A parent of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or qualifying New Zealand citizen can visit Australia for up to 3 or 5 years with the 870 temporary visa.

COVID-19 update: SC 870 visa – Permission to Apply Onshore: Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, petitions for permission to lodge Subclass 870 Temporary Sponsored Parent visas onshore are being treated with leniency. Please schedule an appointment if you require assistance.

Process

A sponsored parent can apply for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa once their sponsorship application has been granted.
The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa is then available to parents.
Within six months of sponsorship approval, a visa application must be submitted.

Goal

The visa gives parents a new avenue to temporarily reunite with their children and grandkids in Australia while also ensuring that taxpayers are not forced to foot the bill. The visa was created in response to community complaints about the restricted amount of Parent spots available in the migration program, as well as the long wait times that come with it.

Eligibility

A parent must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the visa:
the sponsor’s biological, adoptive, or step-parent

Someone must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident of Australia, or a citizen of New Zealand.

Advantages of this visa

The visa permits parents to stay in Australia for up to five years at a time without having to leave the country. It is a viable alternative to Visitor visas, which only allow for shorter stays. Parents can still apply for temporary visitor visas and/or permanent parent visas.

Number of available spots

Each program year, up to 15,000 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visas may be granted (from 1 July to 30 June).

The Government set the 15,000 quota in acknowledgment of the issues that an aging population poses, as well as the total fiscal effect of older migrants. The limit also reflects the government’s aim of providing visa options for Australians’ children and partners, as well as the need to prioritize young skilled migrants in order to maximize migration’s economic advantages.

If the cap is reached during a program year, no more visas will be issued until the following program year begins on July 1st.

The visa and the current routes

The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa replaces the Visitor visa, which allowed parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents to stay in Australia for longer lengths of time.

While the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa allows for a substantially longer stay than a visiting visa, it is still only a temporary visa and does not grant permanent residency in Australia, as a permanent Parent visa does.

Existing Parent visa candidates will be able to travel to Australia briefly to spend time with their children and grandkids while their permanent Parent visa application is being processed under the new visa.

Potential applicants are in the greatest position to evaluate which visa is best suited to their needs, keeping in mind that each visa has its own set of requirements, fees, conditions, and stay terms.

Sponsorship

Sponsors of Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visas should read the material below; it does not apply to other types of sponsors, such as work visa sponsors.

At any given time, only two parents per family can be sponsored for this visa. The limit permits more households to sponsor a parent while still reflecting the potential expenditures that a sponsor may incur.

Eligibility

The following conditions must be met by sponsors:

Sponsors must earn at least $83,454.80 in taxable income.
the sponsor/parent relationship requirements (i.e., a parent must be the sponsor’s biological, adoptive, or step-parent, and a step-parent can only apply if they are still married/de facto to the sponsor’s biological parent)
must be at least 18 years old
be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen who has lived in Australia for at least four years.
have fulfilled any previous sponsorship commitments
There should be no negative information unless it is appropriate to reject it.
a minimal household income threshold (based on the sponsor’s income, or the sponsor’s income plus their spouse/income partner’s and/or another kid of the parent)
submit police clearances for any country where they spent more than 12 months in the previous ten years.
authorise the sharing of information with the visa applicant.
Sponsors must also promise to follow through on their sponsorship commitments to the parent(s) they are supporting.

Sponsorship responsibilities

A parent sponsor will be required to fulfill a number of responsibilities, including: providing financial assistance and housing in Australia for their parents

Keeping documents and, if requested, presenting them to the Department As an example, proof of income. This responsibility expires two years after the person stops being a sponsor.

When specific circumstances occur, you must notify the Department. If they are accused with a crime, for example. This responsibility expires the day the individual stops being a sponsor.

Paying off their parent’s outstanding public health debts in Australia. If the relevant health authority advises that the debt has been repaid or that acceptable repayment arrangements have been agreed, the obligation ends. If there are ongoing health debts, this duty will persist even if the parent who incurred them has left Australia.

If an obligation is broken, the Department may take the following actions:

The sponsorship will be canceled. This means that everyone with a sponsored visa must either find a new sponsor or leave Australia.

Unless there is a sponsor. For a set period of time, a bar precludes a sponsor from sponsoring any more parents. If the relevant health authority advises that the debt has been repaid or that acceptable repayment arrangements have been agreed, the obligation ends. If there are ongoing health debts, this duty will persist even if the parent who incurred them has left Australia.

If an obligation is broken, the Department may take the following actions:

The sponsorship will be canceled. This means that everyone with a sponsored visa must either find a new sponsor or leave Australia.
Unless there is a sponsor. For a set period of time, a bar precludes a sponsor from sponsoring any more parents.

If the parent incurs public health obligations in Australia and does not pay them, the person due the amount will be able to pursue the sponsor, possibly through the courts, to recover the debt.

Validity of sponsorship

The following events will result in the termination of a parent sponsorship:

If the sponsor’s long-term visa is revoked
If the sponsor passes away
If the sponsor decides to stop sponsoring
If the sponsored parent does not apply for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa within six months of the sponsorship approval, the sponsorship will be terminated.
The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa expires on this date.
Some sponsor obligations, such as the responsibility to pay any outstanding health costs acquired by the visa holder in Australia after their visa has terminated, will continue after the sponsorship ends.

The cost of a sponsorship

The application price for sponsorship is $420.
Other types of visas that can be sponsored
Sponsors of Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visas will be eligible to sponsor other types of visa holders if they meet the sponsorship conditions (for example a work visa sponsor for a Temporary Skill Shortage visa, or sponsor for a Sponsored Family Visitor visa).
A sponsor can apply to have their sponsorship changed so that they can sponsor a different (new) parent.

The new parent must also be the sponsor’s parent or stepparent, as well as their spouse/partner. If the sponsor already has two sponsored parents, they must remove one of them, and that parent must either leave Australia or apply for and be granted a different visa before a sponsorship variation application may be submitted.

Sponsors who want to sponsor two new parents must apply for a new sponsorship.

Visa

Eligibility for a visa

Applicants for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) Visa must meet the following requirements:

Be sponsored by a parent sponsor who has been approved
Must be at least 18 years old
If the applicant possesses or has previously had a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa, they must be outside Australia for at least 90 days (unless invited in writing by the Department).
Not have been involved in the payment of visas
Offer proof of financial access
Give proof of medical coverage
Not owe any money to the government for health care (unless appropriate arrangements have been made to repay the debt)
Health, character, and national security standards must all be met.

FAMILY BALANCE TEST

Unlike permanent Parent visas, this visa does not need a visa applicant to have more than half of their children live in Australia.

How long will you be able to stay?

The visa allows parents to stay in Australia for up to five years on a temporary basis. Before applying for another Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa, a parent must have spent at least 90 days outside of Australia. A parent will be permitted to hold visas for up to ten years in total in Australia, indicating that the visa is transitory and does not lead to permanent residence.

Parents who have had Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visas for the maximum of ten years must either leave Australia or seek for another visa that will allow them to stay. They will not be eligible for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa in the future.

The visa cost

The following are the fees:

Global Vision Migration Professional Fee – 870 Visitor VisaSponsor and Visa Application	$3,500+GST
IMMI Sponsorship Fee	$420*
IMMI Lodgment Fee – 870 Visa Fee(time of lodgment)	$1,000*
IMMI Lodgment Fee – 870 Visa Fee 5 year visa(time of approval) OR IMMI Lodgment Fee – 870 Visa Fee 3 year visa (time of approval)	$9,000$4,000
Health Assessment	Approx $350-$400
Police Clearances	Vary

*A credit card surcharge of 1.4 percent applies to immi lodgment costs for Amex, Visa, and MasterCard.

The visa application fee is paid in two installments, one at the time of application and the other before the visa is granted.

The visa application fee is a contribution to the cost of services that parents will use while staying in Australia for an extended period of time. Most visa holders will never have paid tax in Australia, but they will be able to take advantage of existing infrastructure.

The fees also reflect the fact that both parents and their Australian family benefit. The visa holder can stay in Australia for up to five years in a row (for a total of ten years), saving money on airfares that would otherwise be incurred if they were compelled to leave and return to Australia on a regular basis.

Time to process

The length of time it takes to process an application will be determined by a number of factors, including the quantity of applications submitted and whether or not an applicant provides all essential information.

Work rights

The majority of visa holders will be subject to a “no work” restriction.

Please contact us on 03 9521 7577 if you would like to learn more about the current proposal for a new Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa, or if you would want to discuss your Parent Visa choices and decide which Parent visa track to take.