New legislation due to commence on 17 November 2018 provides a pathway to permanent residency for retirees in Australia.
Immigration has announced that Subclass 410 Retirement visa and Subclass 405 Investor Retirement visa holders will have the option to apply for permanent residency through new legislation under the Subclass 103 Parent and Subclass 143 Contributory Parent visas, without the need for sponsorship or meeting the Balance of Family test.
Applicants through this pathway will also have access to a Bridging Visa to remain in Australia while their Parent visa is processing, though they must maintain private health insurance for the entire processing period.
The Second Visa Application Charge for Parent visa applicants is still payable, which will help determine which type of parent visa application (103 or 143) that is lodged.
However, this new option may not be for everyone. Parent visas have a health requirement stating that applicants must not have a disease or condition that could result in a significant cost to the Australian community, or prejudice the access of an Australian citizen or permanent resident to a health care or community service regardless of whether the health care or community services will actually be used by the applicant.
Immigration has added a ‘safety net’ clause for retirees who are refused a Parent visa to be able to apply for a new 410 Retirement or 405 Investor Requirement visa in order to remain in Australia, but if you do have a medical condition, we would strongly suggest consulting with one of our Migration Agents to check your likelihood of meeting the health requirements before spending the time and money on an application that may not succeed.
Feel free to email us or complete a contact form here. Further details on the Parent and Retirement visa requirements are available through the links below.
