The Department of Home Affairs will introduce a new temporary parent visa this year. The subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa is expected to open up for applications on 1 July 2019. Under this visa, sponsored parents will be permitted to stay in Australia for up to 5 years.
The visa is intended to be an alternative to the very short-term visitor’s visa and will provide parents with a way to reunite with their children and grandchildren over a sustained period of time. The migrant community has long been concerned over the limited number of permanent Parent visas. The Department is hoping this new temporary Parent visa will ease the pressure on the permanent Parent visa.
Children wishing to sponsor their parents for the 870 can submit an application to be a sponsor from April 17 2019. To be eligible to be a sponsor, the applicant must meet the following criteria:
- Have a sponsor/parent relationship. The parent must be biological, adoptive, or a step-parent where the step-parent must be in married/de facto relationship with a biological parent of the sponsor;
- Be at least 18 years of age;
- Be an Australian Citizen/permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who has been a resident in Australia for 4 years;
- Have met any prior sponsorship obligations;
- Have no debts to the Commonwealth or public health debts;
- Meet the minimum household income threshold. Sponsors will be financially responsible for their parents;
- Provide police clearances for any country they have spent more than 12 months cumulatively in during the past 10 years;
- Have no adverse information unless it is reasonable to disregard the information;
- Authorise information to be shared with the visa applicant.
The cost of the 870 will be $5,000 for a visa of up to 3 years duration, or $10,000 for a visa up to 5 years duration. There will only be 15,000 spots for the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa granted annually. This limitation means the visa application process will be very competitive; therefore it is important to submit a thorough application as soon as submissions open up.
If you want more information, or need help submitting an application for the 870 Temporary Parent visa give our office a call on 1300 066 267. Alternatively, book in for a free 20 minute consultation here.