All posts by Alan Collett

Parent visa numbers – Ukrainian visa processing

103 visa, 143 visas, 173 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas, 884 visas, ,

The Immigration Minister in the previous Australian Federal Government announced earlier this year that visas for Ukrainian nationals would be processed as a priority.

This has been given effect by Ministerial Direction number 98.

We have received confirmation from the Department of Home Affairs that there has been no increase in the total number of parent visas available for Program Year 2022-23 at this time, which presently remains at 6,000 in total across the Contributory and non-Contributory visa categories.

The Retirement Visa Pathway to Permanent Residency – Latest Details

103 visa, 143 visas

The Retirement Pathway to permanent residency was introduced in 2018 for subclass 410 and 405 temporary visa holders.

Under this pathway holders of subclass 410 and 405 visas can apply for permanent visas under subclass 143 or 103.

Since this Pathway was introduced subclass 143 visa applications have been processed quickly; applicants for subclass 103 visas – the cheaper option – have been waiting to hear from the Department of Home Affairs.

At the time the Pathway was introduced the indications were that Pathway applicants for 103 visas should expect to have a wait of 4 or so years.

We await news as to the commencement of processing of these visas.

In the meantime we can advise the following details, which we have received following a Freedom of Information request of the Australian Government:

As at 31 July 2022 there were on hand 207 Parent (Subclass 103) and 14 Contributory Parent (Subclass 143) visa applications for the Retirement Pathway.

 

Subclass 870 visa applications: The latest statistics from Go Matilda Visas

870 visas,

We regularly make enquiry of the Australian Government to obtain details of parent visa applications in an effort to better understand what is happening with processing.

In this blog we provide details – see the table that can be downloaded below – of subclass 870 visa applications that are on hand at the Department of Home Affairs.

In summary, as at 17 August 2022 there were 1,087 x subclass 870 visa applications lodged with the Department where the visa application had been received on or before 31 July 2022.

Legislation allows for the granting of 15,000 of these visas during each program year to 30 June.

We therefore consider there is plenty of scope for current and intending applicants to be granted subclass 870 visas – any delay in these visas being granted is not due to the cap on the number of visas.

Rather, we believe that any delay in processing these visas to a decision is a function of information not being delivered to the Department by visa applicants – we believe this is likely to account for visa applications that are more than 6 months old.

The remainder – from roughly March 2022 onwards – appear to reflect the resourcing of processing at the Department.

Indeed, it appears that if the Department is minded to allocate resources to quickly facilitate the granting of all the subclass 870 visa applications presently on hand we consider there will still be a significant number of visas available to accommodate subclass 870 visa applications that are submitted over the coming months, given the annual ceiling on subclass 870 visas of 15,000.

Parents – subclass 870 visa applications – on hand up to 31 July 2022 – at 17 August 2022

Go Matilda Visas is a proactive Australian visa advisory practice.    We have been helping parents apply for visas for over 20 years and are committed to supporting our parent visa clients with visa strategy and their visa applications so they can be reunited with their children.

If you are a parent with a child or children living in Australia and want help with a current or planned parent visa application please complete the enquiry form on this page.

We’ll be pleased to have a free initial conversation about your situation, after which we can send a no obligation fee proposal to you.

 

Alan’s Update on Contributory Parent Visa Processing

143 visas, 173 visas, 864 visas, 884 visas, , ,

Here are current expectations on the processing of Contributory Parent visas for the program year to 30 June 2023.

These are based on the number of parent visas announced for the 2022-23 program year in the last Federal Budget in March 2022.

Of course, we have since had a change of Government at the Federal level.   The first Labor Budget for the new administration is going to take place on 25 October, 2022 and it is very possible that we will see an uplift in total migration numbers.

Whether this will be focused on skilled migration only remains to be seen – as many will know there are skills shortages across the world and the needs of Australian businesses in terms of skilled visa numbers are being well publicised in the media.

Of course, many skilled migrants with parents residing overseas are more likely to return to the country in which their parents are living – eg in the event of ill health, or due to the pain of separation – so if the Australian Government is of a mind to adopt a holistic approach to skilled migration we consider that including a higher number of parent visas within the overall migration program would be in line with a desired outcome of attracting and retaining skilled migrants to Australia.

The 2022-23 Migration Program includes an allocation of 6,000 visas to parents.

This is further broken down into contributory parent visas (CPVs, subclasses 143, 173, 864, and 884) and non contributory parent visas (subclasses 103 and 804).

We presently anticipate an allocation of 500 visas to non CPVs, and 5,500 to CPVs.

Go Matilda Visas requests information from the Department of Home Affairs periodically as to the number of visa applications on hand broken down into the month the visa application was received.

The latest such information we have is as at 31 March 2022.

A schedule detailing the number of CPV applications is below.

We have assumed 10% of CPV applications will not progress to grant.   This may be due to the withdrawal of the visa application, requirements not being met (eg health, Assurance of Support income test), or the death of the visa applicant.

Given these assumptions we expect individuals with CPV applications lodged in the months up to November 2016 to receive communications from the Parent Visa Centre leading to visa grants over the period to 30 June 2023.

https://www.gm-parent-visas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CPV-expectations-2022_23_2.pdf

Go Matilda Visas is a proactive Australian visa business, with the bulk of our client base being family visa applications.

We advocate for greater transparency on the part of the Department of Home Affairs in the processing of visa applications, and for parent visa applicants in particular.

Please complete the enquiry form on this page if you are an intending parent visa applicant, are living in Australia and have a parent residing overseas who you want to join you, or have lodged a parent visa application and need some help.

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Subclass 870 Visa Holders – Condition 8501 – Requirement to Maintain Health Insurance – RHCA Relaxation

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Condition 8501 is required to be included on all subclass 870 Sponsored Parent Temporary Visas.  

This condition requires the visa holder to maintain adequate health insurance for the duration of their stay in Australia.

However, Department of Home Affairs policy guidance provides a relaxation for those who can access Medicare under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA).

At the current time Australia has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCAs) with eleven countries, being the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia and the Republic of Ireland.

The provisions of RHCAs vary, and frequently entitle residents of these countries to obtain a RHCA-specific Medicare card and to receive access to limited subsidised health services for medically necessary treatment while visiting Australia.

It should be noted that simply being a citizen of a country that has a RHCA with Australia may not necessarily entitle a person to access Medicare –  Services Australia is responsible for determining a person’s eligibility to enrol in Medicare under a RHCA.

Importantly for subclass 870 visa holders who have arrived in Australia from a RHCA country if the 870 visa holder has enrolled with Medicare and holds a valid Medicare card issued under a RHCA the Department considers they meet the minimum requirements for adequate arrangements for health insurance given the RHCA covers the visa holder for the entirety of their stay in Australia.

Individuals who have not yet enrolled in Medicare under a RHCA must obtain private health insurance even if they are entitled to Medicare.

In other words private health insurance must be maintained by a subclass 870 visa holder while in Australia until s/he has enrolled in the Medicare system under the applicable RHCA.

A couple of specific additional points:

  • Citizens of the Republic of Ireland are not eligible to receive a Medicare card but can access certain Medicare services by presenting their passport. Therefore, for citizens of the Republic of Ireland, the Department considers that evidence of an Irish passport is sufficient to meet the requirement for adequate health insurance.
  • Those who are residents and citizens of Malta or Italy are eligible for a reciprocal Medicare card only for the first six months of their stay in Australia.  This is sufficient to meet the requirement to have adequate arrangements for health insurance at the visa application stage, but these persons will need to make adequate arrangements for health insurance once they cease to be eligible for reciprocal health care to satisfy condition 8501.