A question we are being asked regularly now the subclass 804 Aged Parent visa has been re-opened for new applicants relates to the availability of Medicare once a Bridging Visa has been granted.

To recap, once a valid Aged Parent visa application has been lodged a Bridging Visa A will be granted straightaway – at the time of writing BVAs are being issued by the Parents Visa Centre within 3 business days of the application being lodged.

Our understanding is that upon production of the Bridging Visa grant advice from the Department of Immigration at a local Medicare office a temporary Medicare card will be issued with a 5 year validity period, where the visa applicant previously resided in a country which has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia.

See here for a list of countries which have a RHCA agreement with Australia.

Anecdotally we have been advised by our clients that they have been told there are no Medicare restrictions attaching to this card.

In other words, the same entitlements to Medicare are available to BVA holders with an 804 visa application in the system as are available to the generality of Australian citizens and permanent residents.

We recommend that those who are concerned about the extent of Medicare cover should contact Medicare Eligibility, and not the local Medicare office. Send an email to us if you would like a phone number in this regard.

The Motion to disallow the Instrument withdrawing the Parent and Aged Parent visas has been successful!

This means that it is now possible to apply for Parent and Aged Parent visas again (subclasses 103 and 804), allowing couples with children in Australia to seek a permanent residency visa for some $80k less than was the case while the Contributory Parent visas were the only option – until the Government decides to close the pathway again.

Complete the enquiry form at this webpage if you want to apply for a subclass 103 (Parent) or 804 (Aged Parent) visa. We’ll be delighted to help.

Due to time constraints the Disallowance Motion against the Migration Amendment (Repeal of Certain Visa Classes) Regulation 2014 was not made yesterday and will occur at around 11.50am Canberra time today.

You can watch the Senate by clicking on the “Live” button on the Senate side of the APH website.

As readers of our blog will know, a Disallowance Motion is scheduled to be discussed and voted upon during tomorrow’s Senate sitting, Weds 24th of September, 2014.

If the Motion is successful the Instrument preventing the lodgement of applications under subclasses 103 and 804 will be void, which will allow applications for these visa subclasses to be submitted again.

News reaches us via the Migration Institute of Australia that if the Motion is successful the Department of Immigration has advised there will be a six month window to again lodge these applications.

This is because a new Regulation that has the same effect as a disallowed Regulation cannot be made within the six months following the Disallowance.

The Department has advised the MIA that if the Disallowance Motion is successful all the Parent and Other Family visa categories will be open to applications from that moment.

GM Parents – a division of Go Matilda Visas – is ready to assist with the preparation and lodgement of applications for subclass 103 and subclass 804 visas if the Motion is successful, and we already have applications ready to lodge.

If you are interested in lodging an application for a Parent or Aged Parent visa and want to be at the front of the inevitable surge in new applications if the Motion is successful please complete the enquiry form on this page and request a no obligation fixed fee proposal in the text box.

We will bring news of the Disallowance Motion at the GM Parents blog as soon as we have it to hand.

Regular readers of the blog on this website will know that the non Contributory Parent (subclass 103) and Aged Parent (subclass 804) visas ceased to be available to new applicants from early June 2014.

The mechanism by which this was done was what is called a Legislative Instrument, which was approved by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.

The validity of this Instrument is being challenged in the Senate of the Federal Parliament by Senator Hanson-Young of the Green Party. Senator Hanson-Young has introduced a Disallowance Motion into the Senate, which was originally planned to be debated on the 2nd of September, 2014.

It is now scheduled to be debated on Weds 24th of September.

Those who follow politics in Australia will know that the Coalition Government in the lower House (the House of Representatives) has faced problems securing the agreement of the Senate to much of its legislation.

Indeed, a Disallowance Motion was passed in the Senate in July for a separate Legislative Instrument.

Should the Motion next week be successful the Instrument preventing the lodgement of applications under subclasses 103 and 804 will be void, which will allow applications for these visa subclasses to be submitted again – though perhaps for a limited time if the Government seeks to close off applications through an alternative means.

The potential saving for applicants who would otherwise apply for a Contributory Parent visa could be some A$80k per couple if the Disallowance Motion is passed.

GM Parents – a division of Go Matilda Visas – is preparing application paperwork for subclasses 103 and 804 in anticipation of the Motion being successful. We are charging a relatively notional fee for this exercise, as the Motion may not be successful.

If you are interested in having a subclass 103 or 804 visa application prepared in anticipation of the Motion being successful please contact us as soon as possible: telephone your nearest GM Parents office, or complete the enquiry form on this page.