Category Archives: 864 visas

Onshore parent visa applications – Changing tack from an 864 to an 804

804 visas, 864 visas

With processing times for Contributory Parent visa applications now extending to 12+ years many who have submitted applications for subclass 864 Contributory Aged Parent visas are questioning their visa strategy, and are considering withdrawing that application and applying for a subclass 804 non-Contributory Aged Parent visa.

There are though some practical issues that should be borne in mind.

In particular the issue of Bridging Visas and the ability to depart Australia and return should be understood before one withdraws an application for a subclass 864 visa and applies for an 804.

If you are in Australia as the holder of a Bridging Visa A that is in effect – ie is active – when you withdraw the 864 and apply for an 804 you do not hold what is called a substantive visa when the subclass 804 visa application is lodged.

This means that you will be granted a Bridging Visa C when the subclass 804 visa application is receipted.

Unfortunately it is not then possible to apply for a Bridging Visa B if you subsequently want to depart Australia and return at a later date: applications for BVBs can only be made by those who hold a BVA or a BVB.

Strategy for those wanting to move onto an 804 application from an 864 might therefore be to leave Australia without a BVB.

Apply for a tourist visa (eg a subclass 651 eVisitor if you are a UK passport holder).

Then apply for the 804 visa once you have returned to Australia.

You will then be applying for the 804 as the holder of a substantive visa, facilitating the issuing of a BVA when the application for the 804 visa is receipted by the Department of Home Affairs.

If you are considering moving onto a subclass 804 visa application as a subclass 864 visa applicant there are clearly important steps to take.   Go Matilda Visas is experienced in the handling of parent visas – if you think you need help with your parent visa application we’ll be pleased to have an initial high level chat with you, and to send details of our fees.

 

Immigration Minister Confirms Number of Parent Visas for the 2022/23 Program Year

103 visa, 143 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas,

The Australian Immigration Minister has confirmed the number of parent visas that can be granted for the program year ending on 30 June 2023.

By way of background, parent visas are subject to an annual capping of visa grant numbers; at this time of year it is customary for the Minister to confirm this by way of an Instrument.

Numbers are as follows:

Contributory Parent visas

A maximum of 6,800 visas may be granted for the 2022/23 financial year.

Of the maximum number of Contributory Parent visas a maximum of 112 visas may be granted to applicants for the Contributory Parent Visa Migrant, Class CA who hold or who last held SC 405 Investor Retirement or SC 410 Retirement visas.

Non Contributory Parent Visas

A maximum of 1,700 Parent visas may be granted in the 2022/23 financial year.

Of the maximum number of Non Contributory Parent visas a maximum of 13 visas may be granted to applicants for the Parent (Migrant) (Class AX) visa who hold or who last held C 405 Investor Retirement or SC 410 Retirement visas.

In Summary

The overall number of visas that can be granted for the program year ending on 30 June 2023 is therefore 8,500 – which is as announced by the Federal Government already.

We expect to see a flurry of activity in the next 5 weeks given the number of visa grants up to 30 April 2023 discussed in our previous blog.

Parent visas granted to date in Program Year 2022/23, ending on 30 June 2023

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

Go Matilda Visas has details of the number of parent visas granted from 1 July 2022 to the end of April 2023.

Parent, subclass 103 1,276
Aged Parent, subclass 804 43
Contributory Parent, subclass 143 5,627
Contributory Parent (Temporary), subclass 173 322
Contributory Aged Parent, subclass 864 80
Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary), subclass 884 less than 5
   
TOTAL 7,348

The migration program planning level for parents for the program year to 30 June 2023 is 8,500 – so we anticipate a further 1,000+ parent visa grants before the end of next month.

Subject of course to any reduced cap that the Immigration Minister might place on parent visa numbers for the 2022/23 program year.

Go Matilda Visas is a pro-active firm of migration advisors that takes a particular interest in parent visas being sought by those with a child or children residing in Australia.

If you require assistance with a parent visa application and would like an initial free chat please complete the enquiry form on this page.

 

Just In! The Latest Statistics Regarding Contributory Parent Visa applications

143 visas, 173 visas, 864 visas, 884 visas

Here is our latest update on the number of Contributory Parent visa applications, following a recent Freedom of Information request of the Department of Home Affairs.

More specifically we have obtained details of the number of Contributory Parent visa applications that are on hand now (January 2023), analysed into the month in which applications were submitted, up to November 2022.

Details of the number of CPV applications broken down between the number submitted each month are shown in this pdf document.

These details have been uploaded into a data set in our Parent Visa Calculator – together with a data set of CP visa applications as at August 2022.

You can access the Parent Visa Calculator here.

Of particular note is the increase in the number of on hand CP visa applications from 77,451 in mid-August 2022 to 80,099 now.

This indicates that in spite of an uptick in CP visa processing following the recently announced increased parent visa quota for the current program year the waiting time for the granting of visas to newly submitted Contributory Parent visa applications will continue to trend upwards.

In the absence of a sustained increase in the number of CP visa grants annually we see processing times for CP visa applications lodged now pushing out beyond 10 years.

An option for subclass 103 and 804 parent visa applicants – Ministerial Direction 83

103 visa, 143 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas

Note: Ministerial Direction 83 was replaced by Ministerial Direction 103 on 9 February 2023.    There have been no changes to the issues discussed below as a result of MD103 coming into force.

As many applicants for Australian parent visas know, there is a choice available when submitting an application: apply for a non-Contributory parent visa (subclass 103 or 804) or for a Contributory parent visa (usually subclass 143 or 864).

The non-Contributory parent visa option is cheaper, but expected application processing times are such that most will not live long enough to see the visa being granted – over 30 years is the present expectation.

Nevertheless many apply for non-Contributory parent visas.   Some do so because they are unaware of the expected visa application processing time.

Others lodge an application for a subclass 103 or 804 visa application and some time later wish they had submitted an application for a Contributory parent visa.

This is where Ministerial Direction 83 can save the day.

Section 7 of the Direction includes the following:

(2)  To ensure fairness and equity in the processing of parent visa applications, the principle of processing applications for Family visas in the order in which they are received by the Department is to be departed from in the following circumstances:

(a) if before lodging a Contributory Parent (classes CA and Class UT) or Contributory Aged Parent (classes DG and UU) visa application the applicant had an unfinalised Parent (Class AX) or Aged Parent (Class BP) visa application, then the date of lodgement of the Contributory Parent or Contributory Aged Parent visa application should be deemed to be the date of lodgement of the unfinalised Parent or Aged Parent visa application.

In other words the date the non-Contributory parent visa application was lodged is deemed to be the date on which a subsequent Contributory parent visa application is lodged.

Note: Migration Regulations permit only 1 x application for one of these parent visas to be awaiting a decision at any given time

So if an application for (say) a subclass 804 visa application was lodged on 1st June 2014 a subsequent application for a subclass 864 visa application this month (September 2022) will be deemed to have been submitted on 1st June 2014.

Such an application would move to the front of the processing queue given the Parent Visa Centre is presently assessing applications that were lodged in the second half of calendar year 2016.

The same outcome can be achieved by subclass 103 visa applicants who move to an onshore Contributory Aged Parent visa application under subclass 864, making use of Ministerial Direction 83.

Parent visa processing times are now significant – even Contributory parent visa applications are taking many years to be decided.  A strategy for those who are not yet aged (as defined – 66.5 presently; 67 for those born on or after 1 January 1957) and hence cannot presently apply for an onshore parent visa might therefore be to apply for a subclass 103 parent visa now, and to apply for a subclass 864 visa when the aged requirement is met.

The lodgement date of the subclass 103 parent visa application will then be deemed to be the lodgement date of the subclass 864 visa application.

Note: the 1st Visa Application Charge has to be paid again when such a strategy is adopted.

Go Matilda Visas is a proactive Australian visa advisory practice.    We have been helping parents apply for visas for over 20 years and work with clients to develop visa strategies that are innovative and relevant to the needs of our clients.

If you are a parent with a child or children living in Australia and would like to discuss 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.