Australia Visitor Visas For Parents

Permanent Parent visa option may be difficult for many people. Even the Contributory Parent Visa option takes about 2 years for approval and costs approx. to $45,000/parent. The non-contributory option needs 30 years or more waiting time.

In such a scenario, a visitor visa is a fast and cheap alternative for parents to spend time with family in Australia. Visitor visas with longer period validity are available for parents of Australian citizens or permanent residents.

Visa Options

Electronic Travel Authority/eVisitor Visa

This is a short-stay visitor visa which can be applied online and are relatively cheap. The approval time is fast usually within 24 hours. This visa option is available only for people who hold a passport from certain countries like Europe, East Asia, or North America.

They allow multiple entries but only for 3 months of stay in general.

Longer Stay Visitor Visa for Parents

Longer Stay Visitor Visa for Parents

1. Parent Visa Applicants: You might be eligible for a longer-stay visitor visa if you have applied for a parent visa and are in a waiting queue for the grant. This can be valid till 5 years and allows multiple entries for each visit with a stay-validity of 1 year.
2. Parents of Permanent Resident Children or Australian Citizen: You can still be considered for a longer-stay visitor visa if you are not in the parent queue. This allows you to stay in Australia for up to 1 year/visit. The duration of stay depends on your history of travelling to Australia:
   • 3 years: if you have a history of compliant travel.
   • 18 months: if you have no history of compliant travel.

De Facto Residence

You have to show that you are staying for 1 year at most in each 18 months period, even if you have the longer-stay visitor visa. For example, if you have spent 1 year in Australia under a longer-stay visitor visa, then you need to move out of Australia for the next 6 months. The immigration department might consider you to be taking a de facto residence and they might deny you for entry into Australia or can cancel your visitor visa.

Advantages Of Visitor Visas For Parents

Visitor Visas for parents have some advantages over the permanent parent visa:

1. Quick Process: The visitor visa is granted within several weeks only.
2. Low Cost: The fees for a visitor visa would be $135 wherein permanent parent visa costs $45,000.

Disadvantages Of Visitor Visas For Parents

Here are the primary disadvantages of visitor visas over parent visas:

1. No Work: You are allowed to work for full-time under permanent parent visa option while visitor visa option has no such rights.
2. Short Stay Period: A permanent parent visa allows you to stay indefinitely in Australia while the maximum stay-time of a visitor visa is 1 year.
3. No Medicate Access: You have full access to Australian Health Care System in permanent parent visa option while visitor visa has no such access.

Contact us or mail us at contact@akkam.in for more information on all visa options, and book a consultant with us for any help or assistance with your visitor parent visa option.