For the parents of an Australian citizen or permanent resident or New Zealand citizen to migrate to Australia, parent visa is required. There are three pathways with which a parent visa can be applied.
Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa
For parents having their children living in Australia as citizens or permanent residents for 2 years, the subclass 143 visa is granted by the Australian Department of home affairs. There is a balance of family test according to which the visa is granted. The parent must have at least half or more of their children living in Australia to obtain the visa. All the health and character requirements should be fulfilled and the sponsorship must be an eligible person.
Subclass 173 Contributory Temporary Visa
Living in Australia temporarily is possible with this subclass visa if you are the parent of a settled Australian citizen or permanent resident or New Zealand citizen. Once when you have got this visa, you can apply for 143 visa if you wish to stay in the country permanently.
The eligibility criterion is same as of subclass 143 i.e. balance of family test. The maximum you can stay in Australia is 2 years as it is a temporary visa.
Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent Visa
This visa lets the parents to stay in Australia for up to 5 years at a time. Basically, this visa is an excellent alternative to visitor visas allowing only shorter period of stay. Moreover, the parents don’t have to undergo balance of family test to apply for this sponsored parent visa.
Any settled child in Australia for 4 years with a minimum household taxable income of $83,454.80 needs to sponsor the parent. After applying the sponsorship, approval is given on which the parents can lodge the visa application within 6 months.
Application of Parent Visa
Both the applicant and the sponsor have to apply in order to obtain the parent visa. A sponsorship bond is to be lodged with the Australian government office for the subclass 143 and 173 whereas the subclass 870 is exempted from the bond.
The subclass 870 sponsored parent visa demands the parents to maintain sufficient health insurance for the duration of their stay. Furthermore, the children must support their parents in terms of finance, public health debts, and accommodation.
