A sponsored parent visa allows you to bring your parents to Australia to live with you and your family. It allows families to be reunited and for ageing parents to spend quality time with their children and their family. You can either apply for the visa online or take the help of a professional and experienced visa and migration agent. The benefits of hiring a migration agent registered with the Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority is that they have the skill and experience to help you with the entire application. There are only 15,000 parent visas issued each year, so your application must have no errors that can lead to its rejection.
To apply for the sponsored parent visa, the applicant must have an eligible child who is a settled Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible citizen of New Zealand. A sponsored parent visa 870 is a temporary visa for the parents to stay in Australia for up to 3 or 5 years. This offers the parents to stay for a longer duration with their children, unlike a visitor visa for parents for Australia, which is only for a short duration.
The process of applying for a parent visa is a two-step process. The child of the applicant, who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible citizen of New Zealand, must provide sponsorship to the parent. Within 6 months of the sponsorship, the parent must apply for a temporary sponsored parent visa-870. This visa is only for stay with the children and does not entitle the parent to work in Australia.
While the government issues 15,000 visas each year, there is a long waiting list for non-contributory visas. This means that the visa grant may take from 2-30 years. However, there is also a faster but slightly more expensive contributory route available. A registered migration agent can share with you the details of the contributory route to obtain a visa and the minimum threshold income, financial details, etc, that can help you get a sponsored parent visa for your parent.
A contributory visa is more expensive than a non-contributory visa. The benefit is that these are processed much faster and give the eligible applicants the right to live, study, and work in Australia during the duration of the visa. This also makes them eligible to apply for PR after the prescribed duration. Within the contributory visa, there is a sub-category 143 that makes the visa holder get medical coverage as well. Again, it is best to consult a professional migration agent who can help you understand all the available options to you and the comparative costs of each. They can also brief you on any new changes and updates in the Australian government policy regarding the parent visa so that you can make an informed choice for your parents’ visa.
