The much anticipated Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa, announced by the government in May this year, is yet to pass the Senate.
The visa, which would allow Australians to have their parents spend extended periods of time with them in Australia, was announced by Assistant Minister of Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Alex Hawke on 5th May 2017.
Budget 2017-18 announced the new temporary sponsored parent visa will be available from November 2017.
However, the Bill enabling the new visa to come into effect has not yet been approved by the Senate.
A spokesperson from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection told SBS Hindi, "Implementation of the Temporary Sponsored Parent visa is subject to passage of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 through Parliament."
"The Bill is currently before the Senate."
The Senate is scheduled to meet this month on 13th November for four days when the bill is likely to come up.
The temporary sponsored parent visa will allow parents of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens to stay in Australia for periods of up to three or five years.
15,000 visas will be made available annually and the visa may be renewed from outside Australia to allow a cumulative stay of up to ten years.
The visa holder’s sponsor, their Australian child, will have legal liability for public health expenditure (including aged care arrangements) incurred by the visa holder in Australia.
This is designed to reduce the cost to the Government of health services for temporary parent migrants.
While only one set of parents per household (that is maximum two people) can be sponsored for this visa at a time, existing contributory and non‑contributory parent visas will remain open to new applicants.
DIBP website states the visa application charge for a five year visa will be AUD 10,000 and a three year visa will be AUD 5,000. There will be no financial bond for this visa.
Indian Australians have trashed the new parent visa
Parent Long Stay Visa Committee (PLSVC) which campaigned for this visa is though disappointed with this new visa.
Arvind Duggal, resident of Adelaide, who kick-started the campaign that saw national participation before federal elections feels the new visa will not cater to people with limited means.
"We were looking for a solution where our parents would be able to live with us for extended periods without the requirements of balance of family test or the exorbitant fees that come with contributory parent visa.
“However, the new temporary sponsored visa is also very expensive. How many of us will be able to shell out $10,000 and $20,000 for our parents?," Arvind Duggal told SBS Hindi.
Another member of the community, Riken Pandejee started a change.org petition demanding reduction in fees for Long Term Stay visa for parents.
