The Government will introduce a new temporary sponsored parent visa from November 2017, with 15,000 visas to be made available annually, say the budget papers.
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. The visa may be renewed from outside Australia to allow a cumulative stay of up to ten years.
Temporary sponsored parent visa holders will not be eligible to apply onshore for a permanent parent visa.
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.
Existing contributory and noncontributory parent visas will remain open to new applicants.
The introduction of the new temporary sponsored parent visa responds to community concerns around existing parent visas, including wait times and visa costs. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection will undertake a review of the temporary sponsored parent visa at the end of the first program year.
This measure is estimated to have a gain to the budget of $99.0 million over the forward estimates period.
