The Federal Government unveiled a temporary sponsored parent visa last year that would allow parents of migrants to stay in Australia for up to ten years without having to leave the country. However, the visa has not been made available so far.
Federal Labor MP Rob Mitchell raised the issue in Parliament calling out the government on its “broken promise” to migrants.
“This inept Turnbull government said one thing before the election and is doing something entirely different one they won,” he said prior to the question time in the House of Representatives.
The Federal government promised a parent visa in the run-up to the 2016 Federal election following a campaign by migrant communities, particularly Indian migrants. The visa unveiled last year would allow parents of migrants to live in Australia for up to five years and can be renewed for a second time but has been criticized for its $10,000 fee.
“The government announced before the election that children will have to pay a bond.
“After the election, as we come to expect, the government announced a non-refundable fee of $20,000 if families choose the ten-year option,” said the MP for McEwen.
He also slammed the government for allowing just one set of parents on this visa and capping the number of visas each year to 15,000.
The Federal Government, at the time of announcing this visa, said it would be available by the end of 2017. However, the visa has not been made available so far.
The Department of Home Affairs has told SBS Punjabi that the implementation of the visa is subject to the passage of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 through Parliament.
