Contributory Parent Visa
Subclass 173
(Temporary)
Overview
-
As a 2-year temporary visa, Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 173) is for parents of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens to reunite with their children in Australia
-
You can apply for the permanent Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 143) through a two-step process by first applying for a Contributory Parent visa (subclass 173). Applying for the subclass 173 visa and then the subclass 143 visa allows you to spread the cost of the visas over a number of years.
-
The major advantage of Subclass 173 visa is that it is a lot cheaper that the one-step permanent Subclass 143 visa, making it ideal for parents with limited finances at the moment.
-
Alternatively, you may apply for Subclass 143 visa directly which is one-step permanent residency.
-
You may include your family in your visa application so your entire family can migrate together.
Eligibility
Not currently hold or have applied for Sponsored Parent visa (Subclass 870)
Meet health and character requirements
Be sponsored (usually) by your child who must be:
- an Australian citizen, or
- an Australian permanent resident usually resident in Australia, or
- an eligible New Zealand citizen usually resident in Australia
-
Special Notes
Usually Resident’ Requirement Explained
Your child (the sponsor) meets this requirement if he/she has lived in Australia for a total period of at least 2 years which can be accumulated even when he/she was in Australia as a holder of a temporary visa (e.g. student visa) rather than an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
Location
-
Applicants can be in or outside Australia at the time of application, but must be outside Australia at the time of visa grant unless exempt.
-
However, holders of Subclass 173 visa will be granted Bridging A visa automatically when applying for Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 143) in the future. Bridging A visa allows you to continue to stay in Australia legally even after your Subclass 173 expires until your application for Subclass 143 visa is decided by the Immigration.
Duration of Stay
This visa is valid for 2 years. You may apply for Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 143) onshore before your Subclass 173 visa expires to be able to remain in Australia.
Tricks and Common Reasons for Refusal
1 – Not Being Eligible for Assurance of Support
Obviously, applicants for Subclass 173 visa will most likely apply for Subclass 143 visa (permanent) at some point to migrate to Australia permanently. The trick, however, is Subclass 173 visa doesn’t require Assurance of Support (AoS) but Subclass 143 visa does. Why is this important? The answer is simple: whether an applicant’s child is able to provide AoS for his/her parent is assessed by Centrelink which makes the decision depending entirely on whether the child can meet the relevant income requirement which, unlike most people think, is rather flexible based on the child’s overall circumstances, including but not limited to:
-
the child’s income level
-
how many people in the child’s household
-
Whether there are kids in the household and, if so, how many
-
The child’s assets (e.g. real estate) and mortgage
Therefore, many applicants who had been sponsored by their children for Subclass 173 visa eventually found themselves having to leave Australia since they were not eligible for the permanent Subclass 143 visa simply because their children failed to satisfy the income criterion, which some of them were not even aware of. Fortunately, the financial sponsor providing AoS doesn’t have to be the applicant’s child – it can be any individual or even an organisation. But this is when another issue rises: the Immigration usually allows only 28 days to arrange this – applicants will have to compete with time.
As a result, we can refer you to professional agencies arranging AoS should you be facing the same issue and seeking peace of mind, which is actually quite common nowadays given the huge impact COVID-19 has had on Australian economy.
2 – Unfamiliarity with How the Australian Immigration Works and Its Mentality
In many cases, applicants prepare and submit their supporting documentation in a disorderly way, giving the Immigration a hard time digging through tons of paperwork to get things in the right order when picking up a new visa application. This will potentially lead to endless back-and-forth clarification and explanation, wasting both sides lots of time and can even result in a refusal of Subclass 173 visa.
This is common since applying for a visa, especially a permanent one, is the very first time to most applicants. For this reason, our team have developed our own system for labelling, coding, structuring and, where necessary, cross-referencing documentation so your application can be submitted in the most presentable and logical manner. Making your application stand out among all competitors has been our goal from day one.
3 – Careless Yet Costly Mistakes
Applying for migration is seen as a delicate work of art due to the staggering amount of attention, paperwork, and details involved. A seemingly minor/harmless error such as a typo in your résumé, a date entered wrong, or a tick in the wrong box in the lengthy visa application form can prove costly as the Immigration processes all visa applications strictly in accordance with migration law, in particular Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994. Even a small error can be regarded as failing to satisfy a visa requirement and therefore lead to a visa refusal. To minimise such incidents, our team pay extra attention while editing and drafting every client’s paperwork and always proofread and also conduct a final review of documentation before submission.
4 – Applications Not Decision-ready
Another common reason for refusal, even instant refusal, for Subclass 173 visa is submitting an application without all the required documentation. This happens when the application was prepared carelessly, or when the applicant was trying to rush an application for whatever reason (e.g. meeting a cut-off date of a major migration policy change which happens almost each and every year and often catches people off guard).
Even with 43 years of team experience, we handle each application cautiously and meticulously like our first to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Should a sudden change of policy hit and impact you, we are more than capable of advising you how to salvage your application in terms of what documents are mandatory at the time of submission and what can wait so you are never in danger of a straight-up visa refusal upon submission.
Benefits
With this visa, you may:
-
migrate to Australia together with your family
-
stay in Australia for 2 years
-
potentially bring your extended family members to Australia permanently on parent visa or visa intended for other relatives
-
access Australia’s public health care scheme (Medicare) which essentially provides free medical consultations, operations and hospitalization for a wide range of medical conditions
-
travel overseas and back to Australia for any purposes (e.g. overseas holiday, visiting family and/or attending family matters in home country)
-
work in Australia without any limitations
-
study in Australia without any limitations
-
attend free English language course provided by Australian government
Application Fees
First Instalment
-
Main applicant: $2935
-
Each secondary applicant aged 18 or older: $1465
-
Each secondary applicant aged under 18: $735
Second Instalment
-
Each secondary applicant aged under 18: $2,095
-
Contributory parent newborn child: Nil
-
Each other applicant: $29,130
Please note: you may incur third-party charges, for example, for translation, police certificate and health exam.
Processing Time
5 years – kindly note the processing time constantly varies. Please contact us for update.
Our Unbeatable Services - How Exactly We Make It Hassle-free
-
Let’s face it – visa applications are complex, especially when you are not an expert in Australian immigration law - that is Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994.
-
Simply put – our visa and immigration legal services are truly unbeatable.
-
This is because our immigration lawyers and registered migration agents in Melbourne do all of the 40 Things in Our Exclusive 5-step Services for you to:
- give you a stress-free visa application journey;
- maximise your chances of a successful application outcome.
-
Can you find such detailed and specific services elsewhere? We guarantee you can’t.
-
This way, you know your money really is well-spent.