Other Family Visa Queue
The Other Family category of visas includes Carer, Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visas.
The Australian Government has increased the number of places available under the Other Family category from 750 in the 2010-11 financial year to 1250 in the 2011-12 financial year.
If you are applying for a Carer visa you will have priority within the Other Family category. Of the 1250 visa places available, there are approximately 950 visa places allocated to Carer visa applicants with the remaining 300 places divided between Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visa applicants.
The department cannot predict processing times for Other Family category visas in future program years. This is because waiting times of queued applications and applications that have not yet been assessed may vary due to a number of factors including:
- changes in planning levels
- number of visa lodgements, withdrawals and refusals
- Migration Review Tribunal remits
- Ministerial Intervention cases.
Processing priorities
Processing priorities for Other Family category visa applications are determined by the government.
See: Fact Sheet 37 – Processing Priorities for the Family Stream Migration
To ensure equity, all Other Family category visa applications are first assessed against the relevant criteria in the order they are lodged. Based on the date this assessment is completed, applications are then assigned a queue date and placed in the queue to be considered for finalisation.
The processing time for an application to reach queue status varies depending on the complexity of the individual case, how quickly applicants respond to requests for further information and caseload sizes at the individual processing office.
Queuing information
Applications are considered for finalisation in order of their queue date as visa places become available under the Migration Program. After a visa application has been queued, the department does not usually contact the applicant again until a visa place has become available and the application is due to be considered for finalisation.
Applicants must continue to meet the relevant criteria and satisfy any outstanding requirements (such as health, character, assurance of support, and payment of the second instalment of the visa application charge) for the visa application to be granted.
See: Fact sheet 21 – Managing the Migration Program
Carer visa applicants
Applications for Carer visas with a queue date up to 30 November 2011 are now being considered for finalisation.
Further information for applications which have a queue date from 1 December 2011 will be published after migration numbers are set for the 2012-13 year.
It is currently estimated that lodged Carer visa applications, that have not yet been assessed and queued, are likely to take up to two and a half years for finalisation.
Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visa applicants
Applications for Remaining Relative or Aged Dependent Relative visas with a queue date up to 31 May 2010 are now being considered for finalisation.
Further information for applications which have a queue date from 1 June 2010 will be published after migration numbers are set for the 2012-13 year.
It is currently estimated that lodged Remaining Relative or Aged Dependent Relative visa applications, that have not yet been assessed and queued, are likely to take up to 12 years for finalisation.
Applications lodged in and outside Australia
If you lodge an application for an Other Family visa in Australia you will need to meet health and character requirements for the visa before you are placed in the visa queue.
If you lodge an application for an Other Family visa outside Australia you will not need to meet health and character requirements before you are given a queue date. However, health and character checks must be successfully completed before an Other Family visa can be granted.
See:
Fact sheet 22 – The health requirement
Fact sheet 79 – The character requirement