Category Archives: 870 visas

New Visa Application Charges for 2024_25

143 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas, 870 visas,
New Visa Application Charges are effective from today (1 July 2024).
 
Charges for 1st VACs (payable when the visa application is submitted) have been increased in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rounded to the nearest $5.
 
New VACs for the most commonly encountered parent visa subclasses are:
 
  • 143 – $4,895 for the main visa applicant, plus $1,650 for a secondary visa applicant.
  • 864 – $4,895 for the main visa applicant, plus $2,445 for a secondary visa applicant.
  • 804 – $5,125 for the main visa applicant, plus $2,565 for a secondary visa applicant.
  • 870 – $1,180 for each visa applicant
There is no increase in the 2nd VAC (which is payable immediately prior to visa grant) for 143s, 864, and 804s.
 
The 2nd VAC for subclass 870 visas has been increased to $10,605 for a 5 year visa, and to $4,715 for a 3 year visa.
 
These VACs apply to parent visa applications lodged from 1 July 2024.

Parent visas – The number of visas granted to date

103 visa, 143 visas, 173 visas, 804 visas, 864 visas, 870 visas, , ,

Following a Freedom of Information request we have received the following information from the Department of Home Affairs regarding the number of parent visas granted during the current program year through to the end of February 2024 – ie from 1 July 2023 to 29 Feb 2024.

  Number Granted Number Refused
Contributory Parent Visas (CPVs) 4,624 308
Non Contributory Parent Visas 1,231 203
Subclass 870, Sponsored Parent Temporary 2,672 70

The parent visa program planning level (which excludes subclass 870) for the year to 30 June 2024 is for 8,500 visa grants, so if this is to be achieved there are some 2,624 parent visas available for grant in the 4 months to the end of June 2024.

In recent years there has been a tendency for the number of parent visas granted during a program year to come in at a few hundred less than the planning level – watch this blog for the actual numbers for the full year in the coming months.

Renewing Subclass 870 Visas – The 90 Day Conundrum

143 visas, 870 visas, ,

Many individuals apply for subclass 870 Sponsored Parent Temporary visas while they are waiting for permanent residency visas to be granted under subclass 143, Contributory Parent.

Subclass 870 visas are granted with a 3 year or a 5 year validity.

With processing times for subclass 143 visa applications now taking substantially longer than was anticipated when the applications were lodged – and was indicated by the Department of Home Affairs at that time – subclass 870 visa holders are now having to renew the visa because their permanent residency visa is not going to be granted within the validity period of their present 870 visa.

A practical problem facing those intending to renew their 870 visa is the need for most to be outside Australia for at least 90 days before applying.

This is what the Migration Regulations relevantly say:

870.223

(1)  If:

(a) the applicant is outside Australia at the time of application; and

(b) the applicant previously held a Subclass 870 visa; and

(c) there are no exceptional circumstances;

the applicant has been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since the relevant departure day of the applicant.

(2)  The relevant departure day of an applicant is:

(a) if the applicant was in Australia when the last Subclass 870 visa held by the applicant ceased to be in effect—the first day on which the applicant left Australia after that visa ceased to be in effect; or

(b) if the applicant was not in Australia when the last Subclass 870 visa held by the applicant ceased to be in effect—the last day on which the applicant left Australia while that visa was in effect.

Permissions to apply onshore – ie when in Australia – for an initial subclass 870 visa were being approved during the Covid period when the border was closed.

However, such permissions are no longer being approved generally.

Department of Home Affairs policy guidance in this regard says:

Permission may be given to apply while in Australia in exceptional circumstances, such as an accident or serious illness which means the person cannot depart Australia to apply outside Australia.

There are no criteria in the Regulations in relation to approval of requests for permission to apply in Australia. The Minister has an unfettered discretion to give permission and all requests for permission must be considered on their merits. However, as indicated above, the policy intention is that permission will only be granted in exceptional cases, which would usually be where the parent is unable to depart Australia. The general expectation is that parents must apply for the Subclass 870 visa from outside Australia.

A request for permission to apply in Australia may be approved if the parent is unable to depart Australia, due to, for example:

  • an accident or serious illness (there should be medical evidence provided with the request); or
  • a natural disaster preventing travel to parent’s home country (e.g. ongoing ash cloud due to a volcanic eruption, pandemic or war).

On the other hand, a request for permission to apply in Australia should generally not be approved if the only reason for the request is that:

  • the parent does not want to travel overseas because of the cost and inconvenience including situations where a prospective visa applicant would simply prefer to remain in Australia for family related reasons (eg because a family member is due to give birth). In this case it is the responsibility of the parent to apply for and be granted a different visa if they seek to remain in Australia, before departing and re-applying for a further temporary parent visa offshore;
  • departure of the parent is not convenient for the sponsor;
  • the prospective visa applicant has sold their assets in their home country, and set themselves up in Australia in anticipation of being able to apply for and be granted another visa without leaving Australia;
  • the prospective visa applicant has failed to meet the permanent visa health requirement in relation to another visa application

A request for permission to apply in Australia should be supplemented with detailed information outlining the circumstances that are relevant to the request. 

A question to be asked by those whose subclass 870 visa is about to expire is therefore: do I need another subclass 870 visa?

Key to answering this is the reasonably expected timeline for the subclass 143 visa to be granted.

In this regard our contributory parent visa processing time calculator may be helpful to provide an indicative timeline of when the subclass 143 visa will be granted.

If there is a reasonable expectation of subclass 143 visa grant within 12 to 15 months of your subclass 870 visa expiring and you want to spend substantially all of that time in Australia you might reasonably look to a 12 month visitor visa under subclass 600.

If the processing time for the 143 visa grant is longer than this and you cannot leverage the exceptional circumstances provisions discussed above you should plan to have an extended holiday outside Australia of at least 3 months.

The sponsor application would be prepared in the last few weeks of one’s time in Australia – recall here that a new family sponsor approval application cannot be submitted while an existing family sponsorship is ongoing.

Family sponsorships are presently taking some 6 to 8 weeks to be approved.

The subclass 870 visa application would then be lodged, after which one can return to Australia on (say) a 3 month visitor visa (subclass e651, if available) while awaiting a decision on the 870 visa application.

Remember than you can be in Australia when a subclass 870 visa is granted.

At the moment visa applications under subclass 870 are also taking 6 to 8 weeks to be processed to a decision.

Clearly there are several logistical issues to address in this situation.  

Go Matilda Parent Visas will be delighted to support existing subclass 870 visa holders who need help renewing their subclass 870 visas.

Please complete the enquiry form on this web page if you think you will need help with your subclass 870 visa renewal and would like a free initial chat.

 

 

Subclass 870 visa applications: The latest statistics from Go Matilda Visas

870 visas,

We regularly make enquiry of the Australian Government to obtain details of parent visa applications in an effort to better understand what is happening with processing.

In this blog we provide details – see the table that can be downloaded below – of subclass 870 visa applications that are on hand at the Department of Home Affairs.

In summary, as at 17 August 2022 there were 1,087 x subclass 870 visa applications lodged with the Department where the visa application had been received on or before 31 July 2022.

Legislation allows for the granting of 15,000 of these visas during each program year to 30 June.

We therefore consider there is plenty of scope for current and intending applicants to be granted subclass 870 visas – any delay in these visas being granted is not due to the cap on the number of visas.

Rather, we believe that any delay in processing these visas to a decision is a function of information not being delivered to the Department by visa applicants – we believe this is likely to account for visa applications that are more than 6 months old.

The remainder – from roughly March 2022 onwards – appear to reflect the resourcing of processing at the Department.

Indeed, it appears that if the Department is minded to allocate resources to quickly facilitate the granting of all the subclass 870 visa applications presently on hand we consider there will still be a significant number of visas available to accommodate subclass 870 visa applications that are submitted over the coming months, given the annual ceiling on subclass 870 visas of 15,000.

Parents – subclass 870 visa applications – on hand up to 31 July 2022 – at 17 August 2022

Go Matilda Visas is a proactive Australian visa advisory practice.    We have been helping parents apply for visas for over 20 years and are committed to supporting our parent visa clients with visa strategy and their visa applications so they can be reunited with their children.

If you are a parent with a child or children living in Australia and want help with a current or planned parent visa application please complete the enquiry form on this page.

We’ll be pleased to have a free initial conversation about your situation, after which we can send a no obligation fee proposal to you.

 

Subclass 870 Visa Holders – Condition 8501 – Requirement to Maintain Health Insurance – RHCA Relaxation

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Condition 8501 is required to be included on all subclass 870 Sponsored Parent Temporary Visas.  

This condition requires the visa holder to maintain adequate health insurance for the duration of their stay in Australia.

However, Department of Home Affairs policy guidance provides a relaxation for those who can access Medicare under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA).

At the current time Australia has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCAs) with eleven countries, being the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia and the Republic of Ireland.

The provisions of RHCAs vary, and frequently entitle residents of these countries to obtain a RHCA-specific Medicare card and to receive access to limited subsidised health services for medically necessary treatment while visiting Australia.

It should be noted that simply being a citizen of a country that has a RHCA with Australia may not necessarily entitle a person to access Medicare –  Services Australia is responsible for determining a person’s eligibility to enrol in Medicare under a RHCA.

Importantly for subclass 870 visa holders who have arrived in Australia from a RHCA country if the 870 visa holder has enrolled with Medicare and holds a valid Medicare card issued under a RHCA the Department considers they meet the minimum requirements for adequate arrangements for health insurance given the RHCA covers the visa holder for the entirety of their stay in Australia.

Individuals who have not yet enrolled in Medicare under a RHCA must obtain private health insurance even if they are entitled to Medicare.

In other words private health insurance must be maintained by a subclass 870 visa holder while in Australia until s/he has enrolled in the Medicare system under the applicable RHCA.

A couple of specific additional points:

  • Citizens of the Republic of Ireland are not eligible to receive a Medicare card but can access certain Medicare services by presenting their passport. Therefore, for citizens of the Republic of Ireland, the Department considers that evidence of an Irish passport is sufficient to meet the requirement for adequate health insurance.
  • Those who are residents and citizens of Malta or Italy are eligible for a reciprocal Medicare card only for the first six months of their stay in Australia.  This is sufficient to meet the requirement to have adequate arrangements for health insurance at the visa application stage, but these persons will need to make adequate arrangements for health insurance once they cease to be eligible for reciprocal health care to satisfy condition 8501.