Sponsored Parent (Temporary) subclass 870 visa applications open

Policy effect

Visa applications for the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) subclass 870 opened on July 1, 2019. The legal framework and sponsorship applications had commenced on April 17. Each visa applicant had to be at least 18, have an approved parent sponsor and normally apply offshore within six months of sponsorship approval; applying in Australia required ministerial permission. Applicants could not already hold an 870 visa. The route allowed stays of up to three or five years, with a five-year maximum per grant and ten years cumulatively. All applicants had to meet primary criteria, including sufficient funds, adequate health insurance, substantial compliance with previous visa conditions, a genuine temporary-stay intention, the applicable public-interest and special-return criteria, and payment or suitable arrangements for outstanding public-health debt. Previous 870 holders applying offshore normally needed 90 consecutive days outside Australia after the relevant departure, unless exceptional circumstances existed. Sponsors had to be adults, establish identity, consent to relevant information disclosure and be Australian citizens or qualifying permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens. The latter two groups required four years of usual residence immediately before applying, without unlawful status or bridging visas other than A, B or C during that period. Permitted parents included the sponsor’s parents and parents of a qualifying citizen, permanent-resident or eligible-New-Zealand-citizen spouse or de facto partner; a specific replacement-sponsorship provision covered certain parents or their partners after the death of the original sponsoring partner, subject to an application within 90 days and the parent still holding an 870 visa. Sponsors had to meet the prescribed taxable-income test, either alone or combined with income of their partner and/or one qualifying child of a specified sponsored parent; when combining income, the sponsor’s own income had to reach at least half the prescribed threshold. Conduct requirements included applicable police checks, adverse-information and previous sponsorship-compliance checks, with the stated reasonable-disregard discretion. Relevant public-health debts had to be paid or have appropriate payment arrangements, as did sponsors’ Commonwealth debts. A sponsor’s partner could not also be a parent sponsor and had to satisfy the applicable previous-compliance requirement. Normally no more than two parents could be specified, with tighter restrictions or ineligibility where previously sponsored parents remained in Australia after their visas ended without permanent visas. Sponsors assumed prescribed recordkeeping, reporting, financial/accommodation-support and public-health-debt obligations. Visa application charges totalled $5,000 for up to three years or $10,000 for longer stays up to five years; the second instalment was payable before grant, and the sponsorship application charge was $420. Visas carried conditions 8103, 8303, 8501, 8531, 8550 and 8564; work required written ministerial permission. The nominal expiry could be shortened after sponsorship cancellation, withdrawal or the sponsor’s death: cancellation ended the visa after 35 days; withdrawal or death allowed specified replacement-sponsorship windows of 35 or 90 days respectively, with further timing rules where replacement applications were refused and review pursued. This was a temporary route, with no secondary-applicant shortcut to the primary criteria.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Each visa applicant had to be at least 18, have an approved parent sponsor and normally apply offshore within six months of sponsorship approval; applying in Australia required ministerial permission.; The route allowed stays of up to three or five years, with a five-year maximum per grant and ten years cumulatively.; Previous 870 holders applying offshore normally needed 90 consecutive days outside Australia after the relevant departure, unless exceptional circumstances existed.; Sponsors had to be adults, establish identity, consent to relevant information disclosure and be Australian citizens or qualifying permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens.; The latter two groups required four years of usual residence immediately before applying, without unlawful status or bridging visas other than A, B or C during that period.; Permitted parents included the sponsor’s parents…

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 870) On 17 April 2019, sponsorship applications opened for parents wanting to temporarily visit their children and grandchildren in Australia. On 1 July 2019, the new Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (Subclass 870) visa applications opened. This visa allows the parent(s) of a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen (or their spouse or de facto partner’s parent(s)) to visit Australia for up to 3 or 5 years. The application process is sponsor-led, meaning there must be an approved Parent Sponsor before a visa application can be lodged. Visa applications must be lodged from outside Australia within six months of sponsorship approval, unless the visa applicant has permission to apply in Australia. Only two parents per household can be sponsored for this visa at a time. Sponsorship and visa applications are online only and processed in the Department’s Perth office. Sponsorship cost The sponsorship application charge is AUD420. Sponsor Eligibility Sponsors must meet certain criteria including:  a minimum household income threshold  a parent sponsor will also be required to meet certain sponsorship obligations. Visa eligibility Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa applicants must meet certain criteria including:  be sponsored by a person who is an approved Parent Sponsor  be outside Australia to apply, unless approved with permission to apply in Australia Length of Stay The visa allows parents to stay in Australia temporarily for a period of up to three or five years at a time. Parents who have held Subclass 870 visas for the cumulative maximum 10 year period must either depart Australia or apply for another visa that will allow them to remain in Australia. Visa cost The visa application charge is:  AUD5,000 for a visa allowing up to 3 year stay, or,  AUD10,000 for a visa allowing up to 5 year stay. Conditions Conditions for the Subclass 870 visa are: 8103, 8303, 8501, 8531, 8550 and 8564. Please note the No Work condition:  No Work - Visa holders cannot work on this visa. Providing in home care for their own children and family is allowed; work/assistance for a family business or other work which would ordinarily be remunerated is not allowed. More information is available at www.homeaffairs.gov.au:  Commencement of the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa and,  Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) … Migration Amendment (Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa and Other Measures) Regulations 2019 I, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor ‑ General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations. Dated 04 April 2019 Peter Cosgrove Governor ‑ General By His Excellency’s Command David Coleman Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Contents 1 Name 2 Commencement 3 Authority 4 Schedules Schedule 1—New family sponsorship framework … Regulations 1994 Schedule 2—Temporary sponsored parent visa Migration Regulations 1994 Schedule 3—Adequate arrangements for health insurance Migration Regulations 1994 1 Name This instrument is the Migration Amendment (Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa and Other Measures) Regulations 2019 . 2 Commencement (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms. Commencement information Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Provisions Commencement Date/Details 1. Sections 1 to 4 and anything in this instrument not elsewhere covered by this table The day after this instrument is registered. 9 April 2019 2. Schedules 1 to 3 At the same time as Schedule 1 to the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2018 commences. 17 April 2019 Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument. (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument. 3 Authority This instrument is made under the Migration Act 1958. 4 Schedules Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms. Schedule 1 — New family sponsorship framework Migration Regulations 1994 1 Regulation 1.03 Insert: aged care service has the same meaning as in the Aged Care Act 1997 . approved provider has the same meaning as in the Aged Care Act 1997 . 2 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (a) of the definition of entertainment sponsor ) After “approved”, insert “work”. 3 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (b) of the definition of entertainment sponsor ) After “approved as a”, insert “work”. 4 Regulation 1.03 Insert: has an outstanding public health debt has the meaning given by regulation 1.15K. 5 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (a) of the definition of long stay activity sponsor ) After “approved”, insert “work”. 6 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (b) of the definition of long stay activity sponsor ) After “approved as a”, insert “work”. 7 Regulation 1.03 Insert: parent sponsor means a person who has been approved as a family sponsor in relation to the parent sponsor class under subsection 140E(1A) of the Act. 8 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (a) of the definition of professional development sponsor ) After “approved”, insert “work”. 9 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (b) of the definition of professional development sponsor ) After “approved as a”, insert “work”. 10 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (a) of the definition of special program sponsor ) After “approved”, insert “work”. 11 Regulation 1.03 (paragraph (b) of the definition o …

Review method

Source-based draft with independent Gemini 3.8 Flash verification

Other Australia changes operative in 2019

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• 2019-07-01Introduction of Third-Year Visa Extension for Working Holiday Makers
• 2019-11-04Global Talent Independent program: targeted priority-processing launch
• 2019-11-16General Skilled Migration points: education, partner and regional nomination changes
• 2019-11-16Introduction of subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
• 2019-11-16Introduction of subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa
• 2019-12-05Medivac statutory transfer pathway repealed, with limited court-proceeding protection