The new Temporary 3, 5 or 10 year Parent visa

Commencement date: 17 April 2019.

The new Temporary Sponsored Parent visa will assist families to reunite while ensuring that taxpayers are not required to cover additional costs.

To be eligible for this visa (main issues): 

• Parents must be sponsored by a biological, adoptive or step-child who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. The sponsoring child must be 18 years old or older, must have lived in Australia for at least 4 years, must meet a household income requirement, must meet character requirements, and must accept legal liability for any debt owing for care in the public health system that the parent may incur during their stay in Australia;
• Temporary residents of Australia (holders of student visas, temporary skilled work visas, etc.) will not be able to sponsor their parents.
• The visa application process will involve two stages, with sponsors and parent applicants being assessed separately, and with approval of the child-sponsor required before a visa application can be made by the sponsor’s parents.
• Sponsor must have a minimum household taxable income threshold of $83,454.80
• Parents will be eligible for this new visa as stand-alone applicants, if their child is approved as a sponsor; they meet identity, health and character requirements as individual applicants, and do not owe outstanding debts for public health services they have received in Australia.
• However, applicants will be required to obtain and maintain health insurance for the entire period of their stay in Australia.
• There will be a limit that only 1 set of parents will be able to be sponsored at any given time.
• Step-parents will be eligible only if they continue to be in a married or de factor relationship with a biological parent of the sponsoring child.
• The “Balance of Family Test”, which has previously applied to other kinds of parent visas, will not be a criterion of the new temporary parent visa.
• There will be no English language requirement for the grant of the visa.
• The visas will be valid for a period of either 3 or 5 years, with the Visa Application Charge for the 3 year visa being $5,000 and the charge for the 5 year visa being $10,000.
• It will be possible to “renew” this visa. Must go off-shore for 90 days before can do so and the maximum period of stay that will be allowed under this program will be a total of 10 years (5 + 5).
• Holders of the visa will not be able to engage in paid work. They will be allowed to assist with childcare and to undertake unpaid volunteer activities. They will also be allowed to undertake informal, short-term study.

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