Cheap Parent Visas Part I

[Gollywobbler]

Thanks Gill for your help on this! Ya I do understand that its not a guaranteed way but I plan to give it a try

Hi Syed

Thanks and good luck, my friend.

The bit that you can deal with right now is your father's eyesight. In your shoes, I would get him the best possible medical advice straightaway, to make sure that his eyesight doesn't get any worse and that anything else relating to his diabetes has been brought under control fully before you try to do anything else.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/si...%20%20diabetes

Please have a look at the Report of the MRT case in the link above. It seems that Mrs Thyagarajan had a number of medical problems. I have no idea whether the other problems described stemmed from or were related to her diabetes in some way - I don't know enough about Medicine to be able to judge that.

I hope that reading the MRT report will give you a clear idea about how "DIAC's mind," works, if you like, in cases where someone's medical condition is an issue.

Best wishes

Gill

[Syed]

Thanks Gill for your help again and the report is very helpful to understand what DIAC's thinks :)

[palonman]

Hi, I've been watching this fascinating thread for some time now and am up to speed on most aspects of an 804. We meet all the criterea needed for the visa (age, sponsorship, balance of family etc.) but would we be able to buy established property whilst on the long wait (or even prior to the move)? I think we could buy new but unsure as to the FIRB regulations regarding a 804 visa.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi, I've been watching this fascinating thread for some time now and am up to speed on most aspects of an 804. We meet all the criterea needed for the visa (age, sponsorship, balance of family etc.) but would we be able to buy established property whilst on the long wait (or even prior to the move)? I think we could buy new but unsure as to the FIRB regulations regarding a 804 visa.

Hello Palonman

With regard to the FIRB, please see the article below by Alan Collett of Go Matilda (thanks, Alan.)

http://www.gomatilda.com/news/article.cfm?articleid=485

Alan Collett is a Chartered Accountant as well as being a Registered Migration Agent so one can trust what he says about the FIRB. He is not guessing.

However, if you buy a house whilst you are on a Bridging Visa, you would not be eligible for the First Home Owners Grant:

http://www.firsthome.gov.au/

About 12-18 months ago, I heard that the Government intended to scrap the FHOG but I don't know whether that happened. I looked at the News articles on the Go Matilda website just now. There is nothing on there to say that the FHOG has been scrapped and I suspect that if it had been, Alan would have produced a News article about it.

http://www.gomatilda.com/news/index.cfm

I know people who are living in Oz on Bridging Visas, having applied for the sc 804 Aged Parents Visa. Some of them own their own homes. They wouldn't have been able to get the FHOG but apart from that they don't seem to have had any problems with buying homes.

Does this answer help with your query, please? If not, please shout at me and I'll try to do better!

Cheers

Gill

[Squareman]

Hi Gill, have you been getting mails? Was beginning to think that your tooth had gotten the better of you!

Hope to chat soon

G

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill, have you been getting mails? Was beginning to think that your tooth had gotten the better of you!

Hope to chat soon

G

Hi G

I sent you an e-mail on Sunday night. Did you not receive it? Shall I send it again?

Cheers

Gill

[Squareman]

Oh no! I didn't get it, Gill. That's weird!

Please resend it, will you? No rush though.......

Thanks

[Gollywobbler]

Oh no! I didn't get it, Gill. That's weird!

Please resend it, will you? No rush though.......

Thanks

Hi there

I have just re-sent the e-mail at 13:40 BST today. I have had problems with computer viruses although I had the machine professionally "cleaned" about a month ago with a new all-signing, all-dancing anti-virus system according to the computer wizard who sorted it out for me. His invoice (not cheap) says that he removed "deepseated malware including Trojans and Rootkits...." I've heard of Trojans but I have not heard of Rootkit viruses and none of my friends seem to know what Rootkits are, either. I looked on Wiki but I didn't understand their discussion about Rootkits. Besides, there is no point in hiring a very expensive dog and then trying to do the barking myself!

Please check your Spam bin etc just in case your machine is hiding my e-mail somewhere.

Please shout if you still don't receive it and, if so, please suggest some other way to do this. I am not a computer expert so I rely on other people to tell me what to do if the "obvious" does not work!

Cheers

Gill

[Candre]

Hi Gil,

This my first post. I have been reading this wonderful thread since morning and now it's 19.13 pm!! My whole Saturday is spent on one thread.... but totally worth it. Took so long because I jot down your every word, I looked up back and forth among this, DIAC site, and my own records. Just want to thank you for this very informative thread. You have cleared a lot of information that are buried or scattered in the website, you are great Gil.

After almost 10 years in Australia with the last few as a citizen, and my sister is getting her PR pretty soon (hopefully within this year), we plan to have our parents to move here on APV 804. We can't afford CPV, but with both of us sisters here, there won't be anyone to take care of the parents there. Their 676 visa has no 8503 condition, and will expire in March 2013. I don't want to risk their next visa containing 8503, so I am anxious to get them to come before it.

At first we agreed that before we at least have the Queue Date on hand, they shouldn't sell their house. But then, it would be very troublesome to try selling house from overseas when having only 90 days top on a Bridging Visa to travel there…..

But if I try to convince them to sell house first, I have to give them assurance that the application will be successful.

Say my sister’s PR is still not on hand when they apply, so she’s still on bridging visa herself. Then she can’t be a sponsor, and can’t be an Assurer of Support either - but can still she be counted for Balance of Family test?

Or if her PR is granted after 804 is lodged, can we then add her as a sponsor, an Assurer of Support, and for BoF test on an application that has been lodged?

Also Gil, I read all the posts and immi.gov.au but I am still confused on when 2^nd VAC and Bank Guarantee is lodged. It should be close to when visa is granted, but that will be very far away - in like 8 years (or 15 years according to the current info on immi website), is that correct?

I’d appreciate your help very much, many thanks in advance.

Cheers
Cath

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Cath

Please slow right down, honey.

It is impossible for you to be "planning" that your Parents should apply for an APV 804 unless and until your Parents are actually in Australia. The reason for this is because it is not lawful for anyone to travel to Australia on any sort of visa that permits temporary entry only if their real intention is to remain in Australia indefinitely - ie permanently.

So, right now, you are trying to think too far ahead, honey, and the risk with that is that you might confuse your Parents. Please remember that they will be required to complete a Passenger Disembarkation Card (PDC) before their flight lands in Australia. The PDCs are handed to the Immigration Control officials by the flight crew before the passengers are allowed to leave the aircraft. The PDC asks two pertinent questions, being:-

1. What is the purpose of your travel to Australia? and
2. What is the duration of your proposed stay in Australia?

I can't remember the exact wording but I have described the gist accurately. These cards must be completed truthfully because any attempt to mislead DIAC is a criminal offence in Australia. From what you have told me, you would be inciting your Parents to fib to DIAC about their real intentions, which I could not possibly condone and neither could you if you think about this properly, hon. Therefore the whole of your musing is completely premature unless and until your Parents have all four of their feet planted firmly on Australian soil.

So - you didn't mean what you have said in your post, now did you?!

Moving on, I am a bit confused by the part about you and your sister. Are you and she the ONLY two children that either of your Parents has? The Balance of Family Test has to be satisfied at the Time of Application (ToA) for one of the Parent visas as well as at the Time of Decision (ToD.) Please study the wording in the link below very carefully:-

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sh...y_parent.htm#g

At the moment, your sister does not have a Permanent Resident visa so she counts as being one of the "overseas children." If there are only two children then that is OK because only 50% of the children need to be PRs of Australia. However if there are three or more children then the BoF Test does not appear to be met at the moment?

New legislation introduced on 01 July 2011 does now allow the identity of the Sponsor to be changed between the ToA and the ToD but why would you want to do this, please? I do not understand that bit of your post either.

You have then asked about the Assurance of Support and the Bond for that. The Bond is not a "bank guarantee." It is a cash deposit that is put into a fixed term interest account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia but they do not issue any sort of bank guarantee in return for it. They merely confirm that they are holding on deposit the money that has been banked with them. You can't choose which Bank. It has to be the CBA, which is the Government's own Bank.

The AoS and the Bond are dealt with shortly before the visa is granted. This process cannot be hurried up because Centrelink insist on waiting for the request from the DIAC Case Officer handling the visa application. The CO does not trigger the AoS process until the CO is satisfied that there are no other problems with the visa application (eg a medical problem.)

The 2nd Instalment of the Visa Application Charge is the very final item to be requested before the visa is granted. (My own mother has a CPV. She was almost 85 when it was granted. My Aussie sister has some very ghoulish ideas at times! She grilled Mum's CO about what would happen if we paid the 2nd Instalment - the Big Money with a CPV - but Mum then died before entering Australia? Apparently the CO said that if that happened, DIAC would return the 2nd Instalment and they would also authorise the CBA and Centrelink to release the $10,000 AoS Bond. The AoS dies automatically on the death of the Parent. Luckily, it did not happen to us but I suppose that it probably does happen occasionally. I shouldn't think that any of the money is returned quickly, either, Government Departments being what they are!)

With regard to your Parents' house, which country is the house in, please? I happen to be a specialist Land lawyer but only in England & Wales. In E&W there is no problem with selling a house if the Vendor is not in the UK at the time but I can't say what the score might be in any other country.

But if I try to convince them to sell house first, I have to give them assurance that the application will be successful.

You can't provide any such assurance because you are not the Aussie Minister of Immigration, acting via his delegates at DIAC. Technically, the Minister is the only person who is empowered to decide whether or not to grant a visa.

If the house is in E&W (but, again, I can't speak about any other country) I'd recommend letting it out to Tenants for a few years. The rental income would boost your Parents' income if they are living in Oz on a Bridging Visa - which is an expensive way to live in Australia, as your sister is doubtless aware. My mother still owns the house that used to be our "family home" in England. She refuses to contemplate selling it during her own lifetime so we keep it permanently let to Tenants instead. We use the best specialist Lettings Agent in the local town and we have had no problems with the idea - but we do use the very best by way of a Lettings Agent, which I think is very important. I'm sure that he's the reason why we haven't had any problems. We pay him 15% of the rent plus VAT but he is worth every penny of that, in my view. In return, we get a full Management Service, so that if any repairs are needed, Richard organises the workmen etc and gets it all done. He also seems to find tenants who look after the house beautifully and always pay the rent on time. It is possible to get the service for about 10% + VAT locally but I don't think it is worth the risk of getting any other Lettings Agent get involved, frankly. I reckon that if the Agent is cheap then the Landlord gets a cheap (and probably nasty) service as well.

Cheers

Gill