The address for the delivery of parent visa applications has been confirmed in a new Legislative Instrument.
The postal address is:
Parent Visa Centre
Locked Bag 7
NORTHBRIDGE
WA 6865
Courier deliveries are to be sent to:
Parent Visa Centre
Wellington Central
Ground Floor
836 Wellington Street
WEST PERTH
WA 6005
Parent visa applications (including Contributory Parent visa applications) must be sent to the correct address.
The Department of Immigration has released information about the number of visas granted during the 2016/17 program year – ie for the year to 30 June 2017.
Disappointingly, the number of parent visas actually granted during that year was some 1,112 less than had been announced by the Department when the migration program was announced at the start of the program year.
This represents a 13% shortfall in the number of visas granted, which in our experience is an unprecedented failure to deliver the program of parent visas.
We have not seen any other announcements regarding program numbers, so we are seeking an explanation from Canberra as to what has led to this outcome.
At a time when there is such a high demand for parent visas it is most disappointing to learn of such a shortfall.
Indeed, based on second Visa Application Charges alone 1,112 visas represents over A$40m in revenues foregone by the Australian Government.
Detailed numbers for 2016/17
Is it perhaps that the Australian Government is slowing down the granting of parent visas to encourage more to take up the temporary parent visa when it becomes available?
For reference, the number of parent visas included in the migration program for 2017/18 is the same as was budgeted in 2016/17.
As we await the much anticipated introduction of the new temporary parent visa – scheduled for introduction this month – it is a good time to summarise what we know about the obligations and requirements to be met by a child who is to sponsor a new temporary parent visa application.
The Department of Immigration has already advised that the sponsor will need to:
In respect of the character requirements we anticipate that these will follow the changes that were introduced for partner and prospective marriage visa applicants in November 2016.
Before the new visa is introduced some legislation is also required to become law. This is presently sitting in the Upper House (the Senate) in the form of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016.
Among other things, this Bill will separate the role of the sponsor from the visa applicant, such that once it becomes law the sponsor of a parent visa will be required to be approved by the Department of Immigration before the visa application is lodged.
At the present time the application for approval of sponsorship by the child of a parent visa applicant is lodged at the same time as the parent visa application.
We are also expecting that for the new temporary parent visa the application for approval as a sponsor and the subsequent visa application by the parent will be submitted to the Department of Immigration electronically.
Check back here regularly at the Go Matilda Parent Visas Blog for more information about Australian’s new temporary visa for parents!
A tracker website for Australian parent visa applications – sponsored by Go Matilda Parent Visas – is now live!
The site allows you to enter details of the key stages in your parent visa application, and to track the timeline of other visa applications lodged with the Department of Immigration’s Parent Visa Centre.
We hope you will find the tracker site helpful, whether you have a parent visa application already lodged, or are planning to submit a parent visa application.
News reaches us of a surge in the number of parent visa applications lodged at the Parents Visa Centre in the last month.
The receipting of offshore visa applications (subclasses 143 and 173) is therefore taking longer than usual, and a delay in receiving the acknowledgment of delivery and a file reference of 4 to 6 weeks can be expected.
Onshore visa applications continue to be receipted quickly, as they must due to the need for the granting of Bridging Visas.
We anticipate the surge in the number of applications has been a result of concerns about a significant increase in the Visa Application Charges in the lead up to the Federal Budget, following the release of a Productivity Commission report last year.
