New Parent Visa Subclasses

PERTH OFFSHORE PARENTS CENTRE (POPC)

Q. Why was the POPC established?

A. On 12 September 2001, the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Philip Ruddock MP, announced a pilot project to process parent applications from posts in China. The POPC, located at the Department’s Perth office, was established as a dedicated processing office for those offshore Parent visa applications to improve client service.

Q. How has the POPC improved service to clients? Why process applications in Australia when the applicant is living outside Australia?

A. The POPC has been able to speed up processing applications to queue stage. During the first ten months of the pilot, the POPC assessed three quarters of all applications on hand from China posts. Since it began, the POPC has already placed over 1300 persons in the parent queue. Feedback from applicants and sponsors on the POPC’s service to clients has been very positive.

The POPC will also:

 provide an opportunity for sponsors (living in Australia) to be more involved in processing of their parent/s’ application;  achieve more efficient processing by combining in one place an often relatively small number of applications at a wide range of posts;  speed up processing of Parent visa applications; and  take pressure off overseas posts subject to growing caseloads across a range of visa categories.

(Note: Applicants can expect a processing time of around 9 months from lodging their application until it is placed in the queue. This is assuming that all requirements are met and depending on response times by applicants and sponsors to any requests for information. Once most requirements for the grant of a parent visa are met, applications are placed in a global queue - this is because there are more persons seeking parent visas than there are available places for parents in the migration program)

Q. I (or my parent/s) have already lodged an application overseas – where will it be processed?

A. Parent visa applications already lodged at overseas posts are currently being transferred to the POPC for further processing. POPC will contact you (your parents) once it has received your application from the overseas post. Q. I (or my parent/s) intend to lodge an application for migration under the parent category outside Australia. Where do I (they) apply?

A. Before 1 November 2002, Parent visa applications (from persons living outside Australia) must be lodged at the closest Australia mission - you can check www.immi.gov.au for details. From 1 November 2002, all Parent visa applications must be lodged directly with the POPC. The address for lodging applications is: Perth Offshore Parent Centre, Locked Bag 7, Northbridge, WA, AUSTRALIA, 6865.

Q. What progress has there been on the 4,000 contingency reserve parent places announced in the 2002-03 Migration Program?

A. In September 2001, the Minister announced that these places would be available if there was support from the community and Opposition parties for options which achieve a fairer contribution from parents to their health and welfare costs.

Mr Ruddock said that a parent contingency reserve of 4,000 places in a full year remains available. Fruitful discussions on this are proceeding to ensure that a fair share of health and welfare costs are covered by the parent and Australian sponsor.

If there is agreement on any of the options, new legislation would need to be introduced into Parliament to commence any new provisions. It is likely that any agreed options would be announced in the media.

Q. How can a sponsor be involved in processing of their parent’s application?

A. Unless applicants are already represented by a migration agent, the POPC prefers to direct all correspondence and processing requests through the sponsor in Australia. This allows sponsors to communicate quickly with their parents, to advise and assist them with processing requirements, and to keep them informed of progress with the application.

To do so, parent applicants need to complete and sign a Form 956 (Authorisation of person to act and receive communication) and return it to the POPC. The Form 956 is attached to the Sponsorship for migration to Australia (Form 40) and the Application for migration to Australia by a parent (Form 47PA). It can also be obtained from the POPC.

If the POPC does not receive a completed Form 956, it will continue to communicate directly with the applicant overseas; this may lead to processing delays. Q. Are parent applications lodged in Australia processed by the POPC?

A. No. Only parents who are overseas will be processed by POPC. Applications lodged in Australia will continue to be processed by DIMIA’s State and Territory offices.

Q. How can I get in touch with the POPC?

A. The POPC’s preferred means of communication is by e-mail and it aims to respond to all enquiries within a few days of receipt. All enquiries about overseas parent visa applications should be sent to the POPC at [email protected]. POPC is also contactable by facsimile to (08) 9415- 9286 or by telephone to (08) 9415-9081 (0830 – 1630 hours, Western Australian Standard Time), or to the postal address for lodging applications.

At POPC, applications are allocated to a POPC case officer for processing and finalisation. That officer’s e-mail, facsimile and telephone contact details are provided to each applicant/sponsor or their agent. Information on these applications is now held in Perth and cannot be accessed by other DIMIA offices in Australia or overseas.

Q. Can I (my parent/s) visit Australia while the application is being processed?

A. In November 1999, Mr Ruddock introduced more flexible Visitor visa arrangements for parents with an existing migration application. Parent visa applicants who apply for a Visitor visa will still be required to meet all the criteria and comply with the conditions of their Visitor visa. To do so, you (your parents) should contact the office at which the Parent visa application was lodged.

Q. What happens if the Parent visa is ready to be granted while I am (my parent/s are) visiting Australia?

A. Where it is an application initially made by a person who was outside Australia, the Parent visa can only be granted while you (your parent/s) are outside Australia. You (your parent/s) would have to leave Australia to allow the visa to be granted before returning.

Further information on parent visas is available on DIMIA’s website at www.immi.gov.au.