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.

With processing times for subclass 143 and 173 visa applications now extending beyond 30 months many applicants are considering how they can spend time in Australia while awaiting a decision on their visa application.

The introduction of a new temporary parent visa scheduled for November 2017 may provide a solution – albeit one that is relatively costly – but in any event visitor visas may be a more agreeable and less financially risky option for parent visa applicants that want to spent time in Australia while a subclass 143 or 173 visa application is being processed.

More specifically, an application can be made for a subclass 600 visitor visa.

Department of Immigration policy is to grant a visitor visa with a 12 months stay permitted every 18 months:

Officers are encouraged to consider granting parents who have a history of compliant travel to Australia a Tourist stream visa with 3 year travel period, 12 month stay and multiple entry so that the parent can visit their family for longer periods on regular occasions.

Thus, subclass 143 and 173 visa applicants who have complied with the conditions attaching to previous visits to Australia – in particular, they have departed Australia before their previous visitor visas have expired – can anticipate a subclass 600 visitor visa being granted that allows for a stay of up to 12 months in every 18 months, with an arrival in Australia allowed at any time in the 3 years following the granting of the visitor visa.

Visa conditions that will attach to this visa will almost certainly include:

• 8501 – Must maintain health insurance
• 8503 – No further stay (ie no further visa application can be made while in Australia)
• 8558 – Maximum 12 months stay in 18 months
• 8101 – No work
• 8201 – Maximum 3 months study

In respect of private health cover, information about Overseas Visitors cover is available from these companies:

• BUPA
• Australian Unity

Following the Government’s confirmation of the introduction of a new temporary parent visa the issue that is by far the most concerning is the apparent need for parents to leave Australia after 10 years.

In other words, it will only be possible for a parent to have one renewal of a 5 year temporary parent visa.

Is the Government seriously proposing that an elderly parent will be required to leave Australia after living in Australia for 10 years?

While we acknowledge there are circumstances when this new visa will have a role to play – most notably allowing parents who have lodged an offshore Contributory Parent visa application under subclass 143 or 173 where application processing times are pushing out towards 3 years to come to Australia while their CP visa application is being processed – we think there are significant risks for parents who leave their home country for Australia, do not have a permanent residency visa pathway available, and who are expected to depart Australia 10 years later.

Given this new visa will place the risk of health costs on the parents and family in Australia we can see no reason for a limit on the number of times this visa can be renewed.

Representations are being made to the Minister’s office in an effort to relax the limitation on the duration an individual can hold a temporary parent visa, before it is included in the legislation later this year.

As readers of this blog will know, a new temporary visa for parents is being introduced by the Australian Government later this year.

One of the requirements of this visa will be for the person sponsoring the visa to pay for private health insurance, and to pay for any outstanding public health costs incurred by the visa holder.

Private health insurance with a suitable level of cover will therefore be a must have, in an effort to cap the costs of a health condition suffered by the visa holder.

While private health funds do not yet have cover for this specific visa there are offerings available, which provide an indicator of the cost of private health insurance.

More specifically, see details of the Overseas Visitors cover from these companies:

• BUPA
• Australian Unity

We suggest selecting 405 Investor Retirement as the visa type while we wait for the health funds to catch up with the new visa class.

While we await the migration legislation and underlying policy details, information about Australia’s new temporary parent visa is starting to become known through a Media Release issued by the Immigration Minister, and articles from relatively reliable sources in the online press.

So what do we now know?

• The new visa will be available to applicants from “late 2017” – which we understand to be November, 2017.
• This will be a temporary residency visa, with – the Government presently says – no direct pathway to permanent residency.
• The cost will be A$5,000 for a visa with a 3 year validity, or A$10,000 for a visa with a 5 year validity.
• A one off renewal of the 5 year validity visa will be available, allowing visa holders to remain in Australia for up to 10 years.
• Visa holders will be required to maintain private health insurance while they are in Australia.
• Sponsors will be required to sign an undertaking to meet any outstanding public health costs incurred by the visa holder.
• Visa holders will not be permitted to work in Australia.
• The balance of family test will not apply to this new visa.

Whether the requirement for parents of more senior years to depart Australia after 10 years is sustainable remains to be seen.

Indeed, we expect some difficulties for the Australian Government seeing these provisions through Parliament in their present format.  In our view some amendments are likely before the above provisions become law.

Further details are likely to be forthcoming following the Federal Budget tomorrow, and we will report back here with any information as soon as it becomes known.