Australian Immigration Daily News

The temporary sponsored parent visa is designed to allow the parents of Australians to spend longer periods of time with their children in Australia without placing additional burden on Australia's health care system.  The sponsorship for this visa is now open to eligible sponsors wishing to bring their parents to Australia on a temporary basis.

The new visa will allow Australians to sponsor their parents to stay in Australia for up to five years at a time. A reminder that this new visa arrangement does not replace the existing Parent category visas. The new visa provides an important cultural link for children of Australian migrants, while recognising the social benefits afforded through parent reunification, such as assistance with minding of grandchildren. Additionally, this visa seeks to address long-standing community concerns about wait times under existing parent visa arrangements. This new visa arrangement is for parents (biological or adoptive) and step-parents of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand Citizens. A step-parent can only apply if they are still in a married/de facto relationship with a biological parent of the sponsoring Australian child.

A sponsor for a temporary sponsored parent visa must meet requirements specified in Migration Regulations in order for their sponsorship to be approved. These will include that the sponsor must:

• be a biological, adoptive, or a step-child of their parent
• provide valid evidence of their identity
• be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• be 18 years or older
• have lived in Australia for at least four years
• meet a household income requirement
• accept legal liability for any outstanding public health debt their sponsored parent accrues.

Applications for subclass 870 visa are due to open on 1 July 2019.