How long do I have to wait for a Parent Visa?
This column will be about the new announcement of visa processing times for Parent visas.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, visa processing has been significantly delayed.
Even in our clients’ case, as there were travel restrictions after the COVID-19 Pandemic, there were many inquiries about Parent visas to invite them to Australia. Due to COVID, many people in Australia cannot meet their parents abroad for at least 2-3 years.
The summary of the announcement is as follows.
As of 30 April 2022, they have released for final processing:
- Contributory Parent visa applications with a queue date up to July 2016
- Parent visa applications with a queue date up to October 2010
- Aged Parent visa applications with a queue date up to December 2012
The Department is required to process Parent and Contributory Parent applications in date order and within annual limits. The current onshore and offshore processing times in both Parent and Contributory Parent categories are very different, and the Department has announced that it is taking action to correct them.
→ Onshore Contributory Parent (Subclass 884 and Subclass 864) visa subclasses have been assessed up to February 2017. Onshore Contributory Parent visas lodged from February 2017 onwards will likely take longer to process to bring the offshore applications back to parity.
→ Onshore Aged Parent (Subclass 804) visas have been assessed up to Queued Date of December 2012. Onshore Aged Parent applications with a Queued Date of December 2012 are likely to take longer to process to bring the offshore applications back to parity.
→ All Contributory Parent visa applications lodged before 1 June 2018 have been given a queue date of the application lodgment date, and applications lodged on or after 1 June 2018 are assessed and given a queue date when it meets the initial visa criteria.
Processing times
- New Contributory Parent visa applications lodged that meet the criteria to be queued are likely to take at least 67 months to be released for final processing.
- New Parent and Aged Parent visa applications lodged that meet the criteria to be queued are likely to take at least 30 years for final processing.
According to the announcement, people feel inconvenienced and dissatisfied because even though the Contributory Parent Visa requires a contribution of $50,000, it takes 5-6 years. And the Parent Visa takes up to 30 years.
Regarding visa processing time, the new Temporary Parent Visa (subclass 870) introduced in 2019 may be a better option. The Temporary invitation visa allows you to stay in Australia for up to 10 years.
A temporary Parent Visa (subclass 870) has different requirements from Parent Visas, so if you have any questions regarding the temporary parent visa, please get in touch with Mosaic Migration & Education. We will guide you in detail.
