The wait times for the Subclass 143 Contributory Parent visa are becoming increasingly unreasonable — even with additional quota in the new financial year, they remain severely mismatched with the volume of new applications and the existing backlog,based on the current backlog, lodging an application now means waiting over a decade. Recent applicants who have received further-information requests or had their visas granted all lodged around mid-2016 — meaning they have already waited 6 years…
As for the Subclass 103 Parent visa queue, it is simply not worth considering — the wait spans decades…
Recent Subclass 143 Grants
Here is one of our most recent Subclass 143 Contributory Parent visa grant stories:Lodged on 20 June 2016,received a further-information request in early February 2022, completed all additional documentation by late April and paid the second instalment fee in early May — then just a few days later,on 9 May, the visa was granted!
The Subclass 143 still has grant quota for this financial year — processing has reached applications lodged through to end of June 2016, and we have clients who lodged in early July 2016 and received further-information requests in April this year!
After migrating and putting down roots in Australia,
family reunion is never easy
For the current queue status and estimated processing pace for contributory parent migration, please refer to our earlier article:Latest! Parent migration backlog figures and estimated new financial year wait times! Switching from the queue to contributory — watch out for your queue time being “lost”!
Many of us originally hoped to reunite with our parents quickly through contributory parent migration, only to find the wait times are now substantial. The pandemic has kept us apart from our parents in China for years, and with work and family commitments in Australia, returning home still requires quarantine,making a trip home for a family reunion a costly option for now,and only we adults truly understand the anguish and helplessness of this situation.
We miss our parents,
yet the constant back-and-forth travel across borders is exhausting
Quarantine requirements when returning to China are still quite cumbersome, and more importantly, our parents’ English is often limited, so we are not comfortable with them travelling between China and Australia on their own. Andvisitor visas only allow a continuous stay in Australia of at most 12 months in every 18-month period, and are subject to numerous additional conditions as well as the subjective judgement of the visa officer,with outcomes varying from applicant to applicant.
So is there a long-term visa that allows parents to stay continuously in Australia for three, five, or even ten years, without needing to repeatedly exit and re-enter?
Wanting to keep our parents in Australia long-term,
yet repeatedly renewing a visa is such a hassle
On top of this, we have recently encountered many clients whose parents came to Australia on a visitor visa, only to find themselves unable to return to China for an extended period due to the pandemic. After a prolonged stay in Australia, they had no choice but to renew their visitor visa onshore. With flights back to China impossible to find at a reasonable price — some tickets costing tens of thousands of dollars — and their visa about to expire again, they were torn between buying or not buying, with no idea what to do.
The visa that resolves all of these frustrations is the
Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa
Many people may not have heard of it, but it has actually been available for several years. It was introduced in response to the extremely lengthy parent migration processing times and the stay-duration limitations of visitor visas,and the government introduced this Subclass 870 visa specifically to allow PR holders and citizens to reunite with their parents for extended periods within Australia. It simply hadn’t attracted much attention before, since without the pandemic, obtaining a 12-month visitor visa for an extended stay was relatively straightforward.
The Key Advantages of the Subclass 870 Visa
1.Parents can reside continuously in Australia for 3 or 5 years without needing to depart, with a maximum of up to 10 years,and this is by far the greatest advantage of this visa. Compared with a parent visitor visa, which only permits a stay of up to 12 months in every 18-month period, the Subclass 870 allows parents to remain in Australia for as long as they wish.
2.The Subclass 870 can be renewed once it expires, however, the total period of residence in Australia on this visa must not exceed 10 years.
Of course, there are certain requirements and conditions for the child acting as sponsor. Firstly, this isa visa designed for parents of PR holders and Australian citizens — the sponsoring child must be at least 18 years of age and settled in Australia(please contact us for the specific settlement requirements),other requirements include annual incomeand more.
The application process is a two-step procedure:the sponsor (child) first applies for sponsorship approval, and once approved, the applicant (parent) then lodges the visa application,for specific enquiries, please contact us via the customer service link below ↓
Q1
Can the Subclass 870 be directly converted to a parent migration visa?
No!And if you are planning to apply for a parent migration visa, you must lodge the parent migration application first, and then apply for the Subclass 870.
Q2
Can the Subclass 870 be applied for from outside Australia?
The Subclass 870 can be applied for both onshore and offshore, though onshore applications require an additional permission to apply.
Q3
Does the Subclass 870 require the child to first obtain sponsorship approval? Can multiple children based in Australia sponsor together, or can a spouse co-sponsor?
A spouse can act as an alternative sponsor, and it is possible to sponsor more than one parent at a time — meaning both parents can be sponsored and apply together.
Q4
What is the current processing time for the Subclass 870, and how far in advance should you prepare?
The Department of Home Affairs website indicates that 50% of sponsorship applications are processed within 6 months. Based on our own client data:
– Sponsorship applied for in early December 2021, approved in mid-April 2022
– Sponsorship applied for in October 2021, approval granted in mid-January 2022, visa granted in early March 2022
Processing times will also vary depending on the circumstances of each individual application — this is provided for reference only,and we generally advise that a preparation and waiting period of 6 months to 1 year is currently a reasonable expectation.
Q5
Can Subclass 870 holders access Australia’s public health insurance (Medicare), or do they need to purchase their own cover?
Private health insurance must be purchased — Medicare is not available.
That covers our overview of the Subclass 870 for today. If you are interested, please reach out via the customer service link below, or if you would like a comprehensive assessment of the most suitable visa and pathway to remaining in Australia, we are here to help!
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