In the run up to the July 2 Federal election, the coalition made a policy announcement about a visitor visa for parents allowing a continuous stay of up to 5 years. However, the community members who spearheaded the campaign are now waiting for a response from the Immigration Minister on implementation of the announcement.
Arvind Duggal, the convener of the Long Stay For Parents Campaign said that he has had no response from the Immigration Minister’s office for over a month.
The Liberal party announcement on the Enhanced visitor visa for sponsored parents. Source: Liberal Party
“I wrote an email to Mr. Dutton’s office on 17th July to enquire about the implementation of the announcement. But there has been no response till date,” he told SBS Punjabi.
Mr. Duggal has written another email to the minister on Tuesday.
Source: Facebook
“In last federal elections a promise was made by the collation about long stay visa for parents. For the last one month, I am continuously trying to get an official statement from you on that by sending email, phone calls, and texts. Today I am writing to you again to seek a clarification on the implementation of the plan and estimated time frame for long stay visa for parents,” Mr. Duggal wrote to the Immigration Minister.
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According to Mr. Duggal, members of the community were eagerly waiting to know about this as a number of families want to avail a better visa for their parents than the one currently available.
“Several families are waiting for the announcement so that they can make a decision about which visa they have to apply. If it is happening soon, they are happy to wait but if they know it is going to take long, they will be in position to decide accordingly. But we should know what we are getting and how long it is going to take,” he said.
Mr. Duggal added that the delay in an announcement was causing an “unnecessary stress” to the families which could be avoided.
Following a sustained campaign for a ‘Long Stay visa for parents’ by some members of the Indian community, the Labor party had made an announcement before the Federal election, promising a visa allowing parents to stay in Australia for three years.
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This was followed a Coalition announcement of an “enhanced visitor visa for sponsored parents” with a continuous stay of up to five years.
“A re-elected Liberal-Turnbull government will enhance existing visitor visa to enable sponsored parents to visit their family in Australia for a continuous period of up to five years,” the Coalition had announced.
However, other details such as the bond amount and the cooling off period before reapplying for the visa have so far remained unclear.
