After receiving permanent residence or citizenship in Australia, some people want to bring their parents to Australia, particularly to help working parents raise children.

Until recently, the options were very limited. There is the 804 Aged Parent Onshore visa, but this is only available if the parent is at least 66 years old and is single, divorced or widowed. The visa is also capped to a limited number of places each year. This means the processing times are ludicrously long, more than 30 years. In some cases however, the processing time is not an issue as the parent will receive a bridging visa if they are inside Australia at the time of application. The bridging visa will allow them to remain in Australia until Home Affairs makes a decision on the visa application.

For younger parents and those are that are married or in a de facto relationship, there are faster, but more expensive options. These include the 173 Temporary Contributory Parent visa which is up to two year’s duration. Home Affairs charges about $30,000 to apply for this visa, but it does lead to a reduced application charge for the 143 Permanent Contributory visa. However, it is faster and cheaper overall to apply for the 143 Permanent Contributory visa directly. The application charge for this visa is about $48,000 and the processing time is about 3 years.

One problem some families have is that the contributory parent visas require the parent to satisfy the balance of family test. This means that the number of eligible children, irrespective of age, that are settled in Australia (including the sponsoring child) must be equal or more than the number of ineligible children that are living in any one country that is outside Australia.

Thankfully, in April this year, the federal government introduced the new 870 Sponsored Temporary Parent visa, which is available for single or partnered parents and does not require the parent to meet the balance of family test.

The 870 visa has two time periods: three years duration (application charge about $5,000) and five years (application charge about $10,000). The processing times for this new visa are not available yet, but are likely to be much, much faster than any of the other options.

While the 870 visa does not lead to permanent residence, it can allow families to reunite and support each other much faster and is a lower cost than the other options.

If you would like advice on parent visas, contact Sed Crest, principal of Crest Migration (07 5592 0164) and lawyer with McLaughlins Lawyers – your Gold Coast family Lawyers. We Stand Beside You.