Hi all

We are just about to start the visa forms, don't no which one to go for,
My parents want to come with us too, but they are both over 60,(only just, mum was 61 this year and dad is 60 in April )

Any words of wisdom or advise. Do they need to apply for them selfs or can they come on ours,
Have any of you taken your parents with you or are they trying to come out with you too.

They don't no how to get started too.

So any help or just to say hi would be great

Regards

Trudy

:D

http://www.immi.gov.au/immigration.htm

would be a great place to start.......

Hi,

Best thing is probably to look at the immi site. I don't think you will be able to bring them under your application, I would think they need to meet the criteria of the contributory parent visa or the retirement visa. But I am not so up on the current rules as to know for sure.

The threads below have some interesting info regarding the CPV.

one link

another link

Rachel

they can apply on their own, its a different type of visa, costs about £75,000 for the pair or £50,000 yes thats £75K and £50K well it was when we looked into this the other month.

I have forgotten what the visa is called, but basically they have to put money into the "pot" before entering the country.

I don't know if there is away around this, and as far as i know there are no "rebates" and benefits like with some of the wages for other visa applications

This is wrong.

There is no visa they can apply for on their own apart from a retirement visa and this requires an investment of over $600000.

The Contributory parent visa is available to those who pass the balance of family test. this also requires the sponsor to be resident in Australia for 2 year and to have 2 years tax returns to act as assurer.

The fees for the CPV are fairly high and I suspect that is what you are thinking of.

G

i certianly was not quoted 600K

but the two years thing does ring a bell.

I have just asked the wife, and she said she has read somewhere else it is cheaper.

So i guess the answer to the original poster is........ there is no clear answer on here, you will need to do some homework of your own......... and could you please post back and let me know????????

Cheers.

Mik

The CPV costs around $60000 for a couple plus an assurance bond of $14000 for a couple. This is only available to those who pass the balance of family test.....I know the costs because I have got one.

The retirement visa will cost around what I said ($600000)...it is a hefty capital investment.

G

grayling may we both agree that its something that should be looked into by the individual?

Cheers.

Mik

Indeed

But given the OP's question the CPV is the only practical visa and will cost what I said.....$60K for a couple plus $14K AOS.

The retirement visa is a temporary visa and requires an investment of either $500K or $750K depending on the area they choose to live (plus a minimum income of over $50000pa.) and is therefore prohibitive for most people.

Adelaide would probably come into the $500K category.

G

...this is Grayling's area of expertise, so I am sure you can rely on the information he has given :D

But Mik is also right - everyone should do their own research and check out any info they are given on here as a matter of course, these are important questions for your future so you need to make sure that you have the right (and up to date) answers. :)

Only 'cos I'm getting old :(

Yes people do need to do their own research but questions about parent visas do not crop up very often and, as I have got one, I will help if possible.

It is an area that seems full of confusion and may be worth looking at for the FAQ's.

G

Hi there Trudy

We too have been looking in to this.

My parents want to come too (well they want to be with us whereever we go)

It is expensive and we have been humming and hahing looking into it.

I am an only child so they will pass the balance of family test (I presume) (this is where they have to have more than half their children living in Australia) ie if they have 4 children and 3 of them live in UK and only 1 is in oz then they could fail that.


Next they will not be able to come out and live with you straight off. They will have to wait until you have been settled for 2 years and become permanent residents, then they can apply for the contributory parent visa (which can take up to 2 years) It comes in 2 parts. The first part costs £1,340 for the 1st application charge (one fee for both.) The 2nd visa application charge is $29,330 (£11,600)each. This is a lump sum contribution towards their future health-care costs in Australia.

Also a Bond of $14,000 (£5,500) has to be lodged with the Commonwealth Bank where it is held for 10 years after the parents' initial arrival in Oz.

Then you have to make sure you can stand as assurance of support (which I am not sure about this one at the minute) It is AUD 40,000 but i dont know if this is income over 2 years, or you need to earn $40,000 a year and if it is gross or net?

So before they even get over, for the 2 of them before they have even bought the airfare it is going to cost them the best part of £30k.

I have been told (by Grayling :P ) they can still claim their uk pension but it will be frozen at the cost they get it at the minute. (although someone else mentioned that they had to take a reduction in nearly a third) - we are going to check this out and ring the dept of work and pensions.

We are disappointed that we would not all be able to go out there together. and there is no way of doing this. YOu can only get a maximum 6 months visa at a time. they do not do the 12 month visa anymore.

Hope this helps.

Let us know how you get on.

toontoon

Trudy - before you even think about it - are you an only child?

We did look into the retirement visa - however, they have moved the goal-posts considerably since we were interested but even if we could afford it - we couldn't pass the balance of family test. ie...
at least half of the parent's children must live in Australia; or
more children must live in Australia than any other single country.

Parents who fail the balance of the family test can apply for the following visas, if:

they meet all requirements for Aged Dependent Relatives visa;
they are aged under 45 and pass the points test for skilled Australian-sponsored or skilled designated area sponsored visas; or
they qualify for one of the business skills visas; or
they meet all requirements for the investor retirement visa for wealthy parents.

If I remember correctly - this is only a temporary visa anyway and after four years, we would have had to meet the criteria again ie.....$600,000, good health etc... and then onwards, every two years. What would happen if one of us suddenly has dementia? Would we be sent back to UK?

We have three sons in UK and one in Australia - so we would not qualify UNLESS we win millions and could apply for the 'investor retirement visa for wealthy parents' and I can't see that happening.

Anyway, we have three sons and a little grandaughter over here so will have to be content with nice long holidays.

In an ideal World we would like to spend 6 months in UK and 6months in Adelaide - but I can't see that happening.

There may be new rules so good luck with your application.