

[Aerotony]

I'd have thought the major 'con' is the risk you have of waiting out the 10-15 years only to find that you fail the medical (because by then you're 10-15 years older and frailer), so get refused the visa and then have to leave the country at an advanced age and return to your home country alone.

 

NickyNook,

It always helps to look on the bright side!

Who knows what will happen in ten or fifteen years time?

Given that 804 visa applicants are at least 65 years old at the time of applying for this visa, one is equally likely to be dead!

 

To be serious I believe this issue has been raised in other postings.

One scenario is that there is an appeal procedure and there is reason to believe that the authorities would be reluctant to send a frail elderly person back to the UK by themselves.

 

Only time will tell, but your viewpoint is certainly an incentive to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to keep fit and active.

Tony

[paulimouse]

I agree with you - mum is 68 and dad 72 so who knows if they will be around in 15 years time. But in the meantime they can be here with their only 2 children and 5 grandchildren rather then being stuck in another country on their own....

[Guest dundazi]

Hi there

I was under the understanding that the AOS was due for the first two years in case of being a burden on the state and then refunded if not having been a burden to the govt, after that it would then be a case of sit back 15/20 years.

In the case of the medicals would be interested to hear some views as We where given forms and addresses for medicaland X rays when we went to immi to make serious enquiries to getting the A.P. I therefore presumed this was something we did at the early stages of the application..

Also why would a Case officer be appointed if it wouldnt be granted till 20 years hence..? views please maureen

[johnbshepherd]

Just a couple of points about the 804 visa. I applied in September 2006 and provided documentation about balance-of-family, police records etc. After a delay of about six months I was asked to take a medical examination. After another long delay i was eventually assigned a queue date for the visa. There is a calculator on the DIAC web site with which you can find out how many people are in front of you. My queue date is May 30 2007 and at the moment (April 2012) there are 1990 people in front of me. At the moment DIAC aims to hand out 600 visas per year so at that rate I have about three and a half more years to go. That will add up to eight years from the queue date or nearly nine from first application. Sounds pretty bad but not as bad as the 15-20 year wait that DIAC claims. There is another medical examination before they actually hand out the visa. I don't know how strict the second medical is. Perhaps someone who has been through it could help.

 

Medical expenses while waiting need not be so bad. If you are from a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia (e.g. UK) you are entitled to the RHCA Medicare card while you are waiting. This carries benefits roughly equivalent to the NHS in England. They include subsidized prescription medicines and doctor visits and free treatment in public hospitals. The Assurance of support does not have to be paid before you reach the top of the queue. As far as I remember you have to name the person providing the support and that person must demonstrate that they can pay the bond if necessary.

Edited April 19, 2012 by johnbshepherd

[Aerotony]

Johnb,

Thanks for the information in the posting, above.

Further to my posting on page 1 of this thread I have yet to be assigned a Case Officer after a wait of nearly 7 months since applying for an 804 Visa, so no health/police checks to date, but I guess it will all unfold in due course.

 

I found that Medibank in Australia were very helpful in supplementing medical insurance cover in addition to the RHCA cover with the UK.

Dental insurance is my main concern and my wife had to seek some emergency dental work before the Medibank cover "kicked-in" but the costs were not prohibitive and the service was as good if not better than she had received from the private dental practice in the UK, and that was first class by UK

standards.

We were surprised that when we went for our (free) 'flu jabs recently the GP suggested (free) blood test and bone density scans, so all is not "doom and gloom" on the health care front.

Out come so far is that we have started taking vitamin D tablets. Obviously too much sun block has been used!

[mildygirl]

Hi All

 

On the subject of medicals - I posted a query on what turned out to be the wrong thread. I am hoping that someone might be able to advise me. We put the forms in for an aged parent's visa. They are now 89 years old, and after 21 months of waiting, we just wonder how much longer we are going to have to wait for the medicals and police check. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

Kindest regards

 

Mildy

[Aerotony]

Hi All

 

On the subject of medicals - I posted a query on what turned out to be the wrong thread. I am hoping that someone might be able to advise me. We put the forms in for an aged parent's visa. They are now 89 years old, and after 21 months of waiting, we just wonder how much longer we are going to have to wait for the medicals and police check. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

Kindest regards

 

Mildy

 

Mildy,

Re: your posting above have your aged parents been assigned to a Case Officer?

According to a previous posting by Gollywobbler there is a possibility that initial medical checks may no longer be obligatory.

Can anyone confirm?

please,

Tony

[mildygirl]

Hi Tony

 

Thank you for the reply. I've been hunting for the post you mention but it appears that I am not much good with the search engine on here as I've spent a couple of hours trying every which way, and can't find a posting that mentions it! Please, do you happen to be able to point me in the right direction? It would be brilliant if it was right, and that she doesn't have to have a medical - at turned 89 now, we are concerned that the longer it goes on, the more likely she is to fail it because she has certainly become much more frail in the (almost) two years that she has been here. We've heard nothing since the grant of her bridging visa, no case officer and no correspondence at all. Frankly, although she is still reasonably healthy with no known issues, we are not expecting her to be around in 15-20 years time for the actual grant of the visa and it would be brilliant if she doesn't need a medical.

 

Best wishes

 

Mildy

[johnbshepherd]

Hi Mildygirl

 

I am not an expert on this subject but at least I have been through the process and my experience may help. The posting by Gollywobbler is actually on a different site but you can find it at this address - about two thirds of the way down the page

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/adelaide-migration-issues/4509-cheap-parent-visas-part-i-11.html

 

Until fairly recently there were two medicals associated with the Aged Parent visa. One was asked for at the beginning of the process. If you passed that medical and provided the other documentation - proof of balance of family, police checks etc. - you were assigned a queue date and settled down to wait for somewhere between eight and ten years until you reached the head of the queue. Then when you reached the front of the queue you had to pass another medical and renew your police certificates before you finally got the visa.

 

I went through the first stage in 2006-07, I was assigned a case officer within a few days of first applying and it took about six months between first application and taking the first medical. I then had to wait about two years before I was given a queue date although it was back-dated to April 2007. There are still about 1800 people in front of me in the queue.

 

Recently some strange things seem to be happening. There is some suggestion that the first medical is no longer required. Gill, who posts under the name Gollywobbler, has seen a DIAC document from a couple of years ago that says they were considering abolishing it but neither of us has been able to confirm that this has actually happened. The second medical is certainly still required. You can get a booklet from this address

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1129.pdf

 

 

which explains about medical requirements (amongst other things).

 

The second strange thing is that the parent centre has recently been very slow at assigning queue dates. Several people who have applied since I did have said that they have been waiting for up to two years without being assigned a case officer or being asked to take a medical. Whether this is simply because the parent centre is overworked or whether it means there has been a change in policy I really do not know.

 

 

Best Regards

 

JBS

Edited May 12, 2012 by johnbshepherd
typos

[Aerotony]

Hi Mildygirl

 

I am not an expert on this subject but at least I have been through the process and my experience may help. The posting by Gollywobbler is actually on a different site but you can find it at this address - about two thirds of the way down the page

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/adelaide-migration-issues/4509-cheap-parent-visas-part-i-11.html

 

Until fairly recently there were two medicals associated with the Aged Parent visa. One was asked for at the beginning of the process. If you passed that medical and provided the other documentation - proof of balance of family, police checks etc. - you were assigned a queue date and settled down to wait for somewhere between eight and ten years until you reached the head of the queue. Then when you reached the front of the queue you had to pass another medical and renew your police certificates before you finally got the visa.

 

I went through the first stage in 2006-07, I was assigned a case officer within a few days of first applying and it took about six months between first application and taking the first medical. I then had to wait about two years before I was given a queue date although it was back-dated to April 2007. There are still about 1800 people in front of me in the queue.

 

Recently some strange things seem to be happening. There is some suggestion that the first medical is no longer required. Gill, who posts under the name Gollywobbler, has seen a DIAC document from a couple of years ago that says they were considering abolishing it but neither of us has been able to confirm that this has actually happened. The second medical is certainly still required. You can get a booklet from this address

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1129.pdf

 

 

which explains about medical requirements (amongst other things).

 

The second strange thing is that the parent centre has recently been very slow at assigning queue dates. Several people who have applied since I did have said that they have been waiting for up to two years without being assigned a case officer or being asked to take a medical. Whether this is simply because the parent centre is overworked or whether it means there has been a change in policy I really do not know.

 

 

Best Regards

 

JBS

Hi

 

JBS,

Thanks for the links in your posting.

I knew that there was a posting on pomsinadelaide but it would have taken me ages to find it.

Two years without a case officer seems a long time but who am I to complain?

Tony

[Aerotony]

Hi

 

JBS,

Thanks for the links in your posting.

I knew that there was a posting on pomsinadelaide but it would have taken me ages to find it.

Two years without a case officer seems a long time but who am I to complain?

Tony

 

Further inquiry through the local Federal M.P. office indicates that February 2009 applications for the 804 Visa are currently being dealt with.

This is a backlog of 2yrs 4 months rather than 2 years but again, who am I to complain?

The significance of the QUEUE NUMBER had escaped me until now.

Tony

[staffyfee]

Hi,

Can anybody tell me if it acceptable for my oh's parents to visit us in Australia on a tourist or visitor visa, and then to apply for an 804 aged parent visa while there? Are there any special circumstances that they would have to prove to justify why they applied while in Australia rather than from the UK?

 

We are a bit confused as if it is possible to do this, and stay in Oz on a bridging visa while waiting for your 804 then why isn't everyone doing it this way?

[Rupert]

Hi,

Can anybody tell me if it acceptable for my oh's parents to visit us in Australia on a tourist or visitor visa, and then to apply for an 804 aged parent visa while there? Are there any special circumstances that they would have to prove to justify why they applied while in Australia rather than from the UK?

 

We are a bit confused as if it is possible to do this, and stay in Oz on a bridging visa while waiting for your 804 then why isn't everyone doing it this way?

 

So no it is not "acceptable" in the sense that this is not the correct use of the tourist visa. However people have done it and got away with it...

 

The reason not everyone has done it, is because first of all it is not a legitimate path and there is always that risk of being turned away, especially if you turn up with ten suitcases each. Then there is an overall sense of limbo, having to get permission to leave the country for a holiday, only having reciprocal health cover (which might not suit a more elderly person).

[mildygirl]

Further inquiry through the local Federal M.P. office indicates that February 2009 applications for the 804 Visa are currently being dealt with.

This is a backlog of 2yrs 4 months rather than 2 years but again, who am I to complain?

The significance of the QUEUE NUMBER had escaped me until now.

Tony

 

Gentlemen - after some long gap, I am now back with a reply which I hope might be helpful.

 

It seems that the requirement for the first medical has not been changed. We applied (mother in law) in September 2010 if I recall correctly... nothing at all was heard until just before Christmas when she received notification that she was to attend for her medical. There was no mention of a case officer, but presumably this step means that she must now finally have got one. So that was 2 years and three months without hearing a thing.

 

Not being a great believer in coincidence, I found the following situation somewhat interesting - following a call from her GP surgery letting her know that her Medicare card had expired, we started the process of renewing it. Medicare refused to accept the letter from DIMIA stating that she was now on a Bridging Visa etc etc, and she must keep the letter as proof, blah blah, and insisted that she obtain an up to date letter. We did this through the Migration Agent - always very efficient I have to say - who contacted DIMIA for us....but in less than a week, mother in law had received her instruction to attend her medical! (And no sign of the letter she needs from them in order to renew her Medicare card!)

 

So - we have sent off for the Police Checks (got the Australian one back, still waiting for the UK one), and she has had her medical. It was surprisingly good, given her very advanced age (she's 90), just some (according to the Govt doctor) very minor heart issues associated with a previously high BP which has been under control for some five years now; we now sit and wait. It's all been sent off, but I have no idea how we find out whether the Department's medics will require more information or whether she will be now placed in the queue.

 

Hope this bit of information is helpful to someone!

[johnbshepherd]

It does not seem to be possible to apply for the 804 visa from outside Australia so everyone who has applied for this particular visa has used some variation of this procedure. The important thing is that you can only apply for the visa if you are legitimately present in Australia for some other purpose. I was here on a 410 (temporary Retirement) visa when I applied for the 804 but that route is now closed so just about the only way for an elderly person to be legitimately present in Australia is as a tourist.

 

If your in-laws come to visit you they can legitimately enter Australia for the purpose of tourism on a tourist visa. If they then decide that they like it here and wish to stay permanently there is nothing illegitimate or illegal about that and they can apply for the 804 visa provided they satisfy the other conditions - balance of family etc. If all goes well they will be entitled to a bridging visa A almost immediately.This allows them to stay in Oz until the 804 application is settled - about 8-9 years at present. The bridging visas will not take effect until their existing visas - the tourist visas - expire so they can travel in and out of Australia freely as tourists until then. Once the original visas expire they will need a bridging visa B to go on holiday outside Australia. This is difficult to arrange but not impossible. Reciprocal Health Care cover (RHCA) is about equivalent to the NHS in England. The main thing not covered is treatment in private hospitals (or private treatment in public hospitals). I have relied on it for years and found it perfectly adequate. If you don't think the cover is good enough then several of the insurance companies offer visitors' health insurance, although it is fairly expensive

 

Regards

 

John

 

 

Hi,

Can anybody tell me if it acceptable for my oh's parents to visit us in Australia on a tourist or visitor visa, and then to apply for an 804 aged parent visa while there? Are there any special circumstances that they would have to prove to justify why they applied while in Australia rather than from the UK?

 

We are a bit confused as if it is possible to do this, and stay in Oz on a bridging visa while waiting for your 804 then why isn't everyone doing it this way?

[mildygirl]

The Assurance of support does not have to be paid before you reach the top of the queue. As far as I remember you have to name the person providing the support and that person must demonstrate that they can pay the bond if necessary.

 

Hi John

Just managed to get back on the site after an op and various other issues. With regard to your above statement, please can I clarify - at what point did you have to name the person providing the support, requiring them to demonstrate they can pay the bond? We'd understood that nothing at all was done re the AoS until it was actually called for! Kind regards!

[johnbshepherd]

There is a very long thread about the who;e question of the 804 visa on a sister site (pomsinadelaide) at

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/adelaide-migration-issues/4509-cheap-parent-visas-part-i-12.html

 

Gill who posts under the name Gollywobbler knows far more about this subject than I do but most details about the 804 visa have been discussed in this thread already

 

Cheers

 

John

[johnbshepherd]

Hi Mildygirl

 

Our daughter is our sponsor and provider of support. I honestly cannot remember when I had to name her but certainly nobody has contacted her yet to make sure that she can provide the necessary support. Like you I assume that this comes at the last stage when they are actually thinking about awarding the visa. For us this stage will be reached sometime next year (2014) and I will keep the board informed when we reach that stage.

 

Cheers

 

John