The Australian Government does not seem to be too eager to welcome the parents and relatives of the Australia-settled migrants willing to sponsor them or so it appears if we go by this report.
The recent decision of the incumbent Turnbull Administration that necessitates that the sponsors keen to bring their parents to Oz net more with a discreet amendment to visa regulations, without needing to pass a bill through the Australian Parliament–has, reportedly, disturbed many affected people. As per the update we have on the issue, the government has increased the obligatory income for the sponsors by more than 100%.
Reportedly, now the different migration agencies across many Australian cities are flooded with calls from the worried clients on the waiting list – both parents overseas and their kids in Down Under – who fear they will not be able to fulfill the latest conditions as laid down by the administration.
As per a migration agent from Melbourne, the new change of rule will impact not less than 30,000 candidates, who were already in the queue prior to April 1, 2018.
The administration has an upper limit on Parent Visa places of just under 9,000 this year even as the waiting list is rather long.
Change affects 1000s of aspirants
As per the own admission of the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) previously called the Immigration Department–not less than 30,000 applicants are cooling their heels.
For the most frequently offered Parent Visa (contributory 143), the wait is nearly two or three years, and for the much more preventive non-contributory parent visa (103), the waiting list is an astounding three decades.
The DHA vets the cases.
A major last step is to send across ‘Assurance of Support’ (AOS) paperwork to Centrelink. The AOS necessitates the ‘assurer’, typically the child sponsor, to prove they gross very well, and to put down a heavy bank deposit.
The sponsors require assuring they will take care of any social security their parents require through the latters’ initial decade in Australia.
According to the incumbent Australian Social Services Minister, the changes will not be applied looking back and that AOS forms submitted to the Centrelink before 1 April will be evaluated under the previous laws.
However, several of those who have been in the line for years – those cooling their heels for their case to be vetted by DHA, and who are still to present their AOS paperwork – will require fulfilling the new requirements.
Reportedly, some candidates on the waiting list are presently getting letters from the DHA, post years of waiting for a decision, asking them to get their paperwork complete for the AOS.
How have the conditions altered?
The amendments commonly affect Parent Visas.
A person, keen to offer sponsorship to his two parents, presently requires a yearly salary of $86,607, up from $35,793 under the preceding laws; even while a couple proffering sponsorship to two parents, at present, requires shared earnings of $115,476.
A single person sponsoring just one parent requires wages of $57,738.
The higher wages are needed for all the primary Parent Visas: both the temporary & permanent types of the contributory parent visa (143 and 173), the non-contributory parent visa (103 and 804), the contributory aged parent visa (864 and 884), and also the ‘remaining relative’ (835) visa.
These visas also necessitate a bond from the sponsor and a lawful promise to take care of any Centrelink costs, though the size of the bond and the period of the guarantee depend on the kind of visa.
Reportedly, the non-contributory parent intake has come to almost a stop, with the DHA presently warning candidates that they face a huge wait time of nearly three decades for the famous visa.
The reason: sponsors of those visas only require guaranteeing two years of welfare and putting down a bond of $5,000. However, just 1,500 places are set aside for non-contributory parents this year inside Australia’s total migration limit of 190,000 and so the swelling line.
By contrast, over 7,000 places are available this year for contributory parents, for which it is mandatory that the sponsors commit to a 10-year welfare guarantee and a bond of not less than $10,000. The icing on the cake: the present wait time is approximately three years for these visas, not three decades.
On July 1, 2019, the minimum bonds for the said two categories will increase to $7,500 and $15,000 in that order.
As per a statement from the government, it was bringing the laws up-to-date to confirm migrant parents did not badly exploit the welfare arrangement. It added that the Australian Government is eager to guarantee that the newly arrived migrants have the financial capability to support themselves, while also guaranteeing the social security arrangement continues to be maintainable.
As per the available information, the department may also optionally necessitate an AOS guarantee for child visas, adoptions, some orphans and previous residents.
Parent visas also require upfront petition charges and it is not possible to get a refund in case the visa is refused.
According to a spokesperson for the DHA, the no-refunds regulation would still be applicable to the families who submitted an application prior to the amendments.
As per an online government calculator, a Permanent Contributory Parent Visa (143) may cost around $4,000 in upfront charges.
Is this a different method to reduce immigration?
The amendments come during a testy internal dispute inside Premier Malcolm Turnbull’s administration over the nation’s rate of immigration. The amendments also come only some weeks prior to the federal treasurer comes-out with the 2018 Budget. It is still to be figured whether the Treasury will write down any savings or loses from the amendment. The effect on immigration figures–in case any–cannot be figured until future yearly reports are made available.
