New temporary parent visa for Australia announced

In the last week, the Australian government has announced they planning to introduce a new temporary visa for parents visiting their children in Australia.

The new visa is proposed to be a 5 year temporary sponsored visa and will be music to the ears of many South Africans who have children living in Australia or parents living overseas.

The government says they are planning on introducing the visa by July 2017, which is less than 12 months away. While some details are yet to be determined, here are some of the key details we do know about the proposed visa.

Cost

No specific visa fees have been decided on yet, but the government has said it will be ‘more affordable’ than the current visa options for parents coming to Australia. Parent visas currently are one of the most expensive routes into Australia and do put many people off even applying.

Processing Time

Parent visas at the moment can sometimes have wait times of up to 30 years. The Australian Department of Immigration have acknowledged that the current visa program is not efficient, so hopefully that means much quicker processing times on the new proposed parent visa.

Private Medical Insurance

Visa holders of this new parent visa will be required to have valid private medical insurance to ensure they will not be a burden on Australia’s public health care system.

Financial Support

Applicants will have to show sufficient financial support from the children they are visiting to further prove they are able to support themselves, or be supported financially during their stay in Australia.

Who Is Eligible?

Only parents of permanent residents, Australian citizens and eligible New Zealand citizens will be able to apply for this visa. So for anyone here on a temporary visa, their parents are ineligible for this new visa type.

Community leaders across the country are currently being consulted with to help decide on what the new visa’s features will be.

The Australian government has recognised the benefits of having three generations of families reunited for longer periods of time, and many will agree and be excited about this new proposed visa category.

Source: thesouthafrican.com