Shocking Delay: Australian Parent Visa Backlog Hits 31 Years | Australia Immigration News

Australia's parent visa system is facing a growing crisis, with wait times extending to an astonishing 31 years. This situation means that many applicants may not live to see their cases processed. Australians who wish to sponsor a parent for permanent residency have two options: a costly contributory parent or aged parent visa, priced at nearly $50,000 per person, or a more affordable standard parent or aged parent visa at $5,125. However, the latter comes with a significantly longer processing time.

The government has set an annual cap of 8,500 parent visas, with about 80% of these granted to “contributory” applicants. While this is 4,000 more places than the previous administration provided, it still falls woefully short of meeting the overwhelming demand. Consequently, the backlog continues to grow. As of June 30, 2023, the Department of Home Affairs had 140,615 parent visa applications on file. A year later, this number had risen to 151,596.

The situation has worsened over the past year. Previously, Home Affairs advised that a contributory parent visa could take at least 12 years to process; now, the estimate has increased to 14 years. The wait time for the cheaper, standard visa is even more staggering, now stretching to 31 years. This extended delay leaves many applicants and their families in a state of uncertainty and despair.

“Providing an opportunity for people to apply for a visa that will probably never come seems both cruel and unnecessary,” said a panel of experts reviewing the migration system.

A System in Need of Overhaul

Early in its tenure, the government commissioned a review that found the migration system “not fit for purpose.” A subsequent report by former Victorian police commissioner Christine Nixon exposed “grotesque” visa abuses. Former Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil described the system as broken and introduced a new migration strategy aimed at comprehensive reform rather than mere adjustments.

Significant work was set in motion, including an overhaul of the points system for selecting permanent skilled migrants and a review of policies designed to attract them to regional Australia. However, these efforts have focused on skilled migration, leaving family migration, particularly the troubled parent visa system, largely unaddressed. The situation continues to deteriorate.

Political Distractions

Current Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has been preoccupied with managing the political fallout from legal battles, including a High Court decision that could declare government policy unlawful. The opposition has criticized the government for its handling of the November ruling that deemed indefinite immigration detention unconstitutional. Burke is determined to avoid being blindsided if the court upholds a challenge to the legislation passed in response.

However, these legal and political distractions have diverted attention from other critical issues in Australia’s migration system, such as the tens of thousands of people waiting for parent visas.

Possible Solutions

One proposed solution is to adopt a lottery system similar to New Zealand’s. New Zealand grants 2,000 places annually to parents who entered the immigration queue before October 2022. Applications submitted after that date go into a pool with 500 spots available via a ballot. Once the backlog is cleared, New Zealand can implement a lottery for all parent visas.

Australia could adopt a similar approach, offering 7,500 visas annually to parents waiting in the queue and allocating 1,000 by ballot. However, even at this rate, it would take two decades to clear the current backlog. A lottery would at least remove the inequity of allowing those who can afford the $50,000 fee to jump ahead in the queue, but it would still leave tens of thousands of families without a visa.

Canada introduced a lottery system in 2015, offering 20,500 places in its parent visa program. However, the odds of success remain low, with only about one in seven applicants securing a visa. More than 100,000 applicants miss out, leaving many families disappointed year after year.

Another option is to eliminate permanent parent migration altogether. Families could still reunite through temporary parent visas, which, while expensive and problematic, allow an initial stay of three to five years. This could be a way for grandparents to spend time with their young grandchildren or provide support during times of need.

Scrapping permanent parent migration would be a more honest approach, given that neither the Labor Party nor the Coalition seems willing to expand the program to meet demand. Skilled migration remains the top priority, as parents are viewed as a financial burden on the system, consuming more in services than they contribute through work and taxes.

Politics vs. Policy

However, both Labor and the Coalition are reluctant to abolish permanent parent migration, fearing backlash from overseas-born voters in marginal seats. This tension between immigration policy and electoral strategy lies at the heart of the parent visa dilemma.

As the new minister, Burke has an opportunity to take decisive action to prevent the problem from worsening. He could impose a freeze on new applications for permanent parent visas while conducting a thorough review of the options, allowing Home Affairs to address the backlog of 150,000 applications. Allowing the queue to grow longer, fostering false hope for a visa that may never come, is unconscionable. Eventually, difficult decisions will have to be made.

For over a decade, previous ministers have avoided addressing this issue. Now, it’s up to Burke to take action.