Key Points
- To obtain a standard parent visa, the wait time stated by the Australian government is up to 31 years.
- More than 151,590 visa applications are currently pending with the government.
- Assistant Minister of Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill suggested families consider longer stay parent visas options.
Currently, from migrant families who wish to bring their parents to Australia.
But the government has allowed only 8,500 permanent spots per year, resulting in heavy backlogs.
"Not every person who seeks to bring their parents on a permanent visa is ever going to be able to do that," Julian Hill, the Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, told SBS Punjabi.
Despite claiming that the government has reduced the visa backlog, the newly appointed minister said permanent migration may not be the best option for all migrants seeking to bring their parents to Australia.
'Cost to the taxpayer'
To obtain a standard parent visa, the wait time stated by the Australian government is up to 31 years, priced at $5,125.
Another option is the contributory parent visa stream, which costs $50,000 and has a wait time of up to 14 years.
“Every government has annual limits to the number of parent visas that can be granted; because of the cost to the taxpayer,” he said.
When people come late in life not having paid taxes or worked in a country — it does not have to be Australia; it could be any country — they run up age pension costs, aged care, health system costs.Julian Hill, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
He also acknowledged the contribution ageing parents make in a family.
“I know first-hand that particularly in certain cultures ... South Asian cultures. India is probably a leading example of the role that grandparents play in the upbringing of grandchildren,” he said.
Hill acknowledged the important role grandparents play in raising children in several South Asian cultures. Credit: Getty/Representational purpose only
“As a country you cannot have a million aged parents all arriving at once. So the dilemma for any government is how do you strike that balance.”
Labour did increase the number of parent visas granted but the demand remains enormous.Julian Hill, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
“That’s why options like longer stay parent visas to allow grandparents to come and spend extended period (of time) often after the birth of a child and to remain involved in the family while not migrating permanently also need to be part of that mix,” he said.
While Hill called for need for skilled migration to resolve the skill shortage and to "moderate the ageing population" in Australia, the government recently announced it will cap the number of international students entering Australia at 270,000 in 2025.
On the matter, he said: "We make no apologies as a government for tightening the integrity of the student visa system. That does mean that more visas are being rejected."
Inherited visa back-log 'reduced'
He claimed that the government has helped unite young families.
"We have cleaned out the horrible backlog in partner visas. For families who were waiting more than five years. Those were families who were separated. In some cases, people would not have met their own children."
"We have reduced the backlog in citizenship applications. We have reduced the waiting times and have cleared out backlog on visitor visas and so on," he added.
Julian Hill, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.
"It is an issue which I have spoken about in Parliament from an Opposition end. Its complicated. Often we look at simple answers to these questions but the truth is it's not that simple."
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'Not every person is going to be able to do that': Julian Hill explains parent visa backlog
SBS Punjabi
02/09/202421:27
