Choosing the best and most suitable visa option for your parents is one of the most important decisions that you can make. Making the correct choice will give both you and your parents the opportunity to live comfortably in Australia but making the wrong choice can lead to all sorts of problems and, not to mention, a whole lot of stress!
If having your parents come and join you in Australia is part of your plans, then this next series of blog posts is for you! Over the next few weeks we will explore the different visa options available to your parents, the costs involved in those applications and some of the more important factors to be considered when deciding which visa to apply for.
Balance of Family Test
One of the first issues to consider is whether your parents are even eligible to apply for a permanent visa as only parents who meet the balance of family test can be sponsored for Australian permanent residency. Parents meet the balance of family test by showing that at least half of their children are “eligible children”. An eligible child is:
- an Australian citizen; or
- Australian Permanents residents usually resident in Australia; or
- eligible New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia.
Should your parents not have 50% or more of their children living in Australia as permanent residence or citizens, there is the option to apply for a temporary sponsored visa which would give the visa holder the option to stay in Australia for up to 10 years.
Contributory vs Non-contributory
Permanent parent visas can be broken down into two main categories – non-contributory and contributory visas. The contributory visa option is the faster route but is costly whereas the non-contributory does not require a significant financial contribution but can take in excess of 30 years to process. We will explore both these options in more detail in the next blog post.
Aged vs non-Aged
Parents are also eligible to apply for different visa subclasses depending on their age. If the main applicant is eligible to receive the Australian aged pension, they will be classified as ‘aged’ and will be eligible to apply onshore for a Parent visa and be granted a bridging visa to allow them to reside in Australia while the visa is processed. The Aged and non-Aged options will also be explored further in a later blog post.
In conclusion, the type of visa your parents should apply for will depend on their age, financial capacity, how long they are prepared to wait for the visa to be processed, as well as other factors.
If you or your parents wish to discuss their eligibility for a Parent Visa, speak with the immigration experts at KU Legal:
+61 (0) 429 133 911
jb@kulegal.com.au
Disclaimer: Changes to the Australian migration program can occur without notice. The above information is not intended to be legal advice and is correct as of the date of publication.
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