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Australian Parent Visa: Ultimate Guide 2018

Written by Marial Lewis on Jul 20, 2018 with 0 comments

Australian parent visa options

If you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen you may be able to bring your parents to live with you in Australia. This blog will discuss what options your parents will have if they want to migrate to Australia.

Can my parents come for a visit?

Your parents may be eligible to come for visits to Australia for up to 12 months per entry on a visitor visa. This can be a first step for your parents to check whether they like Australia and whether they want to consider a more permanent option. Another option is a temporary sponsored parent visa which allows for longer visits of 3 to 5 years. This visa was announced on 5 May 2017 but still has not come into effect yet.

General Criteria for Parent visas

The Balance of Family Test

How many children live in Australia?

The first question to ask before looking at the general streams for a parent visa is how many children your parents have. The main requirement is that at least 50% of the children are settled in Australia on permanent visas/or as Australian citizens. For example if your parents have 3 children in total, at least 2 have to be living in Australia permanently and have settled here for at least 2 years.

Who is counted as a child?

It sounds like a straightforward question however it can be tricky in some circumstances. A child or a step child of the parent or the current partner of the parent is counted in the Balance of Family Test formula. Adopted children are generally considered children as per Australian law.

Who can sponsor your parents for a parent visa?

In order for your parents to qualify for one of the following visas, they will need to be sponsored either by one of their settled Australian children or their children in law. The main requirements for a sponsor are:

the child of the applicant or the child’s cohabiting partner;
over the age of 18; and
a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

There are some exceptions and rules if the sponsor does not fit under the above requirements. Also there could be limitations if the sponsor sponsored someone previously. If you wish to sponsor your parents for a visa, contact a migration agent or a lawyer to assess your eligibility.

Parent visa options

If your parent and you as the sponsor meet the above requirements, you can then move to choose which parent visa will be the best option. Onshore applications can be lodged if your parent(s) is/are physically in Australia while offshore applications means that your parent(s) is/ are outside of Australia at the time the application is lodged.

	Aged Parent Visa- Onshore	Aged Parent Visa- Offshore	Contributory Parent Visa- Onshore	Contributory Parent Visa- Offshore
Visa Subclass	804- Permanent	103- Permanent	884- Temporary 864- Permanent	173- Temporary 143- Permanent
Requirements	Meet age pension requirements in Australia- currently 65 years old and 6 months. meet the balance of family test have an assurance of support meet health and character requirements have a sponsor.	Meet the balance of family test have an assurance of support Meet health and character requirements Have a sponsor	Meet age pension requirements in Australia- currently 65 years old and 6 months. meet the balance-of-family test meet health and character requirements have an assurance of support have a sponsor.	Meet the balance of family test have an assurance of support meet health and character requirements have a sponsor.
Bridging Visa granted?	Yes Can only apply for this visa if the parents are in Australia on an eligible visa without condition ‘8503- no further stay’.	No	Yes Can only apply for this visa is the parents are in Australia on an eligible visa without condition ‘8503- no further stay’.	No
Cost	4,035 for primary applicant $2020 for secondary applicant over 18	4,035 for primary applicant $2020 for secondary applicant over 18	Costs varies but around: $60,000 for one parent $110,000 for both parents	Costs varies but around: $60,000 for one parent $110,000 for both parents
Processing Time	Up to 30 years	Up to 30 years	Unavailable due to a low volume	44-56 months as of July 2018.
Pros	Cheaper option. Allow for the parent to be in Australia while the application is being processed. Can include dependent children.	NIL	Takes a shorter time to be processed. Allow for the parent to be in Australia while the application is being processed. Can apply for the temporary one first then the permanent if money is an issue. Can include dependent children.	Takes a shorter time to be processed. Can apply for the temporary one first then the permanent if money is an issue. Can include dependent children.
Cons	Very long. May never see the visa. Cannot travel outside of Australia easily.	No point of applying for this visa as it will take very long to finalise with no benefits.	Very expensive	Very expensive. Parent will wait overseas while the application is being processed.

Assurance of Support

An assurance of support is a scheme introduced by the Australian government to prevent the Australian community to be responsible for welfare and centrelink payments for certain migrants. The reason for this scheme is to shift the cost of living to the sponsors.

Under the assurance of support, an assurer becomes legally responsible to provide financial support to an applicant applying to migrate to Australia (assuree) so that they do not have to rely on the social welfare system. The way the government asks for that assurance is by taking a sum of money upfront which can be refundable in a few years’ time. The period of the assurance of support for the contributory parent category visas is 10 years. If your parents then rely on welfare payments then that assurance of support amount will not be refunded.

Assurance of support is compulsory on nearly all parent visa applications. Not everyone can be an assurer. You will have to meet the income requirements announced by the government during that time.

Useful tips

Your parents will have to meet the health requirement to be granted the visa.
You will have to disclose correct information to the Department otherwise the visa may be refused or cancelled later on.

About the author

This article was written by Marial Lewis. Marial is an admitted lawyer in Australia and holds a double degree in Commerce and Law as well as a Master degree in Legal Practice. She was awarded John Gibson Young Migration Lawyer of the year award in 2020 and was a finalist in multiple awards in 2019 such as 30 under 30, the Rising Star of the year and the Suburban Lawyer of the year.

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