MIL migrating

[Beanbear]

Hi,

 

Wondered if anyone could advise. MIL is coming for a visit in August to look at possibility of joining us out here. We have PR so could sponsor her, what are the best options currently - given that there have been recent changes? She is unhappy in UK without us and can get a buyer for her house quite easily just wants to buy a place here and be near the grandkids.

 

Any info/time frames/ costs gratefully received.

 

thanks

 

Claire:v_SPIN:

[Guest smurph]

is that right? ... if you have pr you can sponsor people even if they don't have an in demand skill or are your last remaining relative???

 

if so, thanks for the info .. i didn't know that.

[Riponian]

Yeah you can sponsor family if PR don't have to wait until they are citizens. Wish my in laws would make the move :-(

[foxychick]

You can sponsor people whilst on PR, but if you are thinking parents, they must also pass the balance of family test (which appears to include step-children).

 

Beanbear. Although there is the loophole kind of way, at present, not sure if I would be confident to try that. So options are - offshore aged parent - current wait time over 11 years I think. Or contributory parent, application fee around $1800, then wait about 15-18 months for CO, then pay $32,000 ish and bob's your uncle. There is also a bond that must be lodged by the person sponsoring, I think it is for 10 years.

 

If you do a search, there is a great post by gollywobbler about this sort of stuff

[Guest smurph]

Yeah you can sponsor family if PR don't have to wait until they are citizens. Wish my in laws would make the move :-(

 

i sort of knew you could sponsor people as a pr but i thought it was in addition to other requirements of the visa too... e.g remaining relative or there skills...

 

but say for example we have friends or family members who would like to live here... no particular skills that are in demand anyway, not our last remaining relative etc... can we just sponsor them then and they can have a visa.... i must admit i didn't think so...

[foxychick]

Sadly, the short answer to that is no.

[Guest WhatNow?]

There seems to be some confusion about the word 'sponsorship'. This doesn't mean that a visa grant is automatic or easier if you are prepared to sponsor, it merely means that sponsorship by a relative is the MAIN CONDITION for grant of a parent visa. There are other tests that have to be applied along with the usual medical and character qualifications and contributory payments and Assurances of Support must be provided and lodged in advance where relevant. Also the numbers of visas granted is set at the beginning of the year and after that the applications go into a queue.

 

These are the pages you need to read on the DIAC website:

 

Family migration: Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 29. Overview of Family Stream Migration

Capping of visa numbers: Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 21. Managing the Migration Program

Parent visas: Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 31. Parents

Last Remaining/Dependent Relative: http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/32other.htm

Parent visa queue: Parent Visa Processing Priorities - Family - Visas & Immigration

 

Here is a quote from the current parent visa queue page -

Parent category queue

 

In the 2010–11 Migration Program year, 1000 parent category visa places are available for applicants applying from in and outside Australia.

Based on current planning levels, parent category visa applicants can expect an approximate 20 year wait before visa grant consideration after being allocated a queue date.

Contributory parent category queue

 

In 2007–08, high demand for the contributory parent visa category meant that a queue formed for the first time.

In the 2010–11 Migration Program year, 7500 contributory parent category visa places are available for applicants applying from in and outside Australia.

Based on current planning levels new contributory parent category visa applicants can expect to wait up to two years before visa grant consideration.

 

What is not clear is that if you make an application this year and there are already people in the queue from last year, whose application gets priority. I have just put today's date in the Queue calculator https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/qcalc/QDateCalc.do and it says there is no queue at the present time. As I understand it from researching this with migration agents for some of our clients, until an application is lodged you won't know what the position is as it depends on how many others are lodging at the same time and what order the applications are processed in. If you read the processing priorities on the web pages above you will see that there are only 1000 Parent category visas available and 7500 Contributary Parent category visas available this year (20010/11) and this has quota is shared between all countries - not just for the UK.

 

Sorry to pour cold water on your plans but it's better to be informed than to raise your hopes unrealistically...

[Guest WhatNow?]

As foxychick says there is a detailed post by gollywobbler about an alternative - but dodgy - route.

[Guest smurph]

yep thought as much... i can always remember people telling me before we came out here that they can come over anytime as there relative can just sponsor them, i used to think...how come i have to do all this singing and dancing to get a visa when all i really needed was a pr to sponsor me....some of our friends still think and say this though but hey who am i to put them right, let them just look into it themselves like we had to.

[Guest WhatNow?]

yep thought as much... i can always remember people telling me before we came out here that they can come over anytime as there relative can just sponsor them, i used to think...how come i have to do all this singing and dancing to get a visa when all i really needed was a pr to sponsor me....some of our friends still think and say this though but hey who am i to put them right, let them just look into it themselves like we had to.

 

 

Yes Smurph, it's sad that people bandy misinformation about as if it were facts when a quick read of the DIAC website or five minutes with a migration agent on the phone will give you the true situation. I think a lot of the people who offer this advice are thinking back, say, 10 or 20 years when things were different. Always better to go to the source but, as you say, not everyone can be bothered...

[Diane]

I think if it was that easy, most of us here would have our parents and inlaws out by now! In my case, I initially had australian nationality because my parents had been working here when I was born, so I was able to come back at to live at any time, but they can't!

[Beanbear]

I think if it was that easy, most of us here would have our parents and inlaws out by now! In my case, I initially had australian nationality because my parents had been working here when I was born, so I was able to come back at to live at any time, but they can't!

 

 

Still a tad confused! Have read the posts on the subject before and understand that the aged parent visa whilst on the negative side has a long wait, would allow the parent to live here in the meanwhile. I saw Gill's update that this could mean the uncertainty of having the bridging visa terminated under proposed new legislation.

 

We know that there is a hefty cost involved in the cpv (contributory parent visa) but from the immi website there appears to be one you can apply for onshore - so wondered what the initial visa is that you would come on?

[Beanbear]

Just to add that the balance of family is ok - she has two sons one in Spain and one here and no other children. She is so fed up on her own in the UK we just want to help her get her life back on track.

[Diane]

I guess she could do what a friend of ours does - spend six months here (on a tourist visa - I think she may have to leave the country and come back again midway through though - perhaps a short trip to NZ or Fiji...) and then six months in the UK (or Spain...). Iris (our friend) has sold her house in the UK, and just rents an apartment in London for when she's back there, close to all the museums and shows and stuff, and used to rent a place here (well, in Victoria) for six months this end: that way she never has to experience a winter!

 

I think the only way you'll know for sure is to speak to a registered migration agent, as like you say, they do seem to be constantly moving the goalposts