Contributory Parent visas can take more than five years to process despite applicants willing to pay a hefty price of nearly $50,000 per application.
In the 2021-22 Migration Program year, there are 4,500 parent (for both Contributory and Non-contributory) visa places allocated.
Highlights:
- Contributory Parent visa costs nearly $50,000
- Department of Home Affairs is currently processing Contributory Parent visa applications with a queue date up to May 2016
- New Contributory Parent visa applications lodged that meet the criteria to be queued are likely to take at least 64 months to be released for final processing, says the DHA website
"The ongoing strong demand for parent visas has resulted in processing times trending upwards over recent years," a DHA spokesperson told SBS Hindi.
The spokesperson confirmed that there were 9,371 Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 143) and 702 Contributory Aged Parent visa (Subclass 864) applications lodged from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2021, while 2,719 Contributory Parent and 77 Contributory Aged Parent visas were granted for the same period.
"Demand for parent visas far exceeds the available annual number of visa places and in the interest of equity for all applicants, applications in the parent visa category are processed in strict lodgement date order," the spokesperson said, adding that there was no provision to consider compelling and compassionate circumstances to bring forward the grant of a visa.
Stating that it was currently releasing applications with a queue date up till May 2016 for final processing, the DHA refused to respond to SBS Hindi's query on how soon the queue would move to the next batch of lodgements.
Ritu Pandey, a resident of Alice Springs, lodged a Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 143) application in 2017.
She says she has been eagerly waiting for her parents' application to progress. However, no movement in the queue for over a year has been 'frustrating'.
The parents of Ritu Pandey (middle) are currently living in New Delhi, India. Source: Supplied by Ritu Pandey
"Due to COVID we really don't know when we will be able to see our parents and the uncertainty of the visa process has made us feel more exasperated," she shared with SBS Hindi.
She said some intimation from the DHA about why there were further delays to the queue would help her plan the future.
"We have so far spent $7,000 as first payment towards the visa applications. Any fresh update would make us feel things are moving in the right direction," she said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Gold Coast migration agent Seema Chauhan said that settled Australian permanent residents and citizens want to be reunited with their parents now more than ever before due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
"There has been no change in queue dates for over a year and they foresee a long wait ahead," she said.
Chauhan said the demand for Contributory Parent visas was growing and that she has been lodging one application every two weeks in that category.
Apart from the Contributory Parent visas, other types of visas for reuniting with parents include Sponsored Parent visas and Non-contributory Parent visas.
