Countless students cross the oceans, working through high school, an undergraduate degree, a first master’s and a second, grinding away at English and sitting translation exams, perhaps even moving away from the city you had called home for years, hunting for a job, building up experience and completing a skills assessment, racking your brain to lift your EOI score. Every time the government releases a round of invitations, it feels like waiting for the lottery results — nervous and afraid all at once. Time after time you are full of hope, time after time you come up empty, then you pull yourself together and head back to work the next day to grind English again. Finally . . . . . you are invited!!!

In a mad rush you lodge your documents before the deadline, terrified that the smallest slip will give the Department a reason to refuse you, so you check everything over and over again, but the start of processing simply opens up another unknown journey — requests for more documents, phone interviews, and no idea how long the grant will take, a mystery for every applicant, until… at long last, it is granted!

 The first thing you think of is calling home with the good news. The moment it connects you can’t wait to tell your mum, and hearing the joy in your parents’ voices on the other end of the line, the weight you have carried for years finally lifts. After five minutes you start chatting about everyday things, and as you talk you notice Dad’s voice is a little hoarse — that is how you learn he has had a cold lately. You ask whether he has seen a doctor, and he says a minor illness does not need one. Your once-elated mood slowly turns heavy, because you realise that, without even noticing, you have been away from home for many years.

From studying overseas, to finding a job after graduation, to finally securing permanent residency, your world keeps growing and your future holds endless possibilities. But their world keeps shrinking — from working hard for your future at the start, to their one remaining hope being your visit home on annual leave.And if you are an only child, then over these years you may be the only one your parents can lean on and count on.

As the saying goes, the tree longs for calm but the wind will not stop; the child longs to care for parents who are no longer there. If any of this sounds like you, don’t hesitate — bring them over and reunite as soon as you can!

You may have heard that parent migration now means waiting at least 10–12 years, and you might be thinking that since the wait is so long either way, lodging a year earlier or later hardly seems to matter.

At first glance it sounds reasonable, but look closer and the difference is far too big to dismiss.

First, let’s talk about risk. As everyone knows, whether it is a temporary visa or a permanent visa, a health examination is required before the grant. This is how the government keeps its healthcare system from being overloaded, so that local residents are not denied the medical resources they need. Migration law requires that, at the time of grant, parent visa applicants meet Public Interest Criterion 4005, which provides that a permanent residence applicant must not have ‘a condition likely to result in significant healthcare costs’.In other words, your parents need to keep their health in good shape right up until the visa is granted.

But 12 years on, Mum and Dad will have aged, may no longer be as strong as they are today, and will likely have picked up some ailments, which in turn raises the risk of refusal. And such a refusal essentially ends any chance of them obtaining permanent residency. So if you want the family reunited, get your place in the queue early!

Now let’s talk about money.

The contribution charge ——

The contribution charge for the current Contributory Parent visa is AUD 43,600. Although this amount has not changed in 10 years, adjusting the contribution charge is a power Parliament has granted the federal government, and the government can announce an increase at any time. Although the contribution is only paid before the grant, lodging the visa now locks in this amount, so any future government increase no longer concerns your family!Otherwise, if you keep hesitating, you will be worrying about your parents failing the health check and fretting over rising contribution charges at the same time.

The pension ——

On top of this, the pension is another issue. Before a parent visa is granted, no social benefits are available to applicants who are still waiting. Once the visa is granted, applicants can apply for Medicare, but they must have lived in Australia long enough.

It takes at least 10 years before they qualify for the Age Pension.That means the gap between lodging the visa and drawing the pension is at least 20 years. With an average life expectancy of 80 today, queuing earlier, being granted earlier and drawing the pension earlier is simply the smart choice.

Many people also think the contribution charge is too expensive and ask: can we first lodge a Subclass 143 for Mum, and once it is granted have Mum sponsor Dad?In theory this is possible, but in practice it is very poor value，because Mum can only sponsor Dad five years after her Subclass 143 is granted, and the Subclass 820 itself takes a year or more to process. This brings us back to the two points above: 17 years from now, what shape will Dad’s health be in? Will he pass the health check? And waiting 27 years before he can draw the pension — how much will Dad have missed out on?

Don’t forget the hefty partner visa fee, either. The current visa fee is AUD 8,085，Visa fees rise every year, so 17 years from now it will certainly cost a fair bit more than today.A Subclass 143 secondary applicant, by contrast, currently only needs to pay around AUD 2,500 in visa fees.

The bottom line: you save little on paper, and once you factor in the risk and the opportunity cost, it is simply not worth it.

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2023