The 870 visa does not lead to permanent residency but does allow the parent to stay in Australia for up to 5 years.
To apply for this visa, sponsors must be approved first before lodging for the visa. The sponsor eligibility requirements are as follows:
- The sponsor/parent relationship requirements (a parent must be the biological, adoptive, or step-parent of the sponsor and a step-parent can only apply if they are still in a married/de facto relationship with a biological parent of the sponsor);
- be aged at least 18 years of age;
- be an Australian citizen/permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who has been usually resident in Australia for four years;
- have met any prior sponsorship obligations;
- have no adverse information unless it is reasonable to disregard the information;
- have no debts to the Commonwealth or public health debts unless appropriate arrangements have been made for payment;
- a minimum household income threshold (based on the income of the sponsor, or the combined income of the sponsor and their spouse/partner and/or another child of the parent);
- provide police clearances for any country they have spent more than 12 months cumulatively in during the past 10 years;
- authorise information to be shared with the visa applicant;
- meet the minimum taxable income threshold of $83,454.80.
If a sponsor believes they meet these requirements then they can apply for sponsorship by submitting form 1501 and paying the $420 application fee. If a sponsor receives approval they must lodge for their parent’s visa within 6 months of approval. Applications for the 870 visa will be accepted from 1 July 2019.
Before lodging for the Temporary Parent visa the sponsor should make sure their parent/s (applicant) meet all the visa requirements. The applicant eligibility requirements are as follows:
- Be sponsored by a person who is an approved parent sponsor;
- be at least 18 years of age;
- be outside Australia (unless invited in writing to apply by the Department), for at least 90 days if the applicant holds or has previously held a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa;
- not have engaged in payment for visas conduct;
- provide evidence of access to funds;
- provide evidence of health insurance;
- not have an outstanding public health debt (unless appropriate arrangements have been made to repay the debt);
- satisfy health, character, and national security requirements.
The application fee for this visa is $5,000 if this visa is up to 3 years in duration, but $10,000 if the visa is up to 5 years in duration.
If you need professional help submitting your application for the Temporary Parent 870 visa, give our office a call on 1300 066 267. Alternatively, book in for a free 20 minute consultation here.