The Australian Government has accepted the importance of family migration and that parents provide a range of benefits to the community and their family members. However, for the last 20 years, the Australian Government’s position was that it was required to limit the number of permanent migration places available to parents.

As a consequence, parents of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens who wish to migrate to Australia currently only have the following options:

• Non-Contributory Parent Visa – wait 30 years!!
• Contributory Parent Visa – wait 4 years but pay about $60,000 (including AOS)

Unfortunately, that means that most parents cannot migrate to Australia due to both the processing time frame (option 1) or the significant amount of money required to be paid (option 2). As a consequence, most parents come to Australia for short trips ranging from 3 months to 12 months for each stay on a Visitor Visa.

However, in September 2016, the Australian Government stated that it intended to introduce a new ‘Temporary Parent Visa’ which in effect is a 5 year Visitor Visa or a 5 year Permanent Visa without the ability to apply for Australian citizenship (noting the irony, as most people obtain Permanent Residence as a stepping stone for Citizenship).

With the New Temporary Parent Visa, the following should be noted:

• The New Temporary Parent Visa is expected to begin on 1 July 2017
• The DIBP visa application charges have not been confirmed
• Parents must be of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizen
• Parents must hold adequate private health insurance
• The proposed visa period is 5 years with the possibility of renewal
• The Australian Government has announced community consultation and nothing has been finalised yet