The Parent visa is for parents who wish to migrate to Australia to be with their children. The application must be sponsored by a child who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, who is permanently resident and settled in Australia.

There are two different pathways for parent migration. The “slow, cheap” visa and the “fast, expensive” one.

To be eligible to apply for any of the parent visas the applicants must meet what is called the 'Balance of Family' (BOF) test. Children of both parents are counted in the test, including any children from previous relationships of either parent. This means the applicants must have:

• at least half of their children living lawfully and permanently in Australia, or
• more children living lawfully and permanently in Australia than in any other single country overseas

For example: If you have 5 children and 2 live in Australia, 1 lives in China, 1 lives in the UK and 1 lives in India; you will meet the BOF test as there are more children living lawfully in Australia than any other single country overseas. But, if you have 5 children and 2 are in Australia, 2 are in China and 1 in the UK, you do not meet the BOF test.

Some single, aged parents who do not meet the BOF test may be eligible under the Aged Dependent Relative category if they are able to prove that they are dependent on their relative (child) in Australia.

The different parent visas are outlined below:

STANDARD PARENT VISA
This is this “slow cheap” visa and can usually be applied for onshore or offshore if certain conditions are met.

Onshore Lodgement
Parents may apply for an Aged Parent visa in Australia (onshore) only if one parent is old enough to be granted an Australian age pension. For men the qualifying age for an Australian age pension is 65 and for women it is gradually being increased from 60 to 65 (currently around 63). They must also be in Australia on a visa that allows them to make a further onshore application (IE – not have a visa with a “no further stay” condition on it).

Offshore Lodgement
If the above conditions are not met, then the application is lodged offshore.

Assurance of Support
All applicants applying for parent visas require an Assurance of Support (AoS). An AoS is a legal commitment by the assurer to repay the Commonwealth of Australia any benefits paid to those applicants that they are not entitled to. This is for the first two years after the applicants migrate from overseas or are granted permanent residence in Australia. However, an AoS bond is only payable for adult applicants. The amount of the bond is currently AU$5,000.00 for the first applicant and AU$2,000.00 for each other applicant over 18 years old.

Processing Times and Queue Dates
The Parent visa classes are subject to capping. In the 2008-09 Migration Program there are approximately 2000 Parent places available worldwide. Once all the legal requirements for the grant of a Parent visa are met, applications are placed in a queue for visa grant.

Currently there are around 20,000 parents in the queue and around 10,000 being processed toward placement in the queue. Parents can expect to wait many years for a visa to be granted (ten to fifteen years).

While waiting for an Offshore Parent visa to be processed, the parents can apply for a Visitor visa to visit their children in Australia.

The Visa Application Charge is payable in two instalments. As of 1 July 2009, the first instalment of AU$1,705.00 total (if lodged offshore) or AU$2,525.00 total (onshore) is payable at the time of lodging the visa application and the second instalment of AU$1,480.00 (each) is payable before the visa is granted.

* Please note that the second instalment is ‘locked’ at time of lodgement.

CONTRIBUTORY PARENT VISA CATEGORY
The ‘fast, expensive’ parent visa option is outlined below;

Parents of any age residing outside of Australia are able to apply for this visa; however Aged Parents residing in Australia will only be able to lodge their application in Australia (as outlined above).

The visa applicant must be able to demonstrate that they satisfy the Balance of Family Test as outlined above.

The initial Government Lodgement Fee of AU$1,705.00 for applications lodged outside of Australia and AU$2,525.00 for applications lodged inside Australia also applies to this category.

There is a higher second instalment fee that must be paid as a lump sum when requested. There are two payment options are as follows:-

• Permanent Visa: - pay an AU$34,330.00 second Visa Application Charge per person (AU$1,365.00 for dependents under 18); or
• Temporary Visa: - pay an AU$20,595.00 second Visa Application Charge per person (AU$1,365.00 for dependents under 18) which would entitle parents to a two-year temporary residence visa including Medicare access and work rights.