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Update on Visa for Family Immigration

From 25 September 2014, the following visa subclasses in the Family Stream of the Migration Programme are open to new applications:

Parent visa (subclass 103)
Aged Parent visa (subclass 804)
Aged Dependent Relative visa (subclasses 114 and 838)
Remaining Relative visa (subclasses 115 and 835)
Carer visa (subclasses 116 and 836).
Only new applications will be accepted for these visa subclasses.

Applications lodged after 2 June 2014 and before 25 September 2014 are invalid and nullified. New application would only be considered.

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Overview

Family sponsored migration is the second largest migration stream of Australian Visa Programs.  You can easily migrate to Australia as a permanent or temporary resident, provided you have either a relative or a partner in Australia who is an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. Unlike skilled migration, there is no need for the applicant to meet the point test. Age is also not a criterion in most of the cases. All that the applicant needs to have is an eligible sponsor who can sponsor them for Australian migration.

Different categories of visa options that are available for a sponsor to bring his/her dependents to Australia include:

• Partner (Spouse, Fiancé )
• Parent (aged parent, working aged parent)
• Child
• Relative (aged dependent relative, remaining relative, carer)

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Partner Visa: Offshore Temporary and Permanent

Overview

This visa is for partners of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, who intend to enter Australia either through marriage or de facto relationship with their partners. This visa is processed in two stages The applicant will be initially granted a temporary visa till the decision on permanent visa is made and the applicant will be allowed to eventually apply for permanent visa if he/she continues to meet with the visa requirements. The basic requirement is to obtain a sponsorship from an eligible sponsor.

The applicant will be granted a direct permanent visa in certain circumstances where the applicant can either demonstrate that he/she has been married or in de facto relationship with his/her partner for a duration of 5 years before the application is lodged or his/her relation has been in existence for two years before the application was lodged and there are children born out of their relationship.

Basic requirements

• Sponsorship:The applicant should be sponsored by a person who is either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and the sponsor has to sign an undertaking stating that he/she will provide all financial and social assistance needed by the applicant during his/her stay in Australia on this visa
• Health requirements:The applicant has to meet all health and character requirements as per Australian laws
• Reliance on social security:The applicant or sponsor will need to be supported by an assurance of support if they are likely to become a user of Australia's social security system.

Features

• The applicant will be granted a permanent visa on the basis of his/her relationship with the sponsor
• Access to open study and work permit
• Access to certain social security benefits as a permanent resident
• Allows enrolment in Australia’s medical benefits expenses and hospital care scheme, Medicare
• Can apply for Australian citizenship once he/she is a permanent resident of Australia
• Can include dependents in the application provided they meet with the health and character requirements as per Australian laws.

Eligibility

Apart from the basic requirements the applicants should also meet with the following specific requirements to qualify for this visa

Applicant

• The marriage of the applicant should be legally acceptable,as per Australian laws
• The applicant intending to migrate to Australia on the basis of marriage, should be either legally married,should intend to legally marry the applicant before the decision on the temporary visa is made
• The applicant and his/her partner should have a genuine interest and mutual commitment in continuing their relationship.

De facto

• The applicant should be a major at the time of the application being lodged
• The applicant should have been in a de facto relationship with the sponsor for the entire 12 months prior to the application being lodged.

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Prospective Marriage Visa

Overview

This visa is for people who wish to enter the country to marry their intended partner who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, within 9 months of their entry into the country. The applicant has to enter the country at least once before he/she gets married to the intended partner. Once a Fiancé visa is granted the applicant can eventually apply for partner visa which further paves way to a permanent resident visa of Australia.

Features

• Allows the applicant multiple entries during the validity of the visa
• Can apply for partner visa after getting married to the intended partner
• Access to open study and work permit
• Access to Australia’s medical expenses and hospital care assistance scheme and medicare, provided the applicant has applied for a partner visa
• Can include dependents in the application provided they meet with the health and character requirements as per Australian laws.

Eligibility

Applicant

• The applicant should be a major
• The applicant should marry the intended partner within 9 months of visa grant
• The applicant and intended partner should have known each other as adults.

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Parent visa

Parent visa options are for the people who intend to migrate to Australia and live with their children who are Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens.

Features

• Access to open work and study permit in Australia
• Access to healthcare benefits through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• Access to certain social security payments
• Eligible to apply for Australian citizenship
• Can sponsor people for permanent residence (subject to waiting periods).

These visas are broadly classified into two groups

• Parent category
• Contributory Parent Visas

Parent category

The parent migration program is designed by the Australian government with the aim to reunite family members living in different countries. This is a permanent visa option available for parents sponsored by their children settled in Australia. The applicant should have a commitment to provide an Assurance of Support. The Capping of parent visas by the Australian Government results in longer waiting periods.

The two subclasses available under parent category are:

a)      Working Age Parent (Subclass 103) Visa:This visa is for people outside Australia who are not old enough to be granted an Australian age pension and who meet the balance of family tests

b)      Aged Parent (Subclass 804) Visa:This visa is for the people in Australia who are old enough to be granted an Australian aged pension plan and who meet the balance of the family test. The age of the applicant should be above 65 years in case of males and above 63 years in case of females.

Contributory parent visa

This category was introduced by the Australian government to reduce the delay in migration in parent category. These visas are for parents who have children settled in Australia and are solely dependent on their children for their financial support. Contributory parent visa has the option of either one or two pathway to permanent residency. Initially, the applicant will be granted a temporary visa for a period of 2 years and later the applicant can apply for a permanent contributory parent visa. The requirements of both the parent visa and contributory parent visa are the same. The only difference is that the parents have to make a higher contribution to their future health and welfare costs.

Eligibility

The basic requirements for both the visa categories are the same viz

• Sponsorship:The applicant must be sponsored by his/her child or child’s partner who is either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen
• Balance of family tests:The applicant has to meet the balance of family tests by demonstrating that they have no other children other than those who are permanent residents of Australia. And that the number of children staying in Australia is not greater than or equal to the number of children who are staying in any other single country overseas
• Assurance of Support:The applicant should be provided with an Assurance of support by a person (not necessarily sponsor) for a period of 2 years in case of a parent visa and for a period of 10 years in case of a contributory parent visa
• Waiting periods:The Government of Australia limits the number of places available for parent visa in each program year which results in longer waiting periods. The number of places available for contributory parent visa is quite high when compared to parent visa category, but parents have to make a higher contribution to their future health and welfare costs
• Health and character:The applicant has to meet with health and character requirements as per Australian laws.

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Child visa

As a part of the family immigration program, the Australian government has introduced child visas which help the children of people established in Australia to migrate to Australia and live there indefinitely. Basic requirement of this visa is to be sponsored by their parents who are Australian citizens or permanent residents or eligible New Zealand Citizens.

Different categories of child visas include

a)      Child (permanent) (Subclass 101)

This visa entitles the children to stay permanently in Australia provided the parents of the child are established citizens of Australia. The basic requirement of this visa is to get a sponsorship by a parent. Step children can be added under child visa category provided the age of the applicant is below 18 years and the sponsoring parent is no longer a partner of the child’s parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child.

b)      Orphan Relative (permanent) (subclass 117)

This is a permanent visa offered for an overseas child who is below the age of 18 years and whose parents are permanently deceased or whose whereabouts are not known.

c)      Adopted (permanent) (Subclass 102)

This is a permanent visa offered for children from overseas who have been adopted, or are about to be adopted by an Australian citizen, permanent resident, and eligible New Zealand citizens. Corresponding State or Territory Adoption Authority (STAA) must be involved in managing the adoption process with the overseas country where the child is living. The applicant should stay out of Australia whilst applying for the visa.

d)     Dependent Child Visa

This is a temporary visa offered for children whose partners are holders of a temporary visa and is valid till the decision is made on the permanent visa of the partner.

Basic Requirements

Applicant

• Age:The age of the applicant should be below 25. If the age of the applicant is 18 years or above, he/she has to be a full time student and has to be totally dependent on his/her parents for their financial support
• Sponsorship:The child should be sponsored by a parent who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Marital status:The child should neither be married nor engaged, nor be in a de facto relationship
• Reliance on social security:The applicant or sponsor will need an assurance support if they are likely to become a high user of Australia's social security system
• Health and character requirements:The applicant has to meet with health and character requirements as per Australian laws
• Australian value statement:All the applicants aged 18 and over have to sign the Australian value statement.

Sponsor

• Relationship:The sponsor should be related to the applicant either as a natural parent, step parent or adopted parent
• Sponsor:The sponsor should be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Authority:The sponsor of the applicant must have all the legal rights to determine the place of living of the applicant

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Other family visas

Other family visa options are offered to aged dependent relatives, remaining relatives and carers of Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens, which entitles them to live permanently in Australia. The basic requirement of all these visa categories is to be sponsored by an eligible relative in Australia.

Other family visas include:

• Remaining Relative Visa
• Aged Dependent Relative
• Carer Visa

Basic Requirements

• Sponsor:The applicant has to be sponsored by a close relative who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Family in Australia:The applicant should have a sibling, parent or near relative in Australia who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Assurance of Support:The applicant should be provided with Assurance of support
• Health and character Requirements:The applicant has to meet with the health and character requirements as per Australian laws.

Features

• This visa allows for open study and work permit.
• Allows access to health care benefits and certain social security benefits
• Visa holders are eligible for Australian citizenship
• Visa holders can sponsor people for permanent residence
• Dependents can accompany the main applicant to Australia

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Dependents

Spouse, partner and dependent children can be included in the application. The secondary applicants should meet the English language and health & character requirement.

English Language

Secondary applicants 18 years or over included in the application should provide evidence of having knowledge of at least functional English. Applicants who do not have functional English have to pay second instalment fee which entitles them to attend English tuition in Australia.

Health & character

All secondary applicants have to undergo health examination. Applicants over 16 years are required to provide police certificates for each country they have lived in for 12 months or more over the last ten (10) years.

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Evaluation

Our Processing Team conducts a detailed review of your profile & assesses your age, education, nominated occupation, work experience; skills in demand & personal finances. Take our services and know all the documents and formalities of migrating under family immigration.

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Full Service & Processing

Use our professional services to apply for your family immigration visa. We have the experience of having processed cases from all over the world. Your chances of success are much higher when you sign up with us.

Our terms & conditions are clear along with a transparent system & clear policies. We only accept applications that we are confident will be a success.

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Price List, Fee Schedule & Refund Policy

Our service fee is Competitive & among the best you will find in the industry. At any given time, our state of the art Processing Centre is processing over 5000 active cases from across the world. Our processes are standard & Process Consultants are the best in the world.

Our Prices are standard across all our offices. We guarantee that other than company offers & promotions, you will not be quoted a higher price & eventually pay a lower price. Prices are determined by the company & are fixed for all clients, offices & cases. You know you are paying the right price – the same as all our 10000+ clients around the world.

Please refer to our Price List & Fee Schedule

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