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.