Australian Visa For Parents

Australia Visa is a special kind of visa that is issued for parents or grandparents of the current Australian citizens, who live in any country other than Australia. The requirement which a parent should fulfill to be eligible for this visa are: he/she should be the parent or grandparent of a person who is an Australian citizen while they are in any country other than Australia at the present time; he/she is at least 65 years old; and he/she has never been married to an Australian citizen.

This post will help you decide if you need to apply for an Australian visa in order to bring your parents to Australia. It will also assist you in finding out what types of visas are available in order to achieve this goal.

Australia Parent Visa Types

The Australian visas for parents are grouped into the following categories:

• Contributory Parent Visas
• Non-Contributory Parent Visas
• Sponsored Parent Visa

Contributory Parent Visas

Contributory Parent Visas allow you to join your child in Australia as a permanent resident and open the possibility to apply for citizenship a few years down the line. They are called “Contributory” Visas because of the large sum of money that is contributed upon application – approximately AUD 40,000 for the main applicant.

The appeal of the Contributory Parent Visas is that they are processed a lot quicker than their counterparts. You can expect to have the visa within about four to five years.

The Contributory Parent Visas are issued to non-pensioner parents of Australian residents, and are divided into:

• Temporary Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 173). This visa is valid for a maximum of two years, during which time you have to apply for the permanent visa. It allows you to work and study, but you cannot extend it – you must apply for the 143 to extend your stay.
• Permanent Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143). This is a permanent visa type. You can either apply for this visa directly or you can apply for the 173 Visa first and then switch it into the 143.
• The Contributory Aged Parent Visas are issued to pensioner parents of Australian residents. To be eligible for this visa type, you have to be of pension age as defined by Australian law. They are divided into:
  • Subclass 884 Visa. This is a temporary visa, which you can use to stay in Australia for two years and apply for the permanent visa.
  • Subclass 864. This is the permanent version of the Contributory Aged Parent Visa. You may apply for it directly or switch to the 864 from the 884.

When you submit the application for either of these visas, you must be in Australia, and you can remain there until the visa is processed using a bridging visa.

Temporary vs. Permanent Contributory Visas

The Temporary and Permanent Contributory Visas are two parts of the same package. You can apply for the Temporary Visa (which is valid for two years) and then you apply for the Permanent Visa during that two-year period.

The temporary visa type is usually slightly cheaper than the permanent one, but it is still very costly, upwards of AUD 30,000.

So why would someone pay so much for a two-year visa?

Well, that’s because once you pay for the Temporary Visa, when you submit the application for the Permanent Visa, you only pay the difference. So let’s say that the Temporary Visa is AUD 30,000 and the Permanent Visa is AUD 40,000