All posts by Alan Collett

Onshore parent visa applications – Changing tack from an 864 to an 804

804 visas, 864 visas

With processing times for Contributory Parent visa applications now extending to 12+ years many who have submitted applications for subclass 864 Contributory Aged Parent visas are questioning their visa strategy, and are considering withdrawing that application and applying for a subclass 804 non-Contributory Aged Parent visa.

There are though some practical issues that should be borne in mind.

In particular the issue of Bridging Visas and the ability to depart Australia and return should be understood before one withdraws an application for a subclass 864 visa and applies for an 804.

If you are in Australia as the holder of a Bridging Visa A that is in effect – ie is active – when you withdraw the 864 and apply for an 804 you do not hold what is called a substantive visa when the subclass 804 visa application is lodged.

This means that you will be granted a Bridging Visa C when the subclass 804 visa application is receipted.

Unfortunately it is not then possible to apply for a Bridging Visa B if you subsequently want to depart Australia and return at a later date: applications for BVBs can only be made by those who hold a BVA or a BVB.

Strategy for those wanting to move onto an 804 application from an 864 might therefore be to leave Australia without a BVB.

Apply for a tourist visa (eg a subclass 651 eVisitor if you are a UK passport holder).

Then apply for the 804 visa once you have returned to Australia.

You will then be applying for the 804 as the holder of a substantive visa, facilitating the issuing of a BVA when the application for the 804 visa is receipted by the Department of Home Affairs.

If you are considering moving onto a subclass 804 visa application as a subclass 864 visa applicant there are clearly important steps to take.   Go Matilda Visas is experienced in the handling of parent visas – if you think you need help with your parent visa application we’ll be pleased to have an initial high level chat with you, and to send details of our fees.

 

Immigration Minister Confirms Number of Parent Visas for the 2022/23 Program Year

103 visa, 143 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas,

The Australian Immigration Minister has confirmed the number of parent visas that can be granted for the program year ending on 30 June 2023.

By way of background, parent visas are subject to an annual capping of visa grant numbers; at this time of year it is customary for the Minister to confirm this by way of an Instrument.

Numbers are as follows:

Contributory Parent visas

A maximum of 6,800 visas may be granted for the 2022/23 financial year.

Of the maximum number of Contributory Parent visas a maximum of 112 visas may be granted to applicants for the Contributory Parent Visa Migrant, Class CA who hold or who last held SC 405 Investor Retirement or SC 410 Retirement visas.

Non Contributory Parent Visas

A maximum of 1,700 Parent visas may be granted in the 2022/23 financial year.

Of the maximum number of Non Contributory Parent visas a maximum of 13 visas may be granted to applicants for the Parent (Migrant) (Class AX) visa who hold or who last held C 405 Investor Retirement or SC 410 Retirement visas.

In Summary

The overall number of visas that can be granted for the program year ending on 30 June 2023 is therefore 8,500 – which is as announced by the Federal Government already.

We expect to see a flurry of activity in the next 5 weeks given the number of visa grants up to 30 April 2023 discussed in our previous blog.

Parent visas granted to date in Program Year 2022/23, ending on 30 June 2023

103 visa, 143 visas, 173 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas, 884 visas, ,

Go Matilda Visas has details of the number of parent visas granted from 1 July 2022 to the end of April 2023.

Parent, subclass 103 1,276
Aged Parent, subclass 804 43
Contributory Parent, subclass 143 5,627
Contributory Parent (Temporary), subclass 173 322
Contributory Aged Parent, subclass 864 80
Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary), subclass 884 less than 5
   
TOTAL 7,348

The migration program planning level for parents for the program year to 30 June 2023 is 8,500 – so we anticipate a further 1,000+ parent visa grants before the end of next month.

Subject of course to any reduced cap that the Immigration Minister might place on parent visa numbers for the 2022/23 program year.

Go Matilda Visas is a pro-active firm of migration advisors that takes a particular interest in parent visas being sought by those with a child or children residing in Australia.

If you require assistance with a parent visa application and would like an initial free chat please complete the enquiry form on this page.

 

The latest Retirement Pathway statistics

103 visa, 143 visas,

Following a Freedom of Information request of the Department of Home Affairs we have details of the number of permanent residency visa applications lodged by subclass 410 and 405 visa holders that were on hand at 31 March 2023.

The Retirement Pathway is the means by which the holders of subclass 410 and 405 visas can obtain permanent residency.  Subclass 410 and 405 visas are no longer available to new applicants – they can only be renewed by existing 410 and 405 visa holders.

The numbers are as follows, with numbers at 31 July 2022 in italics.

Subclass 143 – 11 ; was 14

Subclass 103 – 212 ; was 207

From this we might reasonably conclude that subclass 103 visa applications under the Retirement Pathway have not yet started to be processed, even though the Department indicated that processing of such applications would commence in the current program year (to 30 June 2023).

Just In! The Latest Statistics Regarding Contributory Parent Visa applications

143 visas, 173 visas, 864 visas, 884 visas

Here is our latest update on the number of Contributory Parent visa applications, following a recent Freedom of Information request of the Department of Home Affairs.

More specifically we have obtained details of the number of Contributory Parent visa applications that are on hand now (January 2023), analysed into the month in which applications were submitted, up to November 2022.

Details of the number of CPV applications broken down between the number submitted each month are shown in this pdf document.

These details have been uploaded into a data set in our Parent Visa Calculator – together with a data set of CP visa applications as at August 2022.

You can access the Parent Visa Calculator here.

Of particular note is the increase in the number of on hand CP visa applications from 77,451 in mid-August 2022 to 80,099 now.

This indicates that in spite of an uptick in CP visa processing following the recently announced increased parent visa quota for the current program year the waiting time for the granting of visas to newly submitted Contributory Parent visa applications will continue to trend upwards.

In the absence of a sustained increase in the number of CP visa grants annually we see processing times for CP visa applications lodged now pushing out beyond 10 years.