The government will no longer accept applications for Non-Contributory Parent visas after the end of the financial year.
The government is scrapping a cost-effective visa scheme that allows parents to move to Australia to be with their children.
It was announced in the budget that the government will no longer accept applications for Non-Contributory Parent visas after the end of the financial year.
The scheme is thousands of dollars cheaper than the other visa alternative for parents but the waiting list is more than a decade.
Visa expert John McQuaid from Arrive Australia doesn’t think the move will affect many Irish families.
“It’s a long, long time since we have done one as no one is attracted to them,” he says.
“Imagine parents 60-plus waiting 14 years for a visa. It’s not an attractive option.”
He explained that the Contributory Parent visa, which has a waiting list of about 18 months, is a more realistic option for Irish families. This visa costs up to $60,000 per applicant.
Arrive Australia processes a couple of these visas every year for families. McQuaid believes the demand for the scheme will now go up with the closure of the other visa stream.
“The Contributory Parent visa is still there. It doesn’t mean no parents can come. They just have to pay to get the visa,” he says.
Under the Contributory Parent visa parents can live permanently in Australia if they have a child who is a citizen or permanent resident.
However, the loss of the Non-Contributory scheme is a concern to the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA).
The MIA claims that the cost for two parents to migrate under the Contributory scheme is approximately $125,460. It says that 2,250 Non-Contributory Parent visas are granted each year.
“It might be a disincentive for skilled migrants to choose to migrate to Australia and lead them to reconsider other countries that welcome parents”
“Not being able to eventually sponsor your parents to migrate may be a disincentive for skilled migrants to choose to migrate to Australia and lead them to reconsider migration to other countries that welcome parents, such as Canada and the USA,” says National President Angela Chan.
The MIA represents migrations agents and lawyers in Australia. The budget paper states that the end of the scheme will enable faster processing of existing applications.
“The Family Stream will refocus on meeting the increasing demand for close family reunions,” it states.
“The additional partner and child places will be made available as a result of the cessation of new applications from the other family and parent (non-contributory) places.”
The Government says it will achieve savings of about $300 million over five years by modifying the 2014-15 Migration Programme.
It will have 190,000 places: 128,550 Skilled Stream places, 60,885 Family Stream places and 565 Special Eligibility Stream places.
