FAMILIES of migrants to Australia will be able to apply for a five-year temporary residency visa, in a move set to reduce the decade-long wait list for families seeking a permanent residency visa, the Australian government has announced.
Assistant Minister for Immigration Alex Hawke was quoted by The Australian as saying migrants can now sponsor their family’s move and they’ll be given a five-year visa without waiting for a long time.
Families or the migrants will be required to contribute to the cost of the visa, a measure which has come about after a Productivity Commission report last week found the overall cost of hosting migrants’ parents would be up to USD2.5 billion once welfare, health care and other social benefits are given to them.
“We want to help families reunite and spend time together, while ensuring that we do so in a way that does not burden Australia’s health care system,” Hawke said, adding that only 1,500 people migrate to Australia to join family members who were already living in the country.