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Family and Retirement Visa

If you are a family member of a citizen of Australia or a person holding a permanent visa for Australia, you can join him/her to live together in Australia. Family members may be a partner, parents, child and other family members. You have to apply for a family visa in accordance with the relationship you have with the Australian citizen.

Before applying for a family visa to travel Australia, it is essential for you to know that who are considered as family members and what are the provisions of law for them in Australia. You can visit Australia as a family member of an Australian citizen if you are:

Partner: People who are already married, intending to marry in near future or in de facto partners, including same sex relationship, are eligible to apply partner visa.
Parents: Permanent visas are available for parents whose children are in Australia. Also children under the age of eighteen and have been approved any permanent humanitarian visa (including Protection and Resolution of Status visas) in last 5 years may propose their parents to visit Australia through the offshore Humanitarian Program.
Child: Permanent visas are available for overseas children who are child or stepchild of an Australian citizen. Foreign orphan children, who are adopted or about to be adopted by Australian citizens, can enter Australia if their child visa is granted. Needy children of people approved any permanent humanitarian visa (including Protection and Resolution of Status visas) in the last 5 years and dependent children stated at the time of application may be entitled for entry to Australia in the course of the offshore Humanitarian Program.
Other family members: This type of visa is suitable for brothers, sisters or parents who are only near and dear of the Australian citizen and mostly dweller in Australia. Aged persons can also avail family visa if they are dependent on their Australian relative. Persons required to take care of their Australian relative who is in medical condition can also avail family visa under Care Visa (Offshore) (Subclass 116).

However, before applying for any of these visas, read the immigration rules and financial matters involved in the process.

405- Investor Retirement Visa

Individuals with age of 55 years or older who meet income requirements with no dependents other than a partner are allowed to stay in Australia if they are able to make a considerable long term financial investment in Australia. 405-Investor Retirement Visa is not a permanent visa. Your partner could be included in your application and should not have any other dependents. This visa could be applied whether by being in Australia or outside Australia. When applied from outside Australia you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted, else when applied in Australia you are expected to be in Australia when the visa is granted.

This temporary visa allows the individual to work for 40 hours per fortnight and could remain in or travel to Australia for four years from the date the visa is issued. After completion of four years, another visa has to be taken. A partner with a granted visa could be taken to accompany you in Australia. Ensure that you and your partner have valid visa before applying.

Requirements

Assets worth AU$750,000 that are legally owned should be shown that are capable of being transferred to Australia when required. Your total assets should be worth atleast AU$500,000 and should have access to minimum net income of AU$65,000, if you wish to live in regional Australia. A designated income of AU$750,000 should be made in either your name alone or your name and your partners name. A complete health Insurance package should cover you for the entire time you intend to stay in Australia and evidence claiming so should be shown. Individuals with this visa are not permitted to work for full-time in Australia. Applicants are expected to be of good character and health.

Procedure to apply

The first phase of the process is to acquire the sponsorship from state/territory government agency in which you wish to live in Australia. To do that you need to submit the application form along with the required documents to the concerned authority .Once the sponsorship from a particular state/territory is acquired then you must complete andapply for the actual visa. Application free is to be paid at the time of lodgment.

Processing

If Application meet requirement after being processed then the DIAC’s Perth business Center will ask to go through the relevant character and health checks.The last step would be to make the mentioned investment. Perth Business Center will advise you to lodge your investment with appropriate territory/state sponsoring you.

A form 1031 declaration will be sent to you. This form along with your investment should be submitted as per the instructions provided by the treasury corporation. All investment funds must be in Australian dollars and must be deposited either in your or your and your partner’s name.

Either by letter or certificate the stock issuing authority will acknowledge receipt. Along with that they will inform the Perth Business Center regarding it by submitting part 3 of the form 1031.

At last, you will be asked to pay a second application charge ahead of receiving a final decision about your visa application. You will be notified regarding the status of your visa at last

679 - Sponsered Family Visitor Visa

The Sponsored Family Visitor Visa is designed for those people who have their family members of friends living in Australia and they want to pay a visit to them in Australia. This is an appropriate visitor visa for the purpose of short stay. In order to apply for Sponsored Family Visitor Visa, the applicant must have either a relative residing in Australia who would be eligible to sponsor the applicant or some Government Official of Australia.

The person bring the responsibility of approving the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa will consider that the sponsor will ensure that the visitor has adequate support during his/her stay in Australia.

Features

Sponsored Family Visitor Visa allows a person to travel Australia for taking a break (holiday) or visiting family members. Before applying for this visa, the proposed applicant should find a sponsor. A sponsor is a family member or relative whom the applicant is going to visit. The application has to be lodged in the country, Australia, by the sponsor. The sponsor, on the other hand, should be eligible for sponsoring the applicant or should be a Government Official of the country.

In fact, sponsorship will be taken into consideration as a vital point for approval. The sponsor has to ensure that the visitor gets adequate support for sustenance. In addition, the sponsor must also ensure that the visitor leaves the country before the visa ends.

Processing

It will be possible to send an application for the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa from Australia, not outside the country. The chosen sponsor has to lodge the application for visa on behalf of the person applying for the same. There is a chargeable fee, non-refundable.

While applying for the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa, it’s very important to make sure the applicant specifies his intent for stay in Australia and how long he would like to stay in the country, as there is no provision for extending the stay. Furthermore, a person will only be allowed one entry per visa under Sponsored Family Visitor Visa category.

Years

If the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa is granted, sponsorship will last until the visa holder has left Australia. In case if you don’t proceed with the visit to the country, the sponsorship will still last until the date of expiry. However, it is not possible to cancel the sponsorship till the time the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa is valid.

Requirements

Any person is eligible to get the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa if he has:

an eligible sponsor
an intent to visit a relative or member of the family in Australia, or come for a holiday

In case of the Sponsored Family Visitor Visa, the eligibility of sponsor also matters. To be eligible, a sponsor must be:

a permanent Australian citizen or resident of the country
18 years old
well settled in the country for a sustainable period of time, normally 2 years

If any subclass available?

Yes, Sponsored Family Visitor Visa subclass 679.

410- Retirement visa

It is recommended for retirees and their partners with desires to spend some part of their retirement life in Australia.

Retirement visa is not for first-time applicants with the exception of the partners of Retirement visa holders at present. New or first-time applicants are advised to apply for an investor retirement visa to live in Australia and spend certain period of their Retirement life in Australia.

This visa is offered only once which means former Retirement visa holders or holders of Electronic Travel Authorities or Visitor visas are not eligible to reapply for this particular visa.

From July 1st 2009, Retirement visa holders have been considered eligible to apply for a visa which is valid for 10 years from the issue date and will not have any restrictions on the hours they are allowed to work.

You can apply for this visa either in or outside Australia:

Visa applied while residing outside Australia will be granted only if the applicant is still residing outside Australia.

Benefits

A couple with Retirement visa can travel to, enter and remain in Australia as long as they want within the allocated number of years.
Could work anywhere in Australia with no restrictions on the number of hours one could work be it a part time or a full time job.
Could study in Australia without having to take any other study related visa.
This temporary visa does not lead to permanent residence in Australia or to Australian citizenship.

Requirements

You and your partner should have valid visa to apply for this visa. Passport if changed later after the visa is granted, the department concerned to it should be informed failing to do may lead to delays at the airport and permission to board the plane might be denied. The validity of this particular visa is 10 years from the date of issue.

The visa is for self-funded retirees, hence they won’t be entitled to any kind of welfare or financial assistance from the Australian government. This visa is not usually eligible for Medicare benefits including under Reciprocal Health Agreements between governments of other countries and Australia. Adequate health insurance should be maintained while in Australia. Any future visa will be denied if you do not have health insurance package.

Health insurance

Proof must be shown for you to be eligible to get the visa