Over the past six months, as invitation rounds increased and visa grants accelerated, many applicants achieved their long-awaitedPR (permanent residency). Once they had their PR, many began thinking about lodging migration applications fortheir parents as well. Given the lengthy wait times — lodging Subclass 143 now could mean waiting more than 10 years — starting your parents’ application right after your own visa is granted is never too early.never too late to begin. Accordingly, enquiries about parent migration have been on the rise.

Today we have invited two MARA-registered migration agents to answer two questions:

I. If you lodge parent migration for one parent first and then have that parent sponsor their spouse, does it really save money?

II. AoS income requirements and application process

Lodge parent migration for one parent first, then sponsor the spouse — does it really save money?

Answer from: Jason ZHANG

• MARA-registered migration agent; CTO of the Newstars Group; top-rated education and migration consultant at the Melbourne office; pen name: “Lost Wanderer”.

• Extensive experience handling complex migration and study-abroad cases; draws on migration law to resolve difficult visa problems; author of dozens of in-depth articles for Newstars to help applicants understand not just what to do, but why.

Introduction

As most people know, the contribution fee for the Subclass 143/864 Contributory Parent visa is $43,600 per person. Many families therefore consider lodging for one parent first (contribution fee: $43,600), waiting for that parent to receive PR, and then having the parent sponsor their spouse (the current partner visa application charge is $8,085),which on the surface appears to save over $30,000.

This approach is perfectly legal — but does it actually save money?

The five-year sponsorship restriction

Before 1 July 2009, this strategy did indeed save money. The Department of Home Affairs quickly identified the loophole and, to close it,introduced Regulation 1.20KA, which requires that a parent who holds a Subclass 143/864 visa must wait 5 years after receiving PR before they can sponsor their spouse.

The savings are very limited

You might say: even waiting an extra 5 years for the partner visa still saves money. In reality, the savings are very limited.

For one thing, partner visa fees rise every year,so lodging a partner visa N+5 years from now could cost $10,000–20,000 — and that does not include agent fees.
For another, applying for PR 5 years later meanswaiting 5 extra years before accessing Medicare — meaning the applicant would need topay 5 extra years of private health insurance (at least $2,000 per year — over $10,000 for 5 years), and some insurers may refuse to cover older applicants.
Furthermore,during those 5 years the spouse must still apply for a visa to visit Australia — visa fees, health examinations, and agent fees all add up, and the 12-out-of-18-months residence restriction means buying flights to depart periodically.
Finally,partner visa policy may change (there were once rumours of a language test requirement — ultimately not implemented), and waiting 5 more years means the applicant is older, making it uncertain whether they can pass a health examination. The potential losses are impossible to quantify.

The biggest loss: missing out on 5 years of the Age Pension

Even so, this approach might seem to save a little money. In reality, it very likely plays right into a trap set by the Department — and the loss is far from trivial.

Everyone should know that to be eligible for the Age Pension in Australia, there is a residence requirement:you must have resided in Australia as a PR for a total of 10 years, of which at least 5 must be continuous.See the official website:

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/residence-rules-for-age-pension?context=22526

Suppose both parents are 53. The father lodges his parent visa application at 53 and receives PR at 60.He cannot receive the Age Pension until he is at least 70.Since he received PR at 60, he cannot sponsor his spouse until he is 65. Assuming the spouse’s visa is granted immediately upon lodgement,the mother cannot access the Age Pension until she is at least 75.

This means that by the time the mother reaches 75, the father will already have been receiving the Age Pension for 5 years while she is just starting — a full 5 years of Age Pension lost.

Under current policy,the Age Pension can theoretically reach over $20,000 per year (note: applicants with significant assets or other income may receive less),and over 5 years that amounts to over AUD$100,000 in foregone payments。

Of course, if the parents are already quite old at the time of lodgement, they may never reach pension age. Even so,getting PR sooner means Medicare coverage sooner — and that is always worthwhile.

Conclusion

Delaying PR to save a small amount of money is simply not worth it — unnecessary and inadvisable. If you have already taken this approach, we strongly recommend adding the other parent to the application immediately so that both receive PR at the same time. That is the best strategy.

If you would like assistance lodging a parent migration application or a visa for parents staying in or travelling to Australia, please get in touch directly.

AoS (Assurance of Support) Income Requirements and Application Process

Answer from: Kirk YAN

MARA-registered migration agent; Head of the Newstars Melbourne and Hobart offices.

Specialises in skilled migration, parent migration, and a wide range of other visa streams, having helped tens of thousands of families settle in Australia. Parent migration is one of his strongest areas — he has deep expertise in migration law and regulations, has handled thousands of applications, and has written hundreds of articles to help applicants navigate the process.

Currently, parent migrationSubclass 143 processing has advanced to applications lodged in April 2017. At this final stage of parent migration processing,the most critical supplementary document is theAssurance of Support (AoS). Because the AoS relates directly to the assurer’s income, many applicantsbegin to worry from the moment of lodgement aboutwhether they will be able to meet the AoS requirements when the time comes.

Whether you are just starting to learn about this or are about to take action, this article explains the core AoS requirements (with a particular focus on current income) and the step-by-step application process.

When is the AoS documentation required?

Firstly, when a parent migrationapplication reaches the assessment stage,the Department of Home Affairs will issue an AoS invitation letter requesting financial assurance documentation.

This means thatwhen you first lodge the parent visa application, AoS information is not required. At current processing speeds, there may be close to 10 years between lodgement and assessment.At the initial stage, you simply need to be aware of the requirement — no need to stress about it now.

Who can act as the assurer?

The assurer can be the visa sponsor (i.e.,the child), or it can beanother PR holder or Australian citizen，. One assurer can support a maximum of 2 people at the same time. For Subclass 143, the AoS obligation period is 10 years; for Subclass 103, it is 4 years.

This means that if your own income does not meet the requirements,you can ask your spouse or a friend to act as the assurer, or you can jointly provide the assurance together. Please note, however, that once an assurer accepts the obligation,they cannot withdraw without specific justifiable grounds.

What exactly are the income requirements for the assurer?

Services Australia’s official website has an accurate calculator.The options include the number of assurers, the number of dependent children under 18, and the number of parents being supported. After entering the details, the minimum annual income requirement for the assurer is displayed clearly.

We have also prepared a summary chart to help illustratethe minimum annual income requirements for several common scenarios as a reference.

Documents to prove annual income:

Previous financial year’s taxable income:the standard document is your Notice of AssessmentNotice of Assessment

Current financial year income evidence:typically provided aspay slips plus an employer confirmation letter

What is the application process?

– First, you will receive an AoS invitation letter from the Department of Home Affairs.You must have received this letterbefore you can proceed with the AoS application.

– With the letter in hand, log in tothe myGov website to submit the application. Once fully submitted, if you have not previously claimed Centrelink/Services Australia payments, you will generally need to attend a Services Australia service centre in person with identity documents to verify your identity.

– Services Australiawill conduct a phone interview to ensure you understand your obligations.The interview typically takes place within approximately one month.

– You will then receive a letterinstructing you to pay a bank guarantee (BG). Take the letter to your bank and deposit the required BG amount — $10,000 for one parent under Subclass 143, or $14,000 for two.

– After uploading the documentation, you can wait for the approval letter.The approval letter, once received, is forwarded to the Department of Home Affairs.

– Once all other documents are in order, all that remains is to wait for notification to pay the contribution fee — or for the visa to be granted.

From receiving the Department’s supplementary documents request to completing the process and receiving the visa grant, the timeframe is generally around 3 months.

Subclass 143 Grant — Case Study 1

Lodged late November 2016 → supplementary documents requested late November 2022 → visa officially granted 11 January 2023!

Subclass 143 Grant — Case Study 2

Lodged late November 2016, supplementary documents received September 2022, visa granted late December 2022!

Subclass 143 Grant — Case Study 3

Lodged 6 January 2017, supplementary documents and AoS received September 2022, visa granted earlyDecember 2022.

For any questions about supplementary documents or the AoS process,

please feel free to contact Kirk.

Recommended reading —click an image to read the article

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Parent Migration for One Parent First, Then Sponsor the Spouse — Does It Really Save Money? An In-Depth Guide to AoS Requirements and the Application Process

You might say: even waiting an extra 5 years for the partner visa still saves money. In reality, the savings are very limited.

NSW, VIC and other states still have large Subclass 190 quotas — WA may release more!

Want to migrate straight after graduation? Don’t miss these two states!

Accounting, IT, engineering, marketing and more — migrate without needing a top points score!

Accounting, IT, engineering, marketing and more — migrate without needing a top points score!

Accounting, IT, engineering, marketing and more — migrate without needing a top points score!

Accounting, IT, engineering, marketing and more — migrate without needing a top points score!

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