Cheap Parent Visas Part I

[Guest Ian103]

Although the calculator may not be 100% correct it does show that we are moving up the queue, we have moved another 130 places since last month. Hope that your parents hear soon.

Ian

[MAMAROCK]

Although the calculator may not be 100% correct it does show that we are moving up the queue, we have moved another 130 places since last month. Hope that your parents hear soon.

Ian

Hi Ian

 

I hope so too....will certainly post once we hear from them.

thanks

mamarock

[Guest hopeless]

Does anybody know what is the best way to apply PR for parents at the moment? They all are capped and queued now. Even before the contribution visas were expensive and the non contribution would have taken time for ever. 10,12, 14 years. Is there any other way not just for parents something general that you can fit your parents in?

 

[MAMAROCK]

Hi

Wondering if anyone has any updates - have not seen the queue calculator change since early August. Hopefully will see a change in a few days

Mamarock

[johnbshepherd]

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young of the Greens has lodged a motion in the Senate to disallow the legislation which suspended new applications for non-contributory Parent visas (103 and 804). It will be debated on September 24. I don't suppose there is much chance of the motion being passed but it is just possible that there will be a brief window when applications are re-opened. It may be advisable for interested people to have their documents ready just in case.

 

Cheers

 

John

[johnbshepherd]

Further to my previous post on Senator Hanson-Young's motion, the senate did not reach that item on their agenda yesterday (Sept 24). They are expected to debate it at about 11:50 today (Thursday 25 Sept)

[Alan Collett]

Thanks John.

 

See also the GM Parents blog: http://www.gm-parent-visas.com/about-us/blog/

 

Best regards.

[johnbshepherd]

Senator Hanson-Young's motion was actually passed by the senate this morning!!. This means that it is again possible to apply for the 103 and 804 visas. This situation may not last for very long. I believe that Alan Collett and Go Matilda have prepared for this eventuality so anyone hoping to get their parents to Australia at least cost would do well to contact him immediately.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Alan Collett]

http://sarah-hanson-young.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/greens%E2%80%99-disallowance-saves-essential-family-and-carer-visas

 

Thanks John.

 

The Press Release from the Senator's office is here.

 

Best regards.

[Alan Collett]

http://parlview.aph.gov.au/mediaPlayer.php?videoID=238186&operation_mode=parlview

 

See the Motion being moved and discussed at 2:35:10 here ...

 

Best regards.

[TeeTMI]

Just to update this thread

 

Update on the Non-Contributory Parent, Aged dependent, Last Remaining Relative & Carer visas.

 

A motion was passed in Senate today to disallow the cessation of these visas and therefore these visa categories will now re-open.

 

Please note there are major expected waiting times for some of these options and the pros and cons in making an application deserve serious consideration. Plus there is the potential that the government will seek to find a way to cease these visas again, although there currently appears to be an expected window of at least 6 months.

 

Tee

[Alan Collett]

Message now updated on the DIBP website.

 

For example, at the Aged Parent subclass 804 page:

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/804.aspx

 

This visa was previously repealed and closed from 2 June 2014 until 25 September 2014. Applications are now accepted for this visa.

 

If you lodged an application during the period when the visa was repealed then you need to lodge a new application.

 

Good news for many, I think!

[Alan Collett]

Message now updated on the DIBP website.

 

For example, at the Aged Parent subclass 804 page:

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/804.aspx

 

This visa was previously repealed and closed from 2 June 2014 until 25 September 2014. Applications are now accepted for this visa.

 

If you lodged an application during the period when the visa was repealed then you need to lodge a new application.

 

Good news for many, I think!

[Gollywobbler]

Good for Senator Hanson-Young and very well done to Alan Collett and Johnshepherd. FWIW, I felt that Abbott was being too harsh. Also, do these various countries (including Australia and the UK) want skilled immigrants or not? Many a skilled immigrant will not make the move to the new country if doing so would tear his/her family apart.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Edited October 5, 2014 by Gollywobbler
typo

[Guest carolyn1]

Hi there, I'm not sure how to go about things on here so here goes, my husband and I need some advice on a pv 103. We have a son who has married an Australian girl they have a child and live in Oz. We have looked into visas and the only one that seems to suit our financial situation is the 103. Due to the long wait we wondered if there was a quicker way to be there with them. Our ages are 48 and 52 Our son and daughter in law own their own business and we would like to help them with child care. Looking forward to your response, regards Carolyn

[MAMAROCK]

Hi Just to let you all know that the queue calculator did change and was revised a few days back - My parents have not heard anything as of yet.

 

I think the dept has a huge backlog of applications which they are trying to process right now

Best

Mamarock

[MAMAROCK]

Hi Carolyn

As many have been advising on this forum that the window to apply for 103 may be limited - you may want to expedite your application so you can be granted a queue date. Of course after that you need to give it a few years

Best

Mamarock

[Guest carolyn1]

Thanks for the advice I will get on it as soon as possible , just one more question , do you know if we apply for the 103 , can we apply for an eta visa whilst they consider our application?thanks , regards Carolyn.

[johnbshepherd]

Just for general information the processing date for 103 and 804 applicants has finally moved forward after being stuck in April 2008 for several months. The latest auto reply from immi says

 

"For your information, we are currently assessing for finalisation subclass 103 parent visa applications with a queue date from May 2008 and subclass 804 applications with a queue date from May 2008."

 

Cheers

 

John

[Guest Ian103]

Thanks for that information John, our 103 queue date is May '09 so not too long now!

 

Ian

[johnbshepherd]

This from the latest auto-reply from immi. I assume that this means that if your first application (for the 804) was in October 2013 you are about to get a queue date. If you already have a queue date in December 2008 you are about to be assessed for the visa itself. If the second assumption is correct then the 804 queue is still moving along nicely. Unfortunately the 103 queue still seems to be stuck.

 

 

SUBCLASS 804

 

[TABLE=width: 312]

[TR]

[TD]Onshore Receipting 804[/TD]

[TD] 05 Dec 2014[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Onshore Registering 804[/TD]

[TD] 05 Dec 2014[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD] 804 Assessing applications queued[/TD]

[TD] Dec 2008[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD] 804 Assessing for queue date[/TD]

[TD] Oct 2013[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

 

For the 103 visa the figures are:

 

PROCESSING TIMES FOR NON CONTRIBUTORY PARENT VISAS

SUBCLASS 103

 

[TABLE=width: 427]

[TR]

[TD]Offshore receipting 103[/TD]

[TD]08 Dec 2014[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Offshore Registering 103[/TD]

[TD]22 May 2014[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]103 Assessing applications queued[/TD]

[TD]May 2008[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]103 Assessing for a queue date[/TD]

[TD]20 June 2013[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Cheers

 

John

Edited December 14, 2014 by johnbshepherd

[MAMAROCK]

Hi Alan Colett

I want to contact you with my parents details. As I had just posted they were advised that their application is now being processed.

I just want to make sure we have everything done right at this final stage.

Please can you help? Let me know how I can contact you

Many thanks

Mamarock

[MAMAROCK]

Whilst I am super excited I just don't want to do anything to screw up the application for my parents. Want to be sure we submit all required info as requested and in a timely manner.

Their queue date was 5 May 2008. They were advise last week.

 

Thanks

Mamarock

[snifter]

Hi Alan Colett

I want to contact you with my parents details. As I had just posted they were advised that their application is now being processed.

I just want to make sure we have everything done right at this final stage.

Please can you help? Let me know how I can contact you

Many thanks

Mamarock

 

You should contact him via the company. All the info for it is easily found online.

[Helsby9]

So my parents (82 and 84) have today had their 804 visa refused.They applied in March 2013 and dad took ill in October 2013. In September 2014 they requested medicals, but the Drs said that dad was too frail to undergo a medical. I emailed immigration and asked for advice on what to do, but they did not reply. The reason for refusal is that dad has failed to meet his condition of obtaining a medical within 28 days.Amazingly dad is still with us. Drs still say he cannot undergo a medical and every day is a bonus at this stage. We have lots of medical records to show these things have happened whilst he has been here, 17 seizures, a broken hip, catheterised.Originally when we applied we spoke to a nice man at DIAC who said not to worry if we failed a medical as we could then appeal on the grounds that they are aged parents and their health status can change while waiting for the application to be processed,The last lady I spoke to at DIAC recommended we apply for a medical visa.There is obviously a lot at stake. Which is the better option?Any advice gratefully received my head is whizzing.

Hi All Sorry about the catchy title, but I think this thread may be of interest to Parents who are considering migrating to SA and to their children who are in or are headed for SA. I am reluctant to suggest it for any other State because SA is the only State where I know anybody who has looked in to it carefully. My friend Mary lives in Adelaide. Her parents have recently returned from 6 months there. Apart from e-mails between myself and Mary, I have done some sleuthing of my own plus I had a long chat with Mary's Dad yesterday. He is undoubtedly clued up. Distilling the feedback from various sources, the story is as follows. Mary's Parents are "Aged" as per the following link: http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/aged/804/index.htm Applications for onshore Aged Parent and Contributory Aged Parent visas at not processed at the POPC (Perth Offshore Parents Centre.) Instead they are processed at the ordinary general DIAC office in the relevant State. Mary's Dad recently went to the DIAC office in Adelaide to enquire about Parent visas for himself and his wife. First they described the offshore Contributory Parent visa. He said he was reluctant to shell out approx £40,000 GBP. Hearing this, they advised that the couple should wait till they are ready to return to Adelaide, return there using 90-day ETA visas and then go to the DIAC office again once they arrive. The advice Mary's Dad received was to apply for the onshore Aged Parent subclass 804 visa on their return to Adelaide. http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/aged/804/index.htm At present, this visa takes about 15 years (sic) to be processed because only 300 are available each year and there are about 5,000 Aged Parent applicants sitting in Australia on Bridging Visas waiting for them. However, on 1st July 2008 this will be doubled to 600 a year, halving the waiting time. Compared to the cost of a Contributory Parent or Contributory Aged Parent visa, the cost of an Aged Parent visa is trivial: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/990i/parent.htm Additionally the Assurance of Support required for it only lasts for two years instead of 10, and the Bond is $7,000 for a couple instead of $14,000. An application for an AP visa is automatically also an application for a Bridging Visa A: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1024i.pdf Two aspects of Bridging Visas for Parents worried me initially, though not any more. The first concern is that Form 1024i states that an applicant for a Parent visa will not be entitled to Medicare. Fed up with not knowing whether the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement between Oz and the UK would reverse the assertion in Form 1024i, I e-mailed both Medicare and DIAC about this last week. Both of them have confirmed to me that as a matter of Policy, a British Parent is indeed covered by the UK/Oz RHCA whilst on a Bridging Visa to the same extent as if s/he were on a tourist visa instead. The RHCA is available regardless of one's age: http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/public/migrants/visitors/index.jsp Unless a doctor decides that the propsed treatment is "necessary" Medicare will not pay for any of it. Ambulance insurance is required whatever happens. My other concern is that a Bridging Visa A does not entitle the Parent to return to Oz if s/he goes abroad for any reason. For that, a Bridging Visa B is needed instead and it must be obtained before the Parent leaves Oz. According to Form 1024i, "substantial reasons" are needed before a Bridging Visa B would be forthcoming. According to me, a desire for a family holiday offshore is not a substantial reason, but according to DIAC in Adelaide it is. They say their Policy is that it is not the Aged Parent's fault that AP visas take some years to process. Therefore they are happy to grant a Bridging Visa B and say that this will enable the Parent to spend up to 90 days a year outside Australia if wished. They are not interested in why the Parent might wish to spend time outside Oz. They merely stress that the period outside Oz must not exceed 90 days a year. As luck would have it, Mary's family happened to meet another British couple recently who are in their early 70s. The other couple have applied for Aged Parent visas and are living in Adelaide on Bridging Visas. (Until they were encountered, I was urging caution unless and until somebody could be found locally who is actually in this very situation. I tried to find someone via a thread on here a couple of months ago but drew a blank.) The other couple have decided on private medical insurance for themselves so they are not bothered about the Medicare cover available to them. The other couple have property in South Africa and a child in the UK. Every year, they spend 90 days outside Australia. They go to South Africa, then come to the UK to visit their other child, then back to Adelaide. It suits them to be outside Oz for the three months of winter in Oz so this is what they do. Mary's Dad is thorough. Hearing all this from the other couple, he went back to DIAC in Adelaide to ask why anybody would pay for a CPV if DIAC are as liberal as described above? He was told that the reason why Parents are willing to pay for CPVs is because they want fast processing and certainty. Some Parents consider that these considerations are worth £40K GBP. Other Parents consider that hanging on to their capital is a more compelling idea! Aged Parent visas involve 2 sets of Meds and Police checks. The first set are done within about a year of the visa application being made. The second set are required some years later when the Parent reaches the head of the Queue. Asked what would happen if Mary's Dad or his wife should fail the second meds, DIAC assured him that there would be no question of them being kicked out of Australia. Which is true. If one of the Parents fails the second meds, the drill is to Appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal and insist that the Review Medical Officer re-assesses the meds from scratch. New or additional medical info can be supplied to the RMOC and it will be considered. THe reported MRT cases reveal that the RMOC disagrees with the original MOC surprisingly often. If the RMOC advises that the medical criteria for migration are met, the MRT must remit the application back to DIAC with an Order that the medical criteria are met. In practice there will be no other issues because the 2nd meds will not be requested if anything else about the application is faulty. If the RMOC agrees with the opinion of the original MOC then the MRT must affirm DIAC's original visa refusal and dismiss the appeal. Currently the fixed fee to apply to the MRT is $1400 and approx another $600 to involve the RMOC. If the appeal is successful, the money is refunded. If the appeal is unsuccessful, $2000 is the maximum spent assuming that the family tackle the appeal without professional help - which they can do if they try. If the MRT upholds the visa refusal, then as the legislation stands at the moment the next step is a direct appeal to the Minister for Immi under S351 of the Migration Act 1958. . The Minister can substitute his own decision for that of the MRT if he in his sole discretion considers that it is in the publc interest to do so. The argument is that it is in the interests of the migrant child and grandchildren to permit the Aged Parents to remain with the rest of the family in Oz. Anything else would cause grave hardship to the migrant child, grandchildren etc It is not in the public interest to attract a skilled migrant so that s/he can strengthen the Australian economy (plus boost the Treasury's coffers) but then treat him/her differently from a native-born Aussie whose own Parents are in Oz as of right. Etc etc etc. The results of Ministerial Appeals are not published, but if a Parent is elderly and infirm Australia is very unlikely to try to send him/her back to the UK. By then, s/he has been in Oz for so long that s/he has no real ties left in the UK, plus see above etc etc. An Appeal to the MRT can easily take 2 years to be concluded. Ministerial Appeals are equally slow. The Bridging Visa enables the Parent to remain in Australia throughout the Appeals process. If s/he was too sick to pass the meds 4 years ago, the chances are that s/he will be much worse (or dead) by the time a Ministerial Appeal fails. If the Parent is too ill to travel, no airline or shipping company will agree to carry him/her out of Oz. Kismet. A Bridging Visa P (the medical one) will have to be granted to both Parents because the fit one must be on hand to look after the sick one. Hence Mary's Dad was assured that, one way or another, they would not be kicked out of Australia. Entering Oz on a 90-day ETA with this scheme in mind is, technically, spoodly. A 90-day ETA cannot be granted unless the applicant evinces an intention to enter Australia for the purpose of short-stay tourism only. However, the onus is on DIAC to police the borders. It is not realistic for them to give every person travelling through Adelaide Airport a hard time and in practice they don't. Unless they grill the arriving passenger, they have no means of proving intent and they know this so they do not try to take a point that they coud not win in Court. The Parent goes to Oz intending nothing but a short visit. Whilst there, he wanders along to the DIAC office to make enquiries. They tell him that he is eligible for an Aged Parent visa as it happens.... Food for thought, maybe? I think that if anybody wants to investigate this further, you should double-check everything I say. This can be done by visiting the DIAC office in Adelaide and I would strongly recommend doing so in person: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/australia/sa-adelaide.htm Best wishes Gill