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Fact Sheet 39 - Family Stream Migration: Contributory Parent Category Visas

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The family stream of Australia's Migration Program enables the reunion in Australia of immediate family members, including parents.

There are two visa categories for parents wishing to migrate to Australia:

The differences between the two categories are:

This fact sheet provides an overview of general procedures for parents who wish to apply for a visa in the contributory parent category.

This category comprises:

For applicants applying from outside Australia

For applicants applying from in Australia

See: Fact sheet 31 Family stream migration – parent category visas

Permanent and temporary contributory parent visas

A parent can apply for either a permanent or a temporary contributory parent visa. The temporary visa is valid for two years and provides access to Medicare and full work rights. A temporary contributory parent visa cannot be extended or renewed.

Once granted, a temporary contributory parent visa holder can apply for the corresponding permanent contributory parent visa at any time during the two years.

Holders of a temporary contributory parent visa who apply for the corresponding permanent visa during the two years obtain certain concessions, such as:

If a person does not apply for the permanent visa before the expiry of their temporary contributory parent visa, they do not get the benefit of these concessions.

A person who is the holder, or has been the holder of, a temporary contributory parent visa since last entering Australia can make a valid application for only a very limited range of visas:

Requirements

The core requirements for both the parent category and the contributory parent category are similar. However, applicants in the contributory parent category are required to pay a substantially higher visa application charge and Assurance of Support bond. More information about the Visa Application Charge and Assurance of Support is listed below.

To apply for a visa in the contributory parent category, you must be the parent of a child who is a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. 'Settled' means a person must have been resident in Australia for a reasonable period, which under policy is usually two years.

For Contributory Aged Parent (Residence) or Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa applications the primary applicant must be aged. An aged parent is one who is old enough to be granted an Australian age pension. For men the qualifying age for an Australian age pension is 65 years. For women it is gradually being increased from 60 to 65 years.

In addition, Contributory Aged Parent visa applicants must be in Australia to lodge their visa application and to be granted the visa.

For a Contributory Parent (Migrant) or Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa, applicants may lodge their application either in or outside Australia, however they must be outside Australia to be granted the visa.

Applicants are not able to lodge an application whilst in Australia if they are barred from doing so. Applicants may be barred if they have a 'No Further Stay' condition on their current visa, or if they do not hold a substantive visa and have been refused the grant of a visa since last entering Australia.

Applicants for a visa in the contributory parent category should obtain the Booklet 3 – Parent Migration (Form 1129), which is available for A$10 from any departmental office or can be downloaded free of charge from the department's website.
See: Booklet 3 Parent Migration

Detailed information on all aspects of applying for a contributory parent visa is also available on the department's website.
See: Parent Visa Options

Withdrawal of any other parent visa application

To make a valid visa application in the contributory parent category, the applicant must withdraw any existing parent application that has not yet been decided by the department. Withdrawal can be done by completing the relevant section of the Form 47PA application for migration to Australia by a parent.
See: Form 47PA

Similarly, an applicant must withdraw, or have finalised, any application for review of a refusal decision in relation to any other parent visa application before the contributory parent visa can be granted.

Balance of family test

All applicants for a visa in the contributory parent category must meet the balance of family (BoF) test. This means the applicants must have either:

Children of both parents are counted in the test, including any children of previous relationships or de facto relationships of either parent.

Children to be considered for the purpose of the BoF test include natural, adopted and step-children. This is irrespective of whether they are dependent, self-supporting, married, single or divorced.

The quality of the paren's relationship with such children is not a relevant factor in this test.

The purpose of the test is to establish the nature of a parent's ties to Australia and the support likely to be available from their children in Australia.

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 have been, and continue to be, dependent on their relative (child) in Australia.
See: Fact Sheet 32 Family stream migration – other family

Sponsorship

All applicants for parent migration must be sponsored. The sponsor must be either an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled. 'Settled' means a person must have been a resident in Australia for a reasonable period, which under policy is usually two years.

If the child of the parent is 18 years or older, then the parent can be sponsored by that child or by that child's cohabiting spouse.

If the child has not turned 18, applicants may be sponsored by the cohabiting spouse of their child if the spouse has turned 18, a close relative or guardian of their child, or a community organisation.

Generally, an applicant cannot change their sponsor after they have lodged their contributory parent category visa application.
Exception: If a person is a temporary contributory parent visa holder and, whilst that visa is still valid, applies for the corresponding permanent visa.

Public interest criteria

Each parent and all dependent family members included in an application, must satisfy certain public interest requirements. This includes meeting the health and character requirements.
See:
Fact Sheet 22 The Health Requirement
Fact Sheet 79 The Character Requirement

Capping and queuing

All parent visa categories are subject to capping. This means that once the number of visas set by the minister for a visa class for the migration program year has been reached, no further visas can be granted in that program year.

In the 2008–09 migration program year, there will be 2000 visa places available worldwide under the parent category and 6500 places for the contributory parent categories.

To ensure equity, all contributory parent category visa applications are assessed in order of lodgement. If the number of contributory parent category visas allocated for the migration program year has been reached, applications are given a 'queue date' and placed in a queue.

The queue date is the date that the application was assessed as meeting the initial criteria for a contributory parent category visa. Once a queue date has been assigned it is a fixed date and cannot be given priority ahead of other applicants. Applications are then considered for grant in order of their queue date as places become available.
See: Fact sheet 21 Managing the Migration Program

Visa application charge

All applicants for a parent category visa are required to pay a first and second visa application charge (VAC).

First VAC
A first VAC must be paid per application and must be paid at time of lodging the application.
The first VAC is not refunded if the application is unsuccessful.

Second VAC
A second VAC is required for each individual applicant on the application. Payment of the second VAC is not required until just before grant of a visa.
The second VAC for the contributory parent category is considerably higher than for the parent category.

From Temporary to Permanent
Parents are able to apply directly for a permanent visa in the contributory parent category. Alternatively they can choose to initially apply for a temporary contributory parent category visa, and then within a two year period apply for the corresponding permanent contributory parent category visa.

The net costs of both options are similar, however the benefit of the two staged process is that the total costs of migration is staggered.

The applicant will pay a first and second visa application charge for both the temporary and permanent contributory parent category visa application.

The first and second VAC payable is based on the charges in place at the time that the application for the corresponding permanent contributory parent category visa is lodged.

Note: Visa application charges are subject to annual indexation.

For further information on fees and charges, refer to Form 990i on the department’s website.
See: Fees and Charges

Assurance of support

All applicants for a permanent visa (subclasses 143 and 864) in the contributory parent category require an assurance of support (AoS). An AoS is a legal commitment by a person to repay to the Australian Government any recoverable social security payments made by Centrelink to those covered by the assurance.

An AoS is also a commitment to provide financial support to the person applying to migrate, so that they will not have to rely on any government forms of support. In the case of a permanent visa holder in the contributory parent category, this is for the first 10 years after the applicant migrates from overseas or is granted permanent residence in Australia.

In addition, an AoS bond (held for 10 years) of $10 000 for the main applicant and $4000 for any adult secondary applicant must be paid.

The AoS and bond are not required until just before grant of the visa. They should only be provided when requested by the department.
See: Fact Sheet 34 Assurance of Support

Processing priorities

The minister has issued a direction for migration officers giving guidance on the order of priority for processing family stream applications.

In the family stream, all parent visa applications are given a lower processing priority than other family members such as partners and children.

In the parent visa categories, the contributory parent category has a higher processing priority than the parent category.
See: Fact Sheet 37 Processing Priorities

 

Further information is available on the department's web site.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national telephone service inquiry line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm (recorded information available outside these hours) for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia.

Fact Sheet 39. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Revised 23 June 2008.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2008.