Australian Organization Unhappy With Advocated Amendments to Family Visas

According to a report, the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) believes that the nation ought to be looking forward to an immigration scheme that strikes a good balance between the trained manpower and the families being reunited.

The body is reportedly worried that while additional weight is being given on drawing qualified employees, family visas are not considered as being as vital as they ought to be. The organization in particular is perturbed by a new report from the Productivity Commission the Government’s independent research body that the charges for the Parent Visas ought to be boosted significantly.

Sharing his worries on the issue, the FECCA chairperson Joe Caputo reportedly stated that the body is concerned that the report’s proposals do not sufficiently recognize the value of family migration even as ignoring the gains of family migration could result in the structure being rather greatly tilted in favor of the skilled movement.

He indicated that even as the report of the commission is a crucial contribution to the understanding of the impact of the country’s migration plans, some proposals seem ‘skewed toward fiscal impacts’ even while the social & cultural role of the family class movement is under-projected.

For those not tuned in, the Productivity Commission’s report advocates that Canberra change arrangements for the permanent Parent Visa candidates, comprising a considerable augmentation to the charges for the Parent Visas, a narrowing of the eligibility to the non-contributory Parent Visas to the specific situations where there are strong compassionate grounds to do so, duly accompanied by unambiguous published conditions to restrict the petitions submitted for such visas.

The report also states that the administration should mull over reducing the limits for the contributory Parent Visas and start a more flexible temporary Parent Visa that would proffer longer rights of dwelling, but with conditions, as for other impermanent visas, that the parents or sponsoring child would meet the expenses of any revenue or health supports through the duration of dwelling.

Certainly, the system appears fairly against the Parent Visas. As per the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), there is roughly a 30-year wait prior to the visa grant consideration for the petitions presented for the Parent (non-contributory).

There is a wait of a maximum of 50 years for the aspirants applying for the remaining relative and aged dependent relative visa petitions. The related costs for the contributory Parent Visas are also appreciably greater, vis-à-vis those for the non-contributory visas.

Caputo reportedly added that the availability of family reunion is necessary for successful settlement, enabling migrants to sustain family ties and links. Family reunion is also linked to the key human rights principles around the rights of the nationals to reside with their family members.