Australian Registered Migration Agents Specialising in Australian Visas
Australian Registered Migration Agents Specialising in Australian Visas
Contact us to discuss your visa requirements today!
Contact us to discuss your visa requirements today!

Parent Visas

Those who have a child living in Australia as an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an “eligible New Zealand citizen” can consider applying for one of the Parent visas.
In all cases, applicants must satisfy the balance of family test, and a child who meets the “settled” requirement must sponsor the visa application.
The balance of family test requires that:

  • At least half of the applicant’s children are Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens who are usually resident in Australia, or
  • The visa applicant has more children living in Australia as Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens than in any other country.

 

A person is considered “settled” if they are an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen who is lawfully resident in Australia for a “reasonable period.” In normal circumstances, two years is considered to be a reasonable period. For Australian citizens this period may be reduced to at least three months.
Within this there are offshore visas (can be lodged when the visa applicant is inside or outside Australia) and onshore (visa applicant must be in Australia) subclasses of visas.

Contributory Parent Visa

Applications for this visa are typically processed to a decision in 15 to 18 months, but they are much more expensive than the Parent visa: a second visa application charge is payable immediately prior to visa grant of AS 43,600 per applicant (for the year to 30th June 2015).
Applications for Parent and Contributory Parent visas also require what is called an Assurance of Support, or AoS. An AoS is an undertaking by a third party in Australia – who need not be a relative, but usually is – to reimburse any claims by the visaholders for what are called eligible Centrelink benefits.
The AoS also involves the lodgement of a Bond – this totals A$10,000 for a single person and A$14,000 for a couple who are applying for a Contributory Parent visa.
Please contact Ian Harrop & Associates if you have a child who is living in Australia and are interested in applying for a Parent or Contributory Parent visa.

Need help?

If you have any questions or need help choosing the right visa, please call us or complete the form below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.