Parent visa applications could taken nearly 20 years to be processed

Parent visas are being lodged faster than they are processed Source: SBS

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Many applicants for parental visas say that the processing time is very long which could cause the parents concerned to be either dead or too old and unfit to travel before their visas are granted.

Department of Home Affairs data shows that for the past nine years, the number of parent visa applications submitted each year is much higher than those processed.

According to the Department of Home Affairs, Contributory Parent Visas applications – which cost between $33,000 and $48,000, "are likely to take at least 65 months to process".

But in reality this visa process takes about 16 years to process.

Currently more than 123,000 visa applications for the elderly are still awaiting processing by the Ministry of Home Affairs.